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Considering the effort they are putting into rail on Oahu, wouldn't a passenger ferry between Hawaii Kai and downtown as well as Ewa and downtown immediately take some pressure off the highway system? Last time they tried it, they didn't have it integrated into the rest of the transport system so it didn't work. You'd need buses serving the docks at each end or have a parking lot on the Hawaii Kai/ Ewa ends and buses taking away the passengers when they got downtown. They've already got the dock where the Superferry was for the town side end.
Between Ewa and Hawaii Kai is mostly leeward, too, so it's semi-protected waters. Once you go inter-island, you're in open ocean as soon as you leave the dock so the level of seaworthiness of your ferry has to go up.
Seattle has their transportation pretty well figured out, maybe we can send the planners over there to look at how they did it. You get one ORCA card which works on the buses, light rail, ferries and parts of the heavy rail, too. Flash your card at the bus/ferry/rail and get on. It automatically tracks if you need a transfer and the card can be refilled at many locations. The buses, rail and ferries seamlessly integrate so you can go from one to the other without effort. If they are going to have a ferry system, they need to integrate it with the existing bus system.
I think its crazy, its like the get rich quick schemes. Why would hawaii senators be debating the interstate ferry system again? They already have lightrail and redevelopment of kakaako and other projects. This is kinda another example of going to extremes. Not that a state ferry system isn't a bad ideal. Its just that there are other areas of life that tax money could be invested to better the state. Like better hospitals, schools, new state industries besides tourism, cleaning up neighborhoods etc etc. Is the state government becoming a one trick pony?
I've never understood how we do not have a good ferry system from Hawaii Kai to Ewa side, with stops in between. I'm betting that would be cheaper than rail, but as it is already started I would think the combination would be complimentary.
I think is unfortunate that we lost the inter-island ferries, and the ability to travel, exchange goods and produce between islands easily, due to politic-ing.
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I've never understood how we do not have a good ferry system from Hawaii Kai to Ewa side, with stops in between. I'm betting that would be cheaper than rail, but as it is already started I would think the combination would be complimentary.
I think is unfortunate that we lost the inter-island ferries, and the ability to travel, exchange goods and produce between islands easily, due to politic-ing.
I don't know to many people on here that remember as far back as i do in oahu. I know pj, hotcatz, jung and melaniej65 probably go back further? But i could swear i have a memory of a ferry boat in oahu? You maybe right Mikala about oahu used to have a ferry.
There was a ferry on Oahu and it was a rather nice one as far as the boat itself went. It just didn't connect to anything. No parking at the ferry terminal, no connecting buses, you were just in Ewa Beach with nowhere to go and no way to get there. I think it's a great idea, but it just wasn't implemented properly. A new ferry route could cover a lot of the congested highway routes, too. It could go from Waianae, Ewa, West Loch, East Loch, Honolulu, Kewalos, maybe even Waikiki (the Hilton has a small dock or perhaps over by the Natorium) and then on to Hawaii Kai. Maybe even Waimanalo, Kailua and Kaneohe. Get enough ferries going around and the highways would be empty.
Even really small water taxi or small ferries could go from Waikiki to Kewalos to downtown and back. That's pretty protected waters. Up and down the Ala Wai if the ferry didn't draw much water.
I know we had Oahu ferries twice, but I was under the impression it was done poorly (like Hotzcatz noted).
We essentially have all the "road" (water) way we could ever possibly need for (mostly) free, and we don't use it.
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u left out the one from iraquois point to pearl harbor....
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