Long before the bridge, Puget Sound got around by boat. In the early 1900s a "Mosquito Fleet" of small steamers carried people, mail and freight between landings all around the Sound, West Seattle among them.
Today's water taxi began in 1997 as a trial, a way for commuters to skip the bridge traffic. It stuck. King County runs it now, and for plenty of locals it's simply the nicest way downtown.
The ride is short and the view is long: the skyline ahead, ferries crossing the bay and, on a clear day, Mount Rainier to the southeast.