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Bay Area Water Transit Initiative
Charting the Course

February 1999

Preface
 
Transportation and mobility rank among the Bay Area's most significant challenges. Rated the "Number One" concern year after year in the Bay Area Poll and by record numbers in 1998, transportation problems and traffic congestion diminish the region's economic vitality, erode the quality of life, and threaten competitiveness in the global economy. Working pro-actively to promote a set of solutions, major business associations and economic development organizations throughout the Bay Area collaborated in 1996 in an unprecedented show of unity, issuing a Call to Action and adopting a Transportation Action Plan. A new regional water transit system is featured prominently in the Transportation Action Plan.

Recognizing the potential that water transit has for regional mobility and quality of life, the Bay Area Council and the Bay Area Economic Forum cooperatively convened a wide spectrum of regional experts, stakeholders, and key decision makers in a series of symposia, interviews, and fact finding sessions during 1996 and 1997. These sessions were conducted in cooperation with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Bay Conservation and Development Commission, and CalStart.

During this same time period, Mr. Ronald H. Cowan, Chairman and CEO of the Doric Group and a long-time champion of ferry services, retired from full-time involvement in his business and volunteered to lead a renewed campaign to establish a world-class water transportation system in the Bay Area. More than a decade earlier he had spearheaded a two-year project partially funded by the Urban Mass Transit Administration that demonstrated the feasibility of operating a hovercraft to destinations throughout the Bay Area. With his continuing passion for water transit and more time to contribute to public service, Mr. Cowan consulted Senator Bill Lockyer, who was then President Pro Tempore of the California Senate (and now California Attorney General), San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, and Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris. San Jose Mayor Susan Hammer and city officials were also consulted. Senator Lockyer and the mayors encouraged Mr. Cowan and the Bay Area Council and the Bay Area Economic Forum to join forces around a united effort, which became the Bay Area Water Transit Initiative.

These cooperative efforts culminated in September 1997, when the California State Senate under the leadership of Senator Lockyer unanimously passed Senate Resolution 19, authored by Senator Barbara Lee (now a member of Congress), directing the Bay Area Council and the Bay Area Economic Forum to form a Blue Ribbon Task Force, study and explore the feasibility of greatly expanding water transportation, and report back with recommendations and an Action Plan (see Appendix). Congressmember Lee has continued to provide extraordinary assistance at the federal level to explore opportunities to advance water transit.

None of these developments would have been possible without the pioneering efforts of State Senators Quentin Kopp and Bill Lockyer. Over the decades of service as Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, Senator Kopp became steadfastly committed to water transit services, laying the groundwork for the recommendations from the Task Force. Together with Senator Lockyer, he legislated the inclusion of water transit as an eligible spending category for toll bridge revenues when the 1988 Regional Measure One was passed by the voters. These elected leaders also advanced legislation which permanently rescinded the restrictive language concerning transbay ferry transportation in the Streets and Highways Code and were instrumental in having $30 million earmarked for ferry services in Proposition 116 which was approved by the voters in 1990.

Since the launch of the Bay Area Water Transit Initiative, State Senator John Burton, currently President Pro Tempore of the California Senate, has provided dedicated leadership to advance the concept and potential for water transit in the region. Senator Don Perata, Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Bay Area Transportation, is setting the example for bold action by authoring legislation to implement the recommendations from the Task Force. And, Assemblymember Tom Torlakson, now Chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee, has continuously encouraged and supported the Bay Area Water Transit Initiative. In addition, several elected state and federal representatives from the Bay Area have followed the work of the Task Force and provided input and counsel to the Initiative. We are grateful for their interest and involvement.

Formation of the Task Force. As directed by the State Senate, the Blue Ribbon Task Force was appointed by the Chairman of the Bay Area Council, T. Gary Rogers, Chairman and CEO of Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Inc., and the Chairman of the Bay Area Economic Forum, Dr. Chang Lin Tien, NEC Distinguished Professor of Engineering and former Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley. Fifty-two distinguished Bay Area leaders serve on the Task Force, coming from the top ranks of regional government, business, labor, environmental organizations, and community groups. Ronald Cowan serves as Chair. Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown serve jointly as Vice Chairs. Before their retirement, former Mayors Elihu Harris of Oakland and Susan Hammer of San Jose provided significant leadership in launching the Bay Area Water Transit Initiative and moving it forward.

Scope of Work. The members of the Task Force met for the first time on March 30, 1998 in San Jose. This was a historical gathering with all three mayors of the largest cities in the region in attendance to launch the Bay Area Water Transit Initiative. At this meeting, the Task Force adopted a Scope of Work and approved a process for engaging professional expertise and other necessary resources to carry out the investigation. According to the Scope of Work, the primary objectives of the Bay Area Water Transit Initiative are:
  1. Develop a broad-based consensus on a bold vision, ensure the vision makes good economic sense, and prepare an Action Plan that will increase regional mobility through expanded water transit on the San Francisco Bay.
  2. Identify and resolve the institutional issues necessary to implement the Action Plan.
  3. Formulate a realistic and achievable funding strategy in order to execute the Action Plan.
Embedded in the Scope of Work was the task of investigating successful water transportation systems in other regions to determine the characteristics of a world-class system. Once identified, these characteristics or "success factors" associated with a world-class system have become the defining parameters for a new water transportation system in the Bay Area. The Task Force further adopted this working hypothesis: In order to develop a world-class system capable of achieving a measurable improvement to regional mobility, there would need to be established a certain "critical mass" of a system that incorporated all the world-class success factors. In other words, the working premise rejected an incremental approach to expanding existing services as doomed to failure because, short of the "critical mass," the service by definition would be incapable of attracting enough ridership to make a significant impact on the increasing regional traffic congestion and mobility challenge. Thus, the Task Force started work from the premise that only a bold vision would be capable of becoming a viable reality.

Although dedicated to a bold vision, the Task Force also directed that any effort to develop a comprehensive water transit system must protect the ecological integrity of the San Francisco Bay and must embrace an ethic and spirit that celebrates the majesty of the Bay.

Consultant Selection. An extensive, open Request-for-Qualifications process was used to invite proposals from professional and technical experts that resulted in responses from over 40 firms and consultants throughout the United States and abroad. The bids were reviewed by staff and by technical experts on loan from the Ports of Oakland and San Francisco, as well as the San Francisco Planning Department. The Dames & Moore Group of San Francisco was selected as the lead consultants on the project. Other consultants were added to the Dames & Moore team as specialized expertise was needed for the investigation.

Funding. To finance this effort, significant investments in staff and other resources by the Bay Area Council and the Bay Area Economic Forum were matched by the Port of Oakland, the Port of San Francisco, and the San Francisco International Airport, each of which contributed $50,000 to the project. The Ports of Oakland and San Francisco also submitted a joint application to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for a portion of the Bay Area toll bridge funds specifically earmarked for water transportation, and received an additional $50,000. The remaining funding was provided by the State of California, which allocated $600,000 for the project in the state budget for the fiscal year 1998-99.

Advisory Oversight and Public Input. More than merely the result of independent analysis, the findings presented here are informed by significant input and advice from a number of advisory and oversight bodies, as well as from the public at large. Three separate advisory bodies have been established to provide guidance to the Task Force:
  1. A Technical Work Group, composed of the executive staff of cooperating organizations and agencies.
  2. A Stakeholders Conference, composed of current or prospective providers or sponsors of water-based or water-linked transportation.
  3. A Policy Advisory Group, composed of interested federal and state legislators or their representatives.
Additionally, a series of six public forums were scheduled as listed below in order to gather input and feedback. Five have been held to date. Each forum drew large numbers of participants who were very positive and enthusiastic about the Bay Area Water Transit Initiative.

  May 9, 1998 Martinez
  May 29, 1998 Redwood City
  September 25, 1998 Sausalito
  October 19, 1998 San Francisco
  October 29, 1998 Oakland
  March, 1999 San Jose


Compelling Conclusion. It is on the basis of the above investigation, analyses, and public input that the Blue Ribbon Task Force presents its findings and recommendations in the pages that follow. They are informed by a broad array of experts and decision-makers, as well as considered opinion from the general public; they build upon the leadership that has gone before, and owe their pressing insistence to the urgency of the situation engulfing us.

The overarching conclusion is very clear: the time has come to build in the Bay Area the best high-speed water transit system in the world.

With the Bay such a dominant feature of the regional landscape, it is impossible any longer to minimize its potential as a travel corridor. This document provides substantial evidence and analysis to support this conclusion and chart a course for the future. As important as it is to address the mounting traffic problems in the region, implementing the bold vision will have a far-reaching impact: A majestic body of water, the Bay is the unifying feature of the region. A proud fleet of vessels spanning its great expanse would weld profound psychological linkages, between our disparate sub-regions, and with the natural beauty that defines the region. The effect on the collective psyche will be immediately perceptible. The service will inaugurate an enduring symbol of the region, inspiring identification and affection here and elsewhere--in this respect the boats will accomplish for the Bay Area what the cable car accomplished for San Francisco. The pleasure in their use will attract a continuously growing stream of visitors to the region, who will be eager to experience for themselves, say, the enjoyment of an on-board tailgate party before a big game, afternoon on-board jazz concerts, or the excitement of joining a group for a jaunt across the Bay to catch the symphony or a play.

With a comprehensive system in place, the region will be poised to respond to natural disaster. Exposed as we are to periodic seismic events, it behooves us to have transportation systems fully established and operational that are capable of operating during times of emergency and to assist in disaster recovery. In the case of a major earthquake, the water will likely be the only unaffected transportation mode, making this investment more than merely desirable.

The press of daily events, however, is where we find the justification that connects at the most visceral level with the region’s traveling public--the same public that rated transportation and mobility their number one concern in the 1998 Bay Area Poll. As the century comes to a close, our prodigious economic success has combined with the attractiveness of this region to create a situation that is simply untenable in the long run. We cannot continue losing thousands of hours in traffic congestion; we cannot ignore the harmful effect mobile emissions have on regional air quality; we cannot sustain the long-term economic drain on the world-class corporations that are headquartered here; we cannot expect to keep a highly-educated workforce in residence if the quality of life is no longer appealing.

These are formidable public policy problems that admit to no simple solutions. Nor is water transit a panacea for the litany of transportation-related ailments we suffer in the Bay Area. But it is the most sweeping powerful action available to us and it comes packaged with an unusually impressive array of salutary effects. It is rare, in the policy realm, to happen upon a solution that has such an overwhelming level of public support, that ignites the same degree of positive sentiment, and whose implementation doesn’t require financially intolerable and politically impossible aquisitions of right-of-way or other harsh trade-offs with affected constituencies. Of course, the system will indeed require hard choices. Terminals will have to be sited. A dedicated source of funding will have to be identified. New governing institutions may have to be created. Our report turns now to a detailed description and analysis of these very issues, and a set of carefully considered recommendations which we enthusiastically encourage our elected representatives to endorse and enact.