Recently there has been a lot of news on the Hawaii Superferry which is starting its interisland service starting in July, to get commuters from one island to the next along with their vehicles.  Another ferry, the West Oahu Ferry will also start their services in July, but will provide a way to get the west side commuters into town (Source: KHON News).

There will be three ferrys, each capable of carrying 150 passengers from Kalaeloa Harbor to Aloha Tower in the morning, then back to the west side in the afternoon.  This will help relieve the stress and traffic associated with commuters who need to get to town from the west side.  Most of my friends live on the west side of the island, and it literally takes them around an hour and a half to get to work.  I once had a coworker who left 3am in the morning to get to work in town so that he could skip traffic.  He would catch up sleep in his car in the parking lot when he arrived.  As you can see, traffic is not only a waste of time, but it can cause a lot of inconveniences.

To make matters even better, five new dedicated bus routes will help people use the ferry to get to their destination.  There will be buses to take people from Waianae, Makakilo and Kapolei directly to the Kalaeloa pier, then buses that go from Aloha Tower to Waikiki and the University of Hawaii.

With only six trips a day (3 in each direction) with three ferrys, about 1350 people will be able to get from the west side to town a day if the ferrys are completely occupied.  This might not really relieve traffic, but it will help it out by putting less cars on the road.  I’m sure with time, the ferrys will be able to occupy more passengers as well as more trips per day.

So what will it cost to ride the ferry?  The same as a bus ride…$2.  The ferry will also operate Monday through Friday as well as holidays.  Bus tranfers can also be used on the ferry ride.  The total travel time from pier to pier will be about an hour.

Although I don’t live on the west side of the island, I am excited about the ferry.  I think in time, the ferry will do lots to relieve traffic and will become an alternative way to get to town from the west side.

• The Boat is here! At least one of them, that is.
• The Boat Runs Into More Problems
• TheBoat Rachel Marie Begins Service Today

               
RSS 2.0 You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.