In response to Gov. Jay Inslee’s emergency proclamation banning all public gatherings of 50 or more people to slow the spread of COVID-19, Kitsap Transit will be temporarily reducing the maximum passenger loads on each fast ferry sailing to 46.

The emergency policy due to the COVID-19 outbreak will apply until further notice to both the local foot ferry service as well as the Bremerton and Kingston routes. On the Bremerton route, passengers with reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis, according to a press release. The first 46 passengers with reservations in line will receive boarding passes.

“In other words, not all passengers with reservations in line are guaranteed a spot on the ferry,” the release states. “We encourage customers to see our two-boat schedule and consider other sailings.”

On the Kingston route, customers who ride a Kitsap Transit bus to the ferry terminal have priority boarding. Kitsap Transit is communicating regularly with public-health officials and continues to disinfect its ferries at the end of each shift daily using a cleaning agent that kills coronavirus.