To mark its 70th year of operation, Washington State Ferries or WSF – a division of the Washington State Department of Transportation – unveiled a commemorative logo that will decorate all 21 vessels in its ferry fleet during 2021.
[Above photo by WSDOT]
In addition, the agency provided commemorative stickers throughout the first week of June to its ferry customers.
The agency also created a video tracing the history of its seven decades of maritime operations.
“Since 1951, we’ve been proud to serve Washingtonians and visitors by operating the state’s marine highway system,” noted Patty Rubstello, head of WSF, in a statement. “The pandemic has made celebrations a challenge, so we wanted to make sure to take this special opportunity to thank our customers and frontline employees.”
The agency also remains in full recovery mode from the COVID-19 pandemic. In January, WSF noted in a statement that annual ridership aboard its ferry vessels plunged to 14 million customers in 2020 – a drop of 41 percent or 10 million riders compared to 2019.
That is the lowest yearly ferry ridership level since 1975, the agency added – a falloff attributed to stay-at-home orders, remote work, and decreased tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic.