Boats are frightfully expensive to operate compared with buses.
Kitsap Transit operates a passenger ferry to Seattle from Bremerton. The fare is $5, but the cost, mostly paid by taxpayers, is about $20 per rider.
Yes, a ferry would be a lovely way to spend a few hours. But even a fast ferry would take 3 hours to get to Seattle, compared with 90 minutes on the Amtrak (now 7 trips daily).
You can take Intercity Transit to Tacoma for free, and then Sound Transit from there to SeaTac, Seattle, Bellevue, and beyond for a dollar (senior) or a few dollars (others).
Ferries run on diesel fuel. They pollute more than buses, more than trains, and certainly more than an electric car. Yes, Norway is building some electric ferries. And the Washington State Ferry system is building some hybrids, which will pollute less.
The fantasy is wonderful. The economics are lousy.
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