Some 60 people lined up in Oakland for a ride on Woodstock, a ferry designed to carry just over 30, on the first day of operations Wednesday afternoon. They were also there for a start-of-service party.
Unfortunately, the day didn't go as planned. After a successful launch that morning shuttling people between Jack London Square and Western Alameda, the ferry had to be removed from service. But it was back by Friday morning.
From a city of Alameda release:
Repairs to the Oakland Alameda Water Shuttle have been completed and we are resuming service Friday morning, July 19, according to our posted schedule, with the first shuttle leaving Oakland at 8:00 am. You may see non-passenger test runs in the Estuary this evening.
Streetsblog confirmed that the ferry is back in business. The crew told Streetsblog that Wednesday afternoon they noticed an opening in a seam on the corner of the boat. They didn't think it was dangerous, but out of an abundance of caution they decided to cancel service, bring it to the shop, and weld the seam closed.
They also added addition fenders in case it had something to do with bumping the dock too hard.
That hiccup aside, the ferry is already proving popular, with the boat regularly leaving a few people on the dock after reaching capacity. More from Alameda:
More than 775 passengers crossed the Estuary by boat instead of in a vehicle, along with 183 bicycles. The Water Shuttle’s capacity is 31 individuals and 14 bikes. Crews noticed damage above the water line on the vessel on one of the final runs that evening and suspended service immediately. Special thanks to the welders who worked overnight to make repairs and get the shuttle back up and running.
If it continues to draw so many people, the service is going to double as a strong argument for building a bridge across the estuary. From Streetsblog's view, it's also a strong argument for cancelling the Oakland Alameda Access Project, which is vainly trying to increase car capacity in the Posey and Webster tubes. Clearly, people want alternatives to driving, not more traffic. That money would be much better spent fully funding the water shuttle so it can run seven days a week (currently it doesn't run on Monday or Tuesday because of budgetary constraints). There also should be a second boat, so that when there's a problem, the service doesn't have to be cancelled.
