Ellington

Students hoping to ride the King County Water Taxi will no longer be able to use the U-PASS as fare when crossing Elliot Bay, in accordance with the ferry’s new management policies.

When the Washington state Legislature cut funding for passenger-ferry services, the King County Ferry District (KCFD) took over the pedestrian water-taxi routes in an attempt to ensure the quality of passenger-ferry service.

The taxi — formerly known as the Elliott Bay Water Taxi and West Seattle Water Taxi — was previously operated by King County Metro, and included routes from West Seattle to downtown Seattle and Vashon Island to downtown Seattle.

Josh Kavanagh, the UW director of Transportation Services, said the effect this change will have on UW commuters is expected to be relatively small.

“When the service was provided by the county proper, it got bundled with the Metro Service and was something that was an add-on with the previous contract,” Kavanagh said about the Vashon-to-downtown-Seattle route. “Now there is a different company running the service that is no longer related to Metro.”

Despite the new absence of the added financial benefit the U-PASS provided when it was accepted by the water taxi system, the cost of the U-PASS for students, faculty and staff will not decrease to compensate for the loss.

A relationship has yet to be built between UW transportation services and the KCFD, Kavanagh said.

“We would like to eventually be able to offer a discount for fares, but the department of transportation is not going to lower the cost of the U-PASS,” he said. “This change in agencies from county to ferry district, however, helps avoid an increase in cost for U-PASS holders.”

The UW had the choice to add the water-taxi service onto the U-PASS but decided against it.

“We would have had to pay extra for the service, and the cost associated with that didn’t make sense,” Kavanagh said.

Because the KCFD does not receive revenue from FlexPass cards and is not a participating agency in the U-PASS program, it cannot accept either as fare payment. U-PASS and FlexPass card holders can rely on full fare coverage through Metro, including Sounder and light-rail transit but will be expected to pay the full water-taxi fare of $3.50 for the West Seattle route and $4.50 for the Vashon route.

The pedestrian-ferry sailing season will resume April 5, as the service is only seasonally available April through October.

“It is a service that is a pleasant ‘Seattle’ way to commute, but realistically, there are other options out there for commuters,” Kavanagh said of the water taxi. “No one really relies on it.”

Reach reporter Tiffany Shedrick at news@dailyuw.com.