Hawaii super ferry redoux

[dan d]

Civil beat
Looks like they are trying to bring it back


HPP

[Obie]

No one is trying to bring it back.It's an opinion article.

https://www.civilbeat.org/2019/11/danny-...ry-system/

[kalakoa]

1. Raise taxes to pay for ferry system
2. Spend all new revenue defending ferry system in court
3. Profit!

[SBH]

I would love to see the Super Ferry come back but it would be fought tooth and nail by the car rental companies, inter island airlines and Young Brothers.

[kalakoa]

fought tooth and nail by the car rental companies, inter island airlines and Young Brothers

Not at all -- they would merely demand an offset surcharge, collected from all ferry tickets and remit to a special fund to be divided among those industries which are "suffering".

Seriously, though: I've long found it unconscionable that the airlines can charge whatever they want for interisland flights when there's no other practical way to, say, visit certain State agencies, take the in-person CBP interview for TSA PreCheck™, etc. It's exactly the kind of racketeering you get with a captive audience.

[Guest]

Deader than a doorknob. It's an opinion piece by someone who's opinion is uninformed of the facts.

Here's a quote from HDOT'S December 2017 feasibility study of a more recently proposed Hawaii ferry system:

Found at: https://hidot.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uplo...r-2017.pdf

On page one of the executive summary it reads:

"In each area of analysis, the inter-island, intra-county, and intra-island ferry systems are infeasible. From a technical standpoint, the lack of available pier space and the significant costs required of constructing new pier facilities to accommodate a ferry system are the primary barrier to feasibility. From a commercial perspective, the expectations of Hawaii’s residents and the reality of a ferry system are incompatible. While the interest or support for a ferry system, inter-island or other, is significant, the pool of likely users is relatively insignificant. Financially, none of the proposed ferry systems is self-sustaining, and a State subsidy is largely the missing factor in making the numbers pencil."

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Financially, none of the proposed ferry systems is self-sustaining, and a State subsidy is largely the missing factor in making the numbers pencil."

Three questions:
1). Could the same be said of HART?
2) Was HART approved, and is it now under construction?
3) Will HART only be used by residents of Oahu? Would the Superferry be used by all island residents?

[kalakoa]

Don't forget that "Oahu is the economic engine of the State", and therefore HART will benefit everyone, even people who don't live on Oahu -- at least that's the claim. The reality is closer to "neighbor islands paying for it anyway".

If a State subsidy is necessary for a ferry system to "pencil out", why not just skip ahead to subsidized airfare and rental cars for residents who travel interisland?

Better yet, designate the ferry service as an "interstate" and get some Federal funding.

[Obie]

We have subsidized airfare, just have to fly out of Waimea and want to go to Maui.

[SBH]

Today the Hawaii Super Ferries are called The Cat.

https://www.ferries.ca/thecat/

“Due to continued construction and related approval processes at the Bar Harbor ferry terminal, it is anticipated that the earliest date on which any service could commence is in the late summer range.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HST-2?wprov=sfti1