KINGSTON — A Kitsap Transit plan to implement three passenger-only ferries — including one in Kingston — would move forward with approval from the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners and taxpayers.

A consultant hired by Kitsap Transit said six round trips per day between Kingston and Seattle could draw an average of 543 riders. Ditto for a passenger ferry from Bremerton and Southworth.

However, the plan needs to be endorsed by the commissioners and receive “adequate local tax support,” according to Carla Sawyer, Kitsap Transit’s passenger-only ferry plan manager.

Kristen Kissinger, project manager with KPFF Consulting Engineers, told the Kitsap Transit Board of Commissioners on July 15 that 12 round trips per day draw an average of 1,099 passengers.

The goal would be to build commuter confidence in the service, Sawyer said. If Kitsap Transit could show commuters the ferry is not a test and will be around for the long haul, it could help build ridership. If that were done, commuters would be more willing to give up parking spaces, for example, and try a new way to commute, Sawyer said.

A passenger ferry service could be funded two ways: federal grants and tax money. Sawyer said taxpayers would likely see a request to help pay for the service.

A passenger-only ferry isn’t a new idea for Kingston. The Port of Kingston operated SoundRunner for nearly two years, but ended the service on Sept. 28, 2012.

KPFF Consulting ridership estimates far exceed what SoundRunner accomplished. By August 2012, the former service had an average ridership of 34 morning riders and 47 evening riders.

Expenses for SoundRunner between June 1, 2011 and July 31, 2012 totaled $866,767. The total two-year cost of operation was about $1.02 million.

Since the service folded, one of SoundRunner’s boats was sold, another sits at the port’s dock; the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority has expressed an interest in acquiring the second boat.

Drawing enough riders to a passenger-only ferry is possible, but fares would need to be low to do that, Kingston Port Commissioner Pete DeBoer said.

Operating a roundtrip service is not cheap, DeBoer said. “It costs a lot of money to run those boats.”

The ridership models for Bremerton-to-Seattle, Kingston-to-Seattle, and Southworth-to-Seattle were developed based on the Bremerton-Seattle market. The models evaluated round-trip cost, travel time, weekday round trips and wait time.

A public survey was conducted June 9-25, to which 1,257 people responded, and previous passenger-only ferry services were studied. The model used predicted estimated population growth figures and alternative routes to Seattle.

Under the current model, a round trip from Kingston to Seattle would cost $18 and take 32 minutes each way. Fares could be higher, or lower, based on factors still being discussed, Sawyer said.

Ditto for schedules, which could be based on commuter schedules. Sawyer said that, at startup, service would likely have morning and afternoon round-trips, at least early on.

“The model looks at the demand if a service was in place and if it was advantageous for [riders],” Sawyer said.

Of the 1,257 people who responded to the survey, 87 percent live in Kitsap and 46 percent work in King County. Top reasons for support of a service: A 35-minute or less ferry trip to downtown Seattle, and ferry service to King County for job access.

Of the people who took the survey that ride a ferry one or more days per week (62 percent), the majority ride the Bremerton-Seattle ferry (66 percent). Nine percent who ride the ferry once or more each week ride Kingston-Edmonds.

Most people who took the survey said they were 81 percent likely to ride a Bremerton-Seattle passenger ferry; 37 percent said they were likely to ride a Southworth-Seattle ferry; and 26 percent were likely to ride one from Kingston.

DeBoer said one of the biggest competitors for the former SoundRunner service was the Sounder train. People could get a free ride to Edmonds and pay about $5 to get to Seattle. A passenger ferry, however, can be more flexible with departure times, on top of being a quick way to get to the city, he said.

The study on the passenger ferries is still in the early stages. Work is being done to determine how ferries from the three locations would work, and how much they would cost.

DeBoer believes a passenger-only ferry service should be a regional effort and include surrounding counties.

“I wish them well,” DeBoer said. I would love to see passenger ferries all over the place.”