Soon commuters from Ballard could take a water route downtown because King County is looking into expanding their water taxi services to Ballard.

King County recently released an interim expansion report from their Marine Division, which states that taxis could move passengers from Pier 50 (downtown Seattle) to Shilshole Marina.

The report states that both Pier 50 and Shilshole require “minimal” amount of work to become operational. At Shilshole there would need to be work done to the dock for loading and unloading purposes. There would also be the addition of ticket machines, signage and some security hardware.

The route would cost the least to become operational compared to other routes, which include from Kirkland (Marina Park) and Kenmore (Log Boom Park) to the University of Washington (Waterfront Activity Center).

Last year the King County Marine Division developed a strategic plan that would layout water taxi services for the next three to five years. The plan identified partnering with other transportation services to increase financial stability for water taxi operations.

So why Ballard?

The County looked at 36 potential route combinations serving 17 potential terminal locations in Puget Sound and Lake Washington. Of their findings, Ballard was one of three routes likely to be most viable based on travel time and fare box recovery criteria.

According to the report, Ballard (from Shilshole Bay) is not planned to be served by high capacity transit modes and therefore water taxi could be a “viable” mode of transportation because of the lack connections for residents there.

Also, the report determined that the traffic from new light rail station opening in the University District next year would provide strong connections for water taxi services. The report projects a water taxi could have an annual ridership of 59,433 passengers in its first year.

The County also compared the cost and time for water tax service to car and transit travel. The County estimates that it would take 29 minutes to travel from Ballard to Downtown by water taxi versus 34 minutes car or transit. .

For cost, the County found for a one-way trip the water taxi would be the most expensive for a passenger at $5.25 compared to a personal vehicle trip estimated at $3.22. The bus would be $2.75. However these estimations do not include downtown Seattle parking costs which can be as high as $30 per day. When one-way fuel costs, tolls, wear and tear were factored in, the County found personal vehicle travel to have the highest cost ranging from $2.50 to $11.91 with the addition of parking costs.

From the report: “While a POF (water taxi) fare would be more expensive than the bus or light rail transit mode, it would be far less than driving and parking a personal vehicle in the City. As a passenger, the bus is the least expensive of the three modes.”

Fares for the new water taxi route would be comparable to the Vashon Island to Downtown Seattle route at $5.50 for adults and $4.75 with an ORCA pass.

The interim report also discussed a new vessel for the route. The vessel would carry 150 passengers or less. However, the report didn’t look at how expansion service or capital costs would be paid for, but the County stated that federal grant funds may be an option, which were also used to purchase King County’s two current water taxis.The newest of the water taxis is Doc Maynard and it cost $6.25 million.

The County Council Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee are reviewing the report and will have a full report to review at the end of the month.