Loading order for wheels on a ferry goes like this: bicycles-motorcycles-vehicles.

Two-wheeled vehicles follow different rules than four wheels for boarding ferries.

MUKILTEO — That guy on the Harley is not cutting in line.

Two wheels go before four wheels on the ferry.

Motorcycles and bicycles follow different rules than cars for boarding ferries. On most sailings, they bypass the ferry wait lines for cars and get priority loading and unloading.

Not only that, they pay less than cars and other big honking vehicles because they take up less room. Space on a ferry is valuable real estate.

The round-trip fare for a motorcycle and driver on the Mukilteo-Clinton route is $11.60, or $8.60 senior rate. One way is $5.80. The standard round-trip car rate with driver is $26.60.

The Edmonds-Kingston round trip for a motorcycle costs $19, or $9.50 each way. Round trip for a car is $44.50 on that route.

Bicycles towing kayaks or canoes pay the motorcycle and driver fare.

Loading order for wheels on a ferry goes like this: bicycles-motorcycles-vehicles.

About 280,000 people ride bicycles onto ferries each year. The stowage storage fee is $1 to $4, depending on the route, plus the passenger fare.

In Mukilteo, people with bicycles bypass the vehicle tollbooth and go to the passenger area inside the terminal to purchase tickets.

The fee for bicycles is $1 on the Mukilteo-Clinton and Edmonds-Kingston routes, with fees collected only on the mainland sites.

What about unicycles?

It’ll still cost you a dollar, unless you stuff it in a bag.

“If you can’t carry it or store it on your back you are probably going to pay a little extra,” said Washington State Ferries spokesperson Ian Sterling.

Andrea Brown: 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @reporterbrown.

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