West Seattle Water Taxi Loses Its Boat

Despite its growing popularity, a new water taxi service between West Seattle and downtown is in jeopardy.

The fate of the month-old service hangs on whether its operators can find another boat.

The current vessel, a squarish, 47-foot catamaran named Admiral Pete, is owned by Kitsap Harbor Tours, and was borrowed during July by Argosy Cruises for the taxi experiment. The loan runs out Thursday and the boat has other commitments.

“Looking for another vessel has been most difficult,” said Don Wicklund, operations manager for Argosy, which began the Elliott Bay Water Taxi Demonstration Project with a consortium of local public agencies including Metro, the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department and the Port of Seattle.

“The problem is finding a high-speed passenger vessel with the proper capacity, and one which is also a safe vessel,” Wicklund said. “Most of them are already busy.”

Named after a former Puget Sound Naval Shipyard commander, Rear Admiral W.F. “Pete” Petrovic, the catamaran can carry up to 82 passengers on the eight-minute ride from Seacrest Marina to Pier 55 on the downtown waterfront. It cruises at 20 knots.

King County Councilman Greg Nickels, who initiated the proposal late last year, said he hopes the experiment is able to continue through September. That’s when Argosy’s temporary permit with the state Transportation and Utilities Commission ends.

But more importantly, the service needs to be put on more permanent footing with the help of federal transportation funding, Nickels said.

“This is part of the solution for one of our transportation corridors,” he said, referring to the heavily traveled West Seattle Bridge.

Since the taxi service began June 28, daily ridership has risen to as high as 1,230 a day. Trips have averaged 12-plus customers.