The King County Water Taxi is a passenger-only fast ferry service operated by the King County Metro Transit Department, Marine Division. It operates two routes between

Downtown Seattle Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by ...

and

West Seattle West Seattle is a conglomeration of neighborhoods in Seattle, Washington, United States. It comprises two of the thirteen districts, Delridge and Southwest, and encompasses all of Seattle west of the Duwamish River. It was incorporated as an i ...

Vashon Island Vashon is a census-designated place (CDP) in King County, Washington, United States. It covers an island alternately called Vashon Island or Vashon–Maury Island, the largest island in Puget Sound south of Admiralty Inlet. The population was 10,6 ...

History

Early ferries of Puget Sound

is the oldest neighborhood and the birthplace of the city of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. It is surrounded on three sides by water and has both enjoyed and suffered its isolation from the "mainland" of downtown Seattle. Between 1850 and 1930, hundreds of small, steam-powered ferries called the

Mosquito Fleet The term Mosquito Fleet has had a variety of naval and commercial uses around the world. United States In United States, U.S. naval and maritime history, the term has had ten main meanings: #The United States Navy's fleet of small gunboats, lead ...

carried travelers to and from numerous islands and peninsulas in the Puget Sound area, including West Seattle and Vashon Island. The first licensed ferry in the Seattle area launched on December 24, 1888, traveled from Seacrest Park in West Seattle to downtown Seattle, as well as other water-bound location throughout the Puget Sound. It was a steam-powered sidewheel ship named the ''City of Seattle'' and made two trips a day, carrying West Seattle homesteaders east to the city, and weekend vacationers west to the beachfront. The service was discontinued when the first bridge across the

Duwamish River