King County reports that 1,189 riders rode the water taxi during the peak commute (6-9:15am) between West Seattle to downtown Seattle. Last Monday by comparison they had 330.

Peak trips: They had 221 riders at 7:15 am, 243 riders at 7:45 am and 255 riders at 815am. The 81:5am boat left late at 8:28am. The Spirit of Kingston boat was done with the extra 99Closure trips to Vashon, and they used it to make sure the scheduled 8:45am departure from West Seattle left on time, and it left carrying 131 riders (capacity is 147).

It operated kind of like a standby bus does for Metro, maintaining the schedule. It was not providing an added trip, just a reliable one. It is a back-up plan the County can use when they need to help service stay on schedule, but only works when the boat is available.