Ferry service operator reports a record first quarter

The island’s ferry service transported 60,000 more passengers during the first three months of this year than it did in the same period last year.

By The Star Staff

HMS Ferries-Puerto Rico, the operator of the island’s maritime transportation system, announced Thursday that it carried more than half a million riders during January-March of this year, exceeding the same period in 2024 by nearly 60,000 passengers. The continued record ridership onboard the island ferry system equals a 13% increase from the year prior.

With consistent policies, uniform schedules, and comprehensive maintenance programs to ensure the system remains reliable and efficient, the record ridership growth to begin 2025 saw ridership increase across both the ferry system’s island and metro routes. However, the most prominent growth to date has been seen in the growing travel to and from the offshore island municipalities of Culebra and Vieques.

Travel to Vieques increased by nearly 30,000 passengers to begin the year. Meanwhile, travel to and from Culebra increased by more than 16,000 in January-March. In total, the island service experienced total ridership exceeding 350,000 passengers in the first three months of the year.

Growth along the metro service also remains steady as more than 155,000 passengers have travelled on the service so far this year – an increase of nearly 14,000 passengers compared to the same period last year.

In total, the maritime transportation system has carried more than 506,000 passengers during the first quarter of this year, which follows last year’s new annual record of more than 1.65 million passengers onboard.

Passengers traveling by ferry benefit from continued reliability of the system as its on-time departure rate continues to average 97% across all routes so far this year, the operator noted.

“The maritime transportation system is off to another record start in 2025,” said Matthew Miller, president of HMS Ferries. “Our crew continues to see ridership steadily increase as the system reaches new thresholds for reliability and sustainability.”