Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 4

[LikaNui]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 4

Airfares will not be ridiculously low for long, unless of course an airline is intentionally looking to file bankruptcy. And those ridiculously low airfares also come with a lot of conditions that most people can't meet.

Well, well WELL!!!
I just called Hawaiian Air at 1-800-367-5320 and spoke to a reservations agent named Mary Belle (or Maribel). I asked her about the $29 one-way flights from Honolulu to Maui and she said there were certain restrictions and not many of those seats were available.
I asked her "How many $29 seats are available on each flight?"
She laughed out loud.
"You're the first person to ever ask that," she said. "We've all been wondering when someone would figure it out, because THERE ARE ONLY SEVEN $29 SEATS ON EACH FLIGHT!"

But on SuperFerry, every single ticket costs the same.

[Composite 2992]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 4

With all the wild and unverified spectulation regarding the negative impact of the Superferry, it should be banned. I also think aircraft and cars should have been banned from Hawaii from the start.

Hawaii should have restricted travel to the Lurline and other ships. Air travel made it much too convenient to get here and look a the effects: overpopulation.

If it weren't for airplanes and cars, Hawaii would continue to be one of the most isolated spots on Earth and we wouldn't need H1, H2 or H3. Waikiki would have just two hotels alongside a bunch of privately owned homes. Rail transit would be a trolley drawn by horses and not cost billions of dollars. And we wouldn't be experiencing a pedestrian and auto fatality every other day.

The Superferry is too new and too different. It might be too successful and do bad things to local traffic. It might fail and cost us a lot of money. It'll kill whales and displace canoe paddlers. Let's require an EIS for every single new vehicle or vessel that's brought into this state. Let's start with the Hummer! And don't forget those gigantic cruise ships that dwarf Aloha Tower!!

Put a stop to anything different or innovative. Ban them all!

[dick]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 4

Good god, this is getting lame.

As a person who is from Maui, and goes there quite frequently, and has family there, the ferry can only be seen as a good thing. We all can't wait for it to start.

"Oh, but the traffic, and the foreign species," and the whateverelse you wanna weep and wail about...

Get real... barges ship cars inter-island all the time. I've shipped countless cars, and never once were they "inspected" for critters. Drive that thing on - who gives a rip about mud. So that arguement is moot. The only thing that might change is how banks "require" that you get "permission" to ship cars on loan interisland. Which has always been a semi-retarded requirement since you can drive a car which is on a loan anywhere in the 49 other states without "permission" from the bank.

Next, traffic. "Oh geez, all the increased traffic..." Um, we'll be driving our own cars and not renting... ever think about that? It's my car and not a rental... the rental will be in the lot, and my car will be going up Haleakala Hwy. I don't see an increase in traffic.

It's a sad commentary that this EIS is being waved around. It's even more sad that people are jumping on the band wagon. The ferry did everything it was legally required to do. And now this garbage? Come on.

[LikaNui]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 4

Composite2992 -- you had me going there for a minute, until I realized that your post was completely tongue-in-cheek. Very amusing. Well done.
And JoshuaTree and Dick, thank you for also being voices of logic and reason.

[Miulang]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 4

The EIS IS HAPPENING. Period. No way it's not going to happen. Too bad if HSF is threatening to delay the start date, because the Legislature is certainly not saying that they will do anything to prevent HSF from starting in July.

Dick: Where do you think people waiting to pick up their ohana are going to be able to park? Certainly not in the same area as the cars waiting to board the ferry! If you've ever been down at Kahului Harbor when the Pride of Aloha docks, you will see the massive congestion from rental cars and taxis crammed into that small area. Like the cruise ship passengers, there will be a a bit of a walk for foot passengers to get anywhere, and in its current configuration, there will be competition between pedestrians and cars. And you guys in Honolulu know what happens when pedestrians and cars have to share the same road.

I notice that many of the pro-people are Honolulu residents with ohana on the Neighbor Islands. Good for you that you'll be able to take your cars with you. How many times a year do you think you'll be making that trip?

Miulang

[LikaNui]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 4

And you guys in Honolulu know what happens when pedestrians and cars have to share the same road.

The implication that accidents only happen on O`ahu and not on the outer islands is, of course, nonsense.
And somewhat insulting, too.

[Composite 2992]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 4

Composite2992 -- you had me going there for a minute, until I realized that your post was completely tongue-in-cheek. Very amusing. Well done.
And JoshuaTree and Dick, thank you for also being voices of logic and reason.

Yeah, I was just being a wiseguy! :-)

Another group of people who might want to see the Superferry started up is a relatively small one -- cyclists. Trying to get a bike anywhere via plane can be painful. The case it has to go into is almost the size of a dining table, even with the wheels off. There's an additional $50 fee both ways, compared to $25 on the Superferry. And with the SF it's a matter of ride on/ride off instead of disassemble, pack, unpack for inspection, repack, and then trying to find a place to store the transport case if you're doing a long ride from one part of an island to the next.

Kayakers might find the service useful, too. As would the Boy Scouts when they take a couple of dozen kids on a camping trip.

The SF has the potential to open up more of our islands to more of our residents -- in both directions. And as for negative impact of Honolulu types making a mess of Maui, Kauai and other areas, that's an issue related to education and not means of transportation. Those slobs have been travelling by air for nearly a half-century than via the once-daily trip by the SF.

By the way, I hope the Sierra Club is willing to stick to their principles and never take the SF to do their special projects and trips on the neighbor islands. They'll have to contend with restrictive weight and other limits of air travel and barge shipments, no matter how much time and money it might cost. After all, they did everything they could to discredit and oppose the SF service.

[LikaNui]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 4

Another group of people who might want to see the Superferry started up is a relatively small one -- cyclists. Trying to get a bike anywhere via plane can be painful. (...) And with the SF it's a matter of ride on/ride off

Oh no! Invasive species alert! More traffic! More criminals! Where are all these cycles going to park?!?

[mel]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 4

The EIS IS HAPPENING. Period. No way it's not going to happen.

SB 1276 which requires the state to do EIS for the harbors still has to be heard in the House. So far the State House has not heard nor passed any anti-Superferry, pro-EIS bill.

The representative in charge of the House Transportation Committee has previously stated that he supports the Superferry. The guy is from Maui.

State Rep. Joe Souki, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, has said previously he does not plan to hear the proposal because it is unfair to single out the Superferry. Souki (D, Waihee-Wailuku) declined comment for this story.

Source: StarBulletin.com

Even if SB 1276 gets a hearing in the House, it still needs to be voted on. The committee can vote to pass, hold or defer the bill indefinitely. If it passes, it goes to the House floor and back to the Senate for conference committee (if the bill is revised from the Senate version).

If after conference committee, the House and Senate agree on a version of the bill, then it goes to vote again on both floors for final reading. Only then, if approved in both houses will the bill pass and go to the Governor for signing. If it passes out of the House unamended it would go to the Governor.

And then the Governor has her options too. Veto anyone?

Still a long route to get there. It is not a done deal at this time.

I support the Superferry and have done so ever since I took a tour aboard a similar ferry that Hawaii Superferry Inc. showed off in Honolulu in 2004. Like many of my friends, I can't wait to use it. It is another travel and shipping option for residents, tourists and business.

Snapshot of recent PBN Poll

[LikaNui]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 4

The implication that accidents only happen on O`ahu and not on the outer islands is, of course, nonsense.
And somewhat insulting, too.

Well, well. Look what Breaking News popped up today at this link in the Advertiser:

"A 34-year-old Mountain View pedestrian died today after he was struck late Friday night by a hit-and-run driver on North Kulani Road, one mile north of the Hawai'i Belt Road.
"The Hawai'i Police Department has opened a negligent homicide investigation and are asking for the public's help in providing information.
"The acident occurred at 10:30 p.m. Friday. Police said the man was walking north on North Kulani Road when he was struck by a vehicle traveling in the same direction. The driver fled the scene.
"The man was prnounced dead at the Hilo Medical Center at 2:38 a.m. today."

I guess someone forgot to tell them that these things are only supposed to happen on O`ahu.
My sympathies to the victim, of course. And yes, the typo in the last sentence of the article partially quoted above was a typo in the Advertiser.
Also, I hope you Big Island folks go to that link to see a description of the vehicle that's being searched for.

[LikaNui]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 4

First of all, a big mahalo to Mel for pointing out the truth about the status of the EIS, which is by no means a guaranteed thing, contrary to a certain person's previous and clearly incorrect claim.
But things get interestinger and interestinger. (Yeah, it's not a word. Sue me.)
Someone who loves to post links to almost every news story published in Maui and Oahu seems to have (conveniently?) overlooked this stunning story in the Business section of today's Advertiser. Here are some excerpts and comments:

Headline:
'PARKING GARAGE' SETS SAIL

"Young Brothers' newest barge set off on its first working voyage yesterday afternoon loaded with Subaru Forester rental cars and military vehicles headed for training on the Big Island."

Wait a second. "Military vehicles"? I very clearly recall SuperFerry enemies howling about the chance that the SF might carry military vehicles. Where is that same outcry now that Young Brothers is doing it?
(Gotta love the headline of this article too, by the way. But let's continue.)

"The gleaming-white Kaholo, headed for Kawaihae on the Big Island and then to Maui, is a roll-on/roll-off vessel that's covered to protect its cargo from the sun and sea spray as it travels among the Islands.
"Although it's designed to navigate ocean waters, Young Brothers' latest barge bears more of a resemblance to a floating parking garage than any kind of seagoing vessel. The deck is nearly as long as a football field and about half as wide. The shipping industry nicknames it a "Ro/Ro" barge."
(...)
"Hong said the barge's specialized design allows the company to carry — under cover — as many as 500 cars and trucks, where in the past they could carry only about 40 cars covered."

Hold it right there, Buckwheat. This floating parking garage carries 500 cars at a time?!? Where's the outcry? SuperFerry carries only a hair over half that number, at 282 cars... or only 65 cars with 28 fourty-foot trucks. Is it just because it's Young Brothers that they can get away with no complaints while the SuperFerry gets harassed for half the number?
Let's continue, farther down the article.

"Hong said the company routinely carries 700 to 1,000 vehicles each week, so Kaholo will prove useful."

Up to 1,000 vehicles per week?!? Where is the outcry? Imagine the traffic congestion! Oh. Wait. It's Young Brothers, so it must be okay. Only the SuperFerry gets picked on.

"He said the company owns 12 barges and seven tugs, with another seven tugs at its sister operation, Hawaiian Tug & Barge. He said the next new barge is due in September, with three others coming every six months."

Do the math. That's about an uku-zillion vehicles pouring onto the outer islands, which is way way WAY more than the SuperFerry will carry. And of course the vehicles on the SuperFerry will mostly return to their originating islands at some point, while the ones on the Young Brothers ships will be largely permanent. Pretty darned clear which company will cause easily the most traffic congestion. And it ain't the SuperFerry.

"For customers buying the cars, the vehicles travel protected and get there in days instead of weeks, he said. For companies shipping them, they can move more at a time, whether it's new models or a bump in the rental fleet to handle a Neighbor Island convention.
"It increases our capacity to take cars to the Neighbor Islands in large lots," Hong said. "It improves the service considerably."

Oh swell. Even more traffic congestion. Thanks for nothing, Young Brothers. But your political clout will keep the complaints to a minimum, while the brain-dead will still scream about the SuperFerry.
And have you noticed what's missing in the clips I've cited here and is not mentioned even once in the entire article?

NOT ONE SINGLE WORD ABOUT PREVENTING INVASIVE SPECIES.

[joshuatree]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 4

Where do you think people waiting to pick up their ohana are going to be able to park? Certainly not in the same area as the cars waiting to board the ferry!

I really don't think there will be a lot of SF passengers that require a pick up from their ohana. Most will be passengers that bring their own cars. Otherwise, why not buy a plane ticket instead? It is cheaper (at least for now) and faster.

I am not against the EIS, just the attempt to link an EIS to SF's start date. Since there appears to be a compromise, EIS will be conducted yet SF can start as scheduled, the outcome is reasonable. Although, nothing is finalized yet and some of the wording appears vague which could be problematic.

[hifotog]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 4

I think the ONLY reason why the politics about stopping the ferry is that with the ferry...no more car rentals fees, no more paying $$ more for hauling a surfboard, etc..., no more crowded airlines....especially for people suffering psychological problems with flying, just listen to the commercials playing now on KSSK....alot of +++ for the future of kamaaina.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 4

LikaNui...don't forget the part about "Military Vehicles" such as Strykers maybe? Hmmmm no outcry from our anti military crowd on that one either.

Seems it's the same old same old...it's who you know!

I still have a problem of letting a stranger drive my car onto a barge after signing a waiver regarding theft of personal belongings within your car while being shipped.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 4

Regarding the EIS...as I said before, one of my friends who is an environmental engineer for a well-known engineering firm in Honolulu tells me he has been working on an environmental "assessment" for the SF for over a year already. I'm not sure if it's the EIS but from what I've been told, it's damned close to one.

Ace up the sleeve? Who knows but if I were the owners of the SF with millions of dollars invested, I'd make sure I have that trump ready to use if everything else fails.