Ferry Passenger and Vehicle Boarding Counts

In 2017, ferry operations transported a reported total of 126.2 million passengers and 27.0 million vehicles within and to the United States and its territories. New York and Washington state carried the most passengers, 28.3 and 27.4 million passengers, respectively. Washington state also transported 11.5 million vehicles, close to half of the total reported vehicle boardings (42.5 percent).

Most ferry routes serve under 50,000 passengers annually, but some of the more popular trips serve over one million passengers. 

The vast majority of ferry segments serve under 50,000 vehicle boardings each year, but the busiest segments for vehicles reported over 1,000,000 annual boardings.

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For questions about this data or its use, please contact us at: ferry@dot.gov