There could be more commuter traffic on West Seattle streets next month when passenger-only ferry service is cut by half between Vashon Island and downtown Seattle.

Designed mainly for commuters, the passenger-only ferries between Vashon and downtown Seattle run Monday through Friday during the morning and afternoon commutes. Currently there are four passenger-only ferry runs from Vashon to downtown each weekday morning, and five runs from downtown to the island every weekday afternoon and evening.

Come Sept. 19, there will be just two morning sailings each weekday from Vashon to downtown and only two sailings back in the evening.

Car-ferry service in and out of the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal will continue as usual.

There is concern that many Vashon Islanders who've been taking the passenger-only ferries directly downtown will have to switch to car ferries that land at Fauntleroy. That's expected to increase car and truck traffic through West Seattle.

Vashon Island residents will have to alter their personal schedules and ride later ferries, said Mike Sudduth, chairman of the Vashon and Maury Island Ferry Advisory Committee. They will either ride passenger-only boats that run later or drive their cars onto one of the auto ferries.

"What if you're a nurse who works in a hospital on First Hill and you have an inflexible schedule?" he asked. "If you already spend two hours commuting and have to add another hour and a half, that's a problem."

People who normally ride the 5:20 a.m. passenger-only ferry from Vashon probably will have to wait for the 7 a.m. passenger-only boat. There are normally about 60 passengers on the earlier ferry and the 7 a.m. boat usually runs about three-quarters full, Sudduth said. The passenger-only vessel can carry 240 passengers and about 180 ride it most weekdays, so there should be room for most of the earliest passengers.

There's also a 5:20 a.m. car-carrying ferry that goes from Vashon to downtown that will continue, so passenger-only riders also could switch to riding the car ferry. The 5:20 a.m. boats will be met at Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal by the Metro Route 54 express bus and a quick trip downtown, Sudduth said.

Walk-on passengers probably will have no trouble getting aboard a car ferry, but only if they leave their cars at home. Almost every car ferry leaving Vashon is full of cars and trucks and cannot accommodate any more, said Vickie Mercer, chairwoman of the Vashon-Maury Island Community Council's transportation committee.

A poll of island residents indicated 78 percent of them prefer sailing to Fauntleroy rather than riding ferries to downtown Seattle, Mercer said.

Decisions about which ferry runs to cut were based largely on ridership, so the most popular sailings were retained. Despite cuts in the number of runs, Washington State Ferries estimates about 70 percent of current ridership will still be met.

"But you're still leaving 30 percent of people high and dry, so to speak," Sudduth said.

Ridership aboard passenger-only ferries decreased 39 percent over the past five years, Mercer said.

"It was a compromise to keep the passenger-only ferry from total elimination, again," said Sen. Erik Poulsen (D-West Seattle), vice chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. "There are many shortsighted people in Olympia who want to do away with passenger-only ferries altogether."

He pointed out that the Vashon-to-downtown run is the last state-operated passenger-only ferry run left on Puget Sound, and the chairwoman of the Senate Transportation Committee, Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, wants the state to get out of the passenger-only ferry business.

Passenger-only ferries require a state subsidy to cover about 80 percent of their cost of operations, Poulsen said. A car ferry needs about 40 percent. With transportation funds short everywhere, that makes passenger-only vessels budget targets. It's harder to measure the value of having fewer cars on the road due to walk-on passengers, he added.

There's an ongoing debate in the Legislature over whether to privatize passenger-only ferry service. Poulsen worries private companies would happily bid to run the lucrative Southworth-to-downtown run, but ignore the travel needs of Vashon Island residents because that run wouldn't make money.

"Private companies want to cherry-pick the profitable routes," he said. "That's why the state took over the ferry system to start with."

Passenger-only service needs a more reliable source of money, Poulsen said. He suggested King County take it over by using money from the motor vehicle excise tax or a local option gas tax.

Fares for passenger-only ferries will remain unchanged. Currently the regular fare from downtown Seattle to Vashon Island is $8.10. That is essentially a round-trip price because no fare is collected going the other direction from Vashon to Seattle. Seniors and disabled people pay $4 and youth $6.90. Kids under 6 ride free.

Fares are half as much for foot passengers aboard a car ferry. The fare is $4 from Fauntleroy to Vashon and $4.70 from Fauntleroy to Southworth. Passengers pay nothing for the eastbound sailing, except from Southworth to Vashon where they pay $4.

The new 25-year plan of Washington State Ferries recommended a new passenger-only route between Southworth and downtown Seattle but the Legislature did not do that.

Previously the state ferry system planned to start passenger-only service from Southworth to downtown and from Kingston to downtown. Those plans were scrapped several years ago when voters slashed car-registration fees and defeated a statewide transportation plan.

Kitsap Transit operates what it calls a "foot ferry" between Bremerton and Port Orchard and another between Bremerton and Annapolis, east of Port Orchard.

Kitsap Transit currently has partnerships with private companies to provide passenger-only ferry service from both Bremerton and Kingston to downtown Seattle.

There's also been interest from at least two private companies to establish passenger-only ferry service between Southworth and downtown Seattle, said Kathy Knox-Browning, executive assistant to the head of Kitsap Transit. However the Washington Legislature imposed a moratorium on accepting any more private bids for passenger-only until a newly appointed task force can study the many angles and make recommendations on future passenger-only ferry service.

Gov. Christine Gregoire appointed 10 people to a new passenger-only ferry task force to recommend ways of providing ferry service. It includes people who represent public transit agencies, commercial ferry operators and ferry users. Among those representing ferry users is West Seattleite Gary Dawson, who heads the Fauntleroy Ferry Citizens' Advisory Committee.

Tim St. Clair can be reached at tstclair@robinsonnews.com or 932-0300.