Ferry Passenger and Vehicle Boarding Counts
Passenger and Vehicle Boarding Counts by State
In 2019, ferry operations transported a reported total of 112.1 million passengers and 26.3 million vehicles within and to the United States and its territories. New York and Washington state carried the most passengers, 38.7 and 30.5 million passengers, respectively. Washington state also transported 15.2 million vehicles, over half of the total reported vehicles (57.8 percent).
Note: For these calculations, passengers and vehicles were counted by their boarding terminal's location.
Number of Operators by Passengers/Vehicles Carried
Of the 111 Operators who reported carrying any passengers, the majority (68.6 percent) carried between 10,000 and 1,000,000 passengers. There was a lot of variation in the number of passengers with a maximum of 24.5 million for one operator and a minimum of 46 for one operator.
Of the 69 Operators who reported carrying any vehicles, the majority (76.4 percent) carried between 10,000 and 1,000,000 vehicles. There was a lot of variation in the number of vehicles with a maximum of 10.8 million for one operator and a minimum of 110 for one operator.
In terms of total passengers and vehicles combined, Washington State Ferries had the highest boarding of both. The vessels run by this operator carried a total of 24.5 million passengers and 10.8 million vehicles.
The New York City DOT Ferry Division accounted for the second highest number of passengers with 22.9 million passengers and 280 vehicles.
The Texas Department of Transportation carried the second highest number of vehicles with 3.5 million vehicles and 8.5 million passengers.
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For questions about this data or its use, please contact us at: ferry@dot.gov