New City Ferry Means Less traffic in Oahu's future

Traffic has been a growing problem in Oahu for some time now. Actually there is pretty bad traffic in the entire state. Especially bad are the commutes from Ewa Beach and Kapolei to Honolulu. Recently I've noticed that it's getting worse and worse from Kailua and Kaneohe to town too. It can take about 40 minutes to get from Kailua into town, and depending on where you're going in town, it can take a while once you get into town too.

To relieve the traffic a bit, the The city of Honolulu has launched its new ferry which will take people from the west side into town. It's called simply, "TheBoat." The new Oahu commuter ferry service started serving the public last Monday.

From the Star:

TheBoat now makes three weekday trips in each direction between Barbers Point
Harbor in Kalaeloa and Aloha Tower. The ferries is linked at Barbers Point to new bus routes serving. From Aloha Tower, buses will go to the University of Hawai'i-Manoa and to Waikiki via Ala Moana. A single fare pays for the one hour ferry ride and the buses at each end

The one-way fare for adults is $2, and bus passes also will be honored. Fresh-brewed coffee and a "grab-and-go" breakfast will be available for purchase on TheBoat, and restrooms are also available.

How many people will actually take the ferry? I'm not sure, but if you have to drive from Barber's point all the way to town each day, I'm sure it would be nice to sit on a boat instead, assuming you don't get seasick. The traffic driving from Waianae and Ewa Beach is pretty bad, so any relief we can get would really help. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and say this: if the traffic problem in Ewa was completely resolved, home prices there would skyrocket.

I know it's not just the traffic, but that is the biggest issue for Ewa Beach. That's why this ferry and also the train that is supposed to be built in 15-20 years will be huge for that community. If there was a lot less traffic, retailers would be willing to build down there, and way more people would be willing to live there.

What I don't understand is - if the city is willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a train, why not just spend a fraction of that widening the roads in and Ewa and Kapolei? Homes in Ewa and Kapolei are of great quality, and being newer, larger, and cheaper, they are markets that have alot of potential if the infrastructure would support it.

On that topic, now that the new courthouse is coming to Kapolei in a couple years, there should be quite a bit less traffic coming all the way into town from the west side. I don't know how many people come to the courthouse in Honolulu everyday, but it has to be in the thousands. I've been there at 7am and there is a line at every door.

If you think about the number of people coming all the way from the west side to the courthouse, and even the people in Aiea and Pearl City going to court, you realize that the new court and all the surrounding things that will come with it are going to be great for west side real estate prices.

The more Kapolei grows, the more that West Oahu real estate will benefit.