Kitsap Transit’s three fast ferry routes will begin operating on their summer schedules this Saturday, meaning passengers can go between Seattle and Bremerton, Kingston and Southworth all day on Saturdays until the end of September.

The additional service happens every summer. In the past, the Saturday sailings began in May, but crew shortages have pushed the start date into June for the last several years.

Outside of the summer, the boats normally only operate during the week around commuter hours, although the state has recently funded additional trips between Seattle and Bremerton, including on Saturdays, to compensate for the reduced service on the larger Washington state ferry.

The Bremerton route will operate 10 Saturday sailings between 9:20 a.m. and 10:50 p.m. Kingston will run eight between 9:20 a.m. and 10:25 p.m. And Southworth will run 11 crossings between 9:45 a.m. and 10:35 p.m.

The Southworth trip each way takes 26 minutes, the Bremerton takes 30 and the Kingston trip is 40 minutes each way.

Kitsap County voters narrowly approved a 0.3% sales tax increase in 2016 to set up and begin the fast ferry program. Ridership in 2022 was just over 500,000 passengers for the year — more than in 2019, but only because the Southworth boat began in 2021.

Ridership rises and falls with the seasons, but all three routes saw more passengers in the first four months of this year than in the same period last year.

Bremerton, in particular, has seen a boom thanks to service that’s increased on the fast ferries and decreased on the state ferries. January of this year saw nearly double the ridership as January of last year for that route.

The fast ferries dock at Pier 50 in Seattle, next to Colman Dock. They share the space with the King County Water Taxi to West Seattle. However, Kitsap Transit is exploring building a new dock that can accommodate more than just the current two boats at a time. The agency is looking at locations between Pier 70 and Pier 46 in downtown Seattle, but has not settled on a spot.