Bremerton leans on nimble passenger ferry amid long wait for new vessel

In Bremerton, Wash., residents and businesses are reeling from the news that they won’t get their second state ferry back again until 2028.

That’s devastating to local businesses and residents. Some depend on services, jobs, and entertainment based in Seattle. Others depend on tourists arriving from Seattle.

RELATED: Washington State Ferries confirms service disruptions will continue for years

Though the loss of half its ferries continues to hit Bremerton hard, there is a silver lining: The workaround has long-term benefits.

Car ferries are expensive because they're big. Smaller, passenger-only ferries, like the ones run by Kitsap County, are much cheaper.

Originally, it was Kitsap taxpayers who voted to create their county's nimble fleet of passenger-only boats. That service began in 2017. In 2023, state funds allowed Kitsap's fleet to add more sailings. Since then, ridership has surged. The Bremerton-Seattle line saw a 54% increase.

Bremerton Mayor Greg Wheeler called the expanded service an overwhelming success.

"We have literally put people back to work, help them maintain their jobs, maintain connectivity," he said.

Wheeler said his community still needs its other big car ferry back, for freight, tourists, and car-dependent residents. There are seniors living outside of Bremerton, for example, who must drive to the V.A. hospital in Seattle, he said. For a person in that situation, the car ferry is a lifeline.

But the future lies with the small passenger boats, which are more in line with the city's plan to center development around transit, rather than cars, he added.

“I just see this potentially having an opportunity to expand what we do and be better at it."

Wheeler said Kitsap Transit has been improving bus service, so that people don’t have to park a car in town near the ferry.

On Tuesday, he plans to ask the transit board for solid cost estimates to expand the fast ferry service even more. He said he hopes the state will then kick in what’s needed during this legislative session.

In the long run, Wheeler dreams that walkable waterfront communities along Puget Sound could be linked by a passenger-only mosquito fleet, like the one that bound them together 100 years ago.

The foot ferry service represents a down payment on that vision.