Hundreds Take Part In Ferry Test Run

For one day, at least, hundreds of people took advantage of a new-yet-old way to travel between West Seattle and downtown: by ferry.

Ferries ran throughout the Puget Sound for decades around the turn of the century but were ultimately displaced by the automobile.

Today, auto traffic jams have officials mulling over the idea of bringing back water travel.

On Saturday, officials held a one-day test of operating a passenger-only ferry between downtown Seattle and West Seattle. The experiment was a joint venture of the Port of Seattle; Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods; King County; Metro, the local transit agency; and Argosy Cruises, which provided the tour boat used for the test.

“People who live in West Seattle really want this to happen,” said Megan Miller, who was among the 200 or so passengers who boarded the ferry in West Seattle on the first trip of the day.