Credit: Bruce Engelhardt

Add another workaround to the list of fixes for the Period of Maximum Constraint Seattle Squeeze Carpocalypse: King County is increasing the number of Water Taxi ferry sailings between West Seattle and Downtown.



The Water Taxi is adding an additional vessel starting on January 14, which will allow the following service improvements between then and March 27:



Ferries will run the 10 minute route with 20 minute headways, instead of the present 35 minutes

The number of peak sailings will double from six to twelve

New, hourly off-peak, midday sailings will run between 11:25 AM and 3 PM

King County’s release also mentions “additional parking available on Harbor Ave SW, SW Bronson Way, and Pier 2 with free shuttle connector,” and “no charge for bikes onboard, additional bike parking available at Seacrest Park.”



Metro will set up additional last mile service to get passengers on board the new boat. As Bruce wrote on Tuesday, Metro is rolling out app-dispatched Ride2 shuttle service to the West Seattle dock, along with additional bus service on Routes 773 and 775 from the Junction and Admiral District/Alki, respectively.



The Water Taxi will undoubtedly be a more reliable, and likely faster, mode than the bus. As Metro head of service development Bill Bryant told STB in October, travel times for the Sodo segment of West Seattle buses is likely to increase by 50 to 100 percent.



Find maps for 773 and 775 buses and Ride2 here, plus timetables for the buses.



Learn more about Metro’s revised bus service plan for the Viaduct closure here.



We’ll create a more comprehensive post rounding up all updated Downtown transit service on the eve of the Carpocalypse.

