Washington State Ferries

Washington State Ferries. . , Ferryboats have been active on Puget Sound since January 1, 1889. The City of Seattle offered the first scheduled service between Seattle and West Seattle; a bargain at 5 cents per passenger!, The Washington State Ferry System traces its roots back to the "Mosquito Fleet" of tiny privately owned steamboats that competed for the Puget Sound area trade in the days before highways and cars. In the late 1800s large companies took control of many of these vessels. After automobiles became popular the most prominent company, the Blackball Line, developed the auto ferry, which became an extension of the state highway system. In 1951 the State of Washington bought the company. Today the system is the largest in the U.S. and operates two dozen vessels on eight routes., All ferryboats bear Indian names, except those of the Evergreen Class, to honor the first vessels to cross the sound, Indian canoes., [Photo captions, clockwise from top left, read] , . The City of Seattle, and its sister ship, West Seattle, were built to carry wagons and passengers., . Ferry workers developed maritime unions in the 1930s. Union strikes helped improve working conditions, schedules, and worker qualifications, and quickly demonstrated the region's dependence on ferries., . Auto ferries were popularized on the Navy Yard Route, carrying traffic between Seattle, Bremerton, and the Olympic Peninsula as early as 1915., . Kalakala, the world's first aerodynamically designed ferry, emerged from Lake Washington Shipyard in 1934 and wowed passengers until 1966., . Washington's fleet is one of the largest in the world with 25 vessels, serving 9 routes and 20 terminals. Jumbo Class ferries can carry in excess of 200 vehicles and 2,000 foot passengers.