Record 1.4M ferry riders mark surge in Puerto Rico travel
Puerto Rico’s ferry system, operated through a public-private partnership between the Integrated Transportation Authority (ATI, in Spanish) and Puerto Rico Ferry, continues to see record ridership and performance, ATI officials announced.
Between July and September, the service reached what ATI Executive Director Josué Menéndez called “historic milestones” in reliability and passenger growth. Nearly 460,000 people traveled aboard ferries during the third quarter alone, marking a sharp increase over the same period last year and pushing the system past one million passengers for the year — a 12.5% rise compared with 2024.
July set a new monthly record for total trips on the island’s ferry routes, including the highest number of passengers to and from Vieques. September, traditionally the low season, recorded a 10% year-over-year increase in ridership while maintaining an average on-time performance of 96% across all routes.
“The maritime transport system as it is established today is significantly better than in the years prior to our partnership for its transformation and operation,” Menéndez said. “These record numbers and outstanding performance reflect our joint success and Gov. Jenniffer González’s commitment to ensuring impeccable service for the communities served by Puerto Rico Ferry.”
In the first half of 2025, nearly one million residents and visitors used the ferry service, bringing the year’s total to more than 1.4 million passengers by the end of September. If the current trend continues, the system is projected to surpass last year’s record by mid-November.
Demand rose across all routes, with more than 22,000 additional passengers traveling to and from Vieques and 10,000 more on the Culebra route during the third quarter. That represents an increase of nearly 33,000 travelers to the island-municipalities, or 120,000 more than during the same period in 2024.
Despite higher demand, the ferry network maintained an average 96% on-time rate with about 2,000 departures each month — totaling nearly 18,000 trips since January.
Matthew Miller, president of HMS Ferries, operator of Puerto Rico Ferry, credited the partnership with ATI for the system’s continued success.
“This partnership and its resulting transformation continue to deliver results for the people of Puerto Rico,” Miller said. “We are pleased to see the growing support and passenger satisfaction reflected in the record increase in travelers and excellent reliability on all routes. On behalf of our outstanding local crew, we look forward to continuing to work with residents and with our government partners to build on this success.”
