According to this PI article, the west Seattle Water Taxi could start running year round. Apparently it gets 122,000 riders a year, which makes it more popular than almost any bus route. Metro is considering other foot-ferry routes, in particular, Kirkland to the University of Washington. I’d take that if they’d let me bring a bike on the ferry.
To pay for the expandeded service, the want to impose a property tax:
The council is expected to impose a property tax of 2 to 3 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation for the ferries, costing the owner of a home assessed at $400,000 from $8 to $12 a year. The tax money would make up the difference between the revenue provided by fares and the cost of operating the ferry service, including any connecting shuttle buses.
In 2006, Metro spent $386,474 on the water taxi while collecting $171,102 in fares. The West Seattle shuttle buses cost the agency another $185,808 to operate.
I don’t know if a couple of bucks per ride is a bargain or not for transit, but I wish they’d raise taxes for rail lines (such as the South Lake Union Streetcar).