The state of Hawai’i won’t be getting into the ferry business any time soon. But according to Julia Tsumoto, of the state Department of Transportation’s planning section, Hawai’i is more than willing to assist private businesses that want to move
The state of Hawai’i won’t be getting into the ferry business any time soon.
But according to Julia Tsumoto, of the state Department of Transportation’s planning section, Hawai’i is more than willing to assist private businesses that want to move residents and tourists on the water from island to island.
Tsumoto said a serious problem that once faced potential inter-island ferry operators is no longer a concern.
“We’ve been informed by some private operators that the bigger boats in use in other areas, with roll-on for vehicles, are so big that they are much more stable (in the water) and would be 99 percent (time) reliable, even on the open seas, she said.
But big boats or not, the cost to consumers would not be comparable to other systems.
In the Seattle, Wash. area, some one-way, hour-long trips on state-operated ferries cost $8.50 for a resident and his or her car, and $9.25 for an out-of-state visitor with vehicle.
Rainbow Transportation Group, a Las Vegas, Nev.-based company trying to start a passenger ferry service connecting Oahu, Maui and Molokai (for starters) by later this year, said the approximately five-hour round-trip would cost $80 for residents and $135 for visitors.
The Legislature passed a bill last session that authorized Rainbow’s operating company to secure almost $50 million in facility revenue bonds from the state to finance construction improvements at Kaunakakai Harbor on Molokai), Maalaea Harbor on Maui and Honolulu Harbor.
“The state would like to work with the private operators. They are not asking anything from us. They have a regular business plan. They get the use of (state) facilities, pier space, and we’ll charge them rent,” Tsumoto said.
The state itself isn’t interested in running a system like the one in Washington, where the boats are owned and maintained by the state and the crews and other employees are on the state payroll.
“We would have to get involved in purchasing vessels. With a private firm, they would take responsibility for the vessels,” she said.
And according to Tsumoto, Rainbow and other private firms wouldn’t necessarily have a negative impact on airlines serving inter-island travelers.
“They are thinking its a very good market, an untapped market. They would not be affecting the airlines,” Tsumoto said.
If potential ferry operators are correct about an untapped market, “they would be bringing more money back into the Hawai’i economy,” she said.
Visitor-industry groups on Kaua’i and Oahu are in favor of the proposed inter-island ferries.
“Of course, any time we can make it easier and more cost effective for visitors to move between islands, that’s great. And the ferries would provide a different kind of experience, a different way for visitors to experience the ocean,” said David Preece, vice president for North America of the Oahu-based Hawai’i Visitors and Convention Bureau. “And drive-on, drive-off boats would we be a benefit and a new dimension for state residents who could travel with their cars from island to island.”
Support from within the tourist industry also can be found on Kaua’i.
“Any form of alternative transportation to Kaua’i that is supportive of economic development is good for Kaua’i. We, of course, support the airlines, but this would be another alternate way to get us visitors,” said Margy Parker, executive director of the Po’ipu Beach Resort Association.
Prodding interest in ferries is the pending merger of Aloha Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, seen by consumers as a potential reduction in inter-island air passenger service and a possible increase of the cost of flying. The merger is expected to take effect in the first half of this year.
Rainbow Transportation Group, and any other private firm interested in providing inter-island ferry service, would also have to go through a review of its finances to make certain the companies meet state and federal requirements.
State officials said private companies would also be required to purchase enough insurance to cover any future business failure or default.
Some of the ferries proposed for Hawai’i by Rainbow would be jetfoils, traveling at an average speed of 45 miles per hour.
Similar vessels in the Washington State Ferries system operating on Puget Sound are restricted from attaining those speeds because of the proximity of shoreline housing and the affect of wakes on private beaches and bulkheads. The speed limit was brought about by a lawsuit by landowners.
“I think the technology is available now for a passenger-only system. But it would be at great expense,” David Black, an engineer for Washington State Ferries said.
The last full-time inter-island ferry system, Seaflite Ferry, operated in Hawai’i from 1975 to 1978, shutting down after only 31 months in the water. During that period, Seaflite vessels had one known strike of a humpback whale, and that raises another concern: That inter-island ferries would pose a danger to large marine mammals.
But Tsumoto said modern technology has all but solved that problem, too, through the use of sensors “that we would require” for the boats.
She noted that in the year-long (October 1999 to October 2000) trial run of the Wikiwiki ferry demonstration project on Oahu, sensors were employed on the 1992-model Foilcat hydrofoil, and no whales or other large marine mammals were struck.
The 50-minute ferry from Kalaeola Barber’s Point Harbor and Pier 9 (Aloha Tower) took 50 minutes.
Staff writer Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and mailto:dwilken@pulitzer.net
