Cindy Jayne

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Last week my husband and I had the opportunity to try out Jefferson Transit’s new No. 14 Kingston Express bus service.

This service is an express bus from Port Townsend to the ferry terminal in Kingston which provides access to both the Kitsap Fast Ferry to Seattle and the Washington State Ferry to Edmonds. This was a great way to travel and leave our car in Port Townsend.

We decided to take the trip on a sunny Thursday morning. The Four Corners Park-and-Ride is close to our house so we chose that location as our jumping-off point. 

We caught the 7:28 a.m. departure and joined five other passengers who had boarded the bus at the Haines Place Park-and-Ride. 

Two of our fellow riders were headed to the airport and were excited about a new cost-effective way to travel to the airport. 

Two individuals were traveling with their bikes and were headed to Seattle to enjoy their favorite bike rides and one rider was headed to the Gateway Visitor’s Center to start a long run.

We arrived to Kingston just before 8:30 a.m. This gave us enough time to use the restroom facilities before boarding the Kitsap Fast Ferry to Seattle which departs at 8:45 a.m.

The fast ferry takes approximately 40 minutes and ends at the Colman Dock in downtown Seattle. 

Once we reached Colman Dock there were plenty of transit options from there including the Link light rail (operated by Sound Transit), which is just a half mile walk. The light rail now runs north all the way to Northgate, with stops including Capitol Hill, the U District, and Roosevelt, and south to Angle Lake (including a stop at SeaTac).

The timing of the Kingston Express allowed us to enjoy Seattle for approximately six hours. We did a little shopping downtown before catching a bus to the University of Washington to meet some friends for lunch and take in the lovely cherry trees which were in full bloom.  

To return to downtown Seattle, we hopped on the light rail at the U District. After a little snack in Pioneer Square, we walked back to Colman Dock to catch the 3:25 Kitsap Fast Ferry back to Kingston. 

We arrived back in Kingston just before 4 p.m. and had a few minutes to spare before boarding the No. 14 back to Port Townsend. Interestingly, only one other person besides us was also on the bus that morning; four new people were headed back to Port Townsend.

We arrived back to the Four Corners Park and Ride on time at 5:14 p.m. It was a wonderful way to spend a day in Seattle while eliminating the hassle of driving and finding parking, not to mention the benefit of keeping our carbon footprint low!

Learn more about the No. 14 Kingston Express at jeffersontransit.com/14kingstonexpress and plan your own car-free adventure. Jefferson Transit would also appreciate feedback on their new service and have provided a survey on their webpage.

Cindy Jayne is part of Local 20/20’s Climate Action Group, and is a member of the Local 20/20 Steering Council.