One Month Mark: County’s Pilot Transport Services Shows Steady Ridership & Variety of Uses

SAN JUAN COUNTY, WA. May 16, 2025 – Today marks one month of San Juan County’s Marine Transportation Services Pilot Project. These services include emergency barge and foot-passenger transportation during disruptions to Washington State Ferry (WSF) service as well as travel to and from the mainland (Anacortes) on a daily basis. Each of these services is provided at no cost to the passengers, subsidized by the County’s emergency funding awarded by the Governor’s Office.

“We’ve continued to fine-tune the operations and are grateful for our partner operators who are facilitating these services,” said County Council Chair Kari McVeigh. “We’re so pleased to see that the community is benefiting from this project and is taking advantage of this unique opportunity!”

Daily Passenger Service

San Juan Safaris is providing seven-day a week, twice daily passenger-only transportation service to Friday Harbor, Orcas, Lopez, and Anacortes. Use the table on the right to select the timing that is right for you. The schedule, along with booking information, is also located on the San Juan Safaris website.

During the first month of service, San Juan Safaris reported transporting 1,004 people – plus 132 bikes and 55 dogs – around the islands. Approximately 80% of passengers cited using the service to travel for recreation and leisure, with others are traveling to work, school, and appointments. With increasing reservations over the coming weeks, San Juan Safaris expects that ridership will continue to grow.

Emergency Services

Outer Island Excursions is providing emergency interisland passenger service when the Washington State Ferries experience disruptions.

During the first month, Outer Island Excursions competed four trips and transported 32 passengers – plus one dog and three bikes. Passengers cited using the service to travel for work and personal or family medical appointments.

Pintail Marine is providing emergency barge service when the Washington State Ferries experience significant service disruptions. This service has not yet been needed. Four service providers have pre-registered for services, and others are encouraged to do so here: https://sanjuancountywa.form.transform.civicplus.com/50601

Questions or Feedback?

Do you have questions about the County’s pilot project? We’d love to hear from you! Use the ‘Feedback’ tool on our website to provide comments on the pilot project. These comments will be compiled and provided to the County Council, to the operators if necessary, and others involved in the pilot project.

Feedback link: https://engage.sanjuancountywa.gov/san-juan-county-emergency-transportation-services?tool=qanda#tool_tab

Questions specific to the route, booking a seat, and pickup/drop off locations should be directed to the operators. Use their websites to book your seat, see the schedule and pickup/drop off locations, read answers to frequently asked questions, and much more:

Daily Passenger Service Between Anacortes and San Juan County provided by San Juan Safaris: https://www.sanjuansafaris.com/passenger-boat-service
Emergency Interisland Passenger Service provided by Outer Island Excursions: https://www.outerislandx.com/emergency-water-taxi
Emergency Barge Services provided by Pintail Marine: https://www.pintailmarine.com/emergency-barge-service

Next Steps

These pilot marine transportation services are currently available for ten weeks and are scheduled to conclude on June 30, 2025, coinciding with the end of the State’s fiscal year.

For the remainder of the project, San Juan County encourages the public to take advantage of these services and to provide feedback via the website. Are these services helpful to you? What would make it better? All comments will be compiled and utilized in assessing the project.

For a complete list of information about the County’s pilot project to establish marine transportation services, please visit: https://engage.sanjuancountywa.gov/san-juan-county-emergency-transportation-services

Questions? Contact: Mark Tompkins at markt@sanjuancountywa.gov.

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