A brand new free water shuttle between Alameda Landing on the west end of Alameda Island on the foot of the tubes and Jack London Square in Oakland is scheduled to start operating later this month.
The Oakland Alameda Water Shuttle will begin operations on Wednesday, July 17, and can operate 37 trips per day. Each trip will take lower than 10 minutes. The 45-foot yellow pontoon vessel will accommodate roughly 34 people and 14 bicycles and will probably be operated by San Francisco Bay Ferry.
The undeniable fact that the water shuttle will carry bikes is a win for the cycling community, said Justin Hu-Nguyen, co-executive director of Mobility Justice in Oakland.
“There are big problems on the west side of Alameda getting to Oakland,” Hu-Nguyen said. “We've been waiting for this for a long time.”
There isn’t any pedestrian or bicycle access within the Webster Tube and only a 36-inch wide elevated path through the Posey Tube – the primary arteries to and from the island.
Cyclists say the ride could be scary and noisy, and the black soot on the partitions is an indication of the poor air quality within the underwater tunnel. Buses run between West Alameda and Jack London Square, however the ride takes far longer than 10 minutes. The ride from West Alameda to Jack London Square takes about 10 minutes, but can take longer during commuter hours.
“We are thrilled to have found a way to create a pleasant connection for pedestrians and cyclists between Oakland and Alameda's west end,” said Mike O'Hara, board chairman of the Alameda Transportation Management Association, in an announcement. “This gap has existed for far too long and we greatly appreciate the commitment of our funding partners, the City of Alameda and SF Bay Ferry, to creating this shuttle.”
The project has been within the works for about 15 years, but funding has been difficult. The two-year pilot project is funded with $1 million from the Alameda County Transportation Commission and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and greater than $1.7 million from the Alameda Transportation Management Association, the West Alameda Transportation Demand Management Association, the Port of Oakland, the Jack London Improvement District and town of Alameda.
The latest boat even has a reputation.
Sarah Henry, Alameda's communications and legislative commissioner, said the project team named the boat Woodstock “because the boat is yellow like Snoopy's friend Woodstock, but Woodstock is also one of the three original settlements established in Alameda in 1853, 171 years ago.”
The boat transports people across the Oakland Estuary from Alameda on Wednesdays and Thursdays starting at 7:15 a.m., with the last boat of the day leaving Alameda at 7:25 p.m. On Fridays, the water taxi departs Alameda starting at 8:15 a.m., with the last boat leaving Alameda at 8:00 p.m. The weekend morning schedule is similar as Fridays, except the last water taxi of the day departs Alameda at 8:05 p.m. There isn’t any service on Mondays and Tuesdays.
“I am very pleased that Woodstock will be served by SF Bay Ferry, which currently operates transbay ferries connecting Oakland and Alameda to destinations in San Francisco and the Peninsula,” Alameda Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft said in an announcement.
The water shuttle will operate between public piers at Bohol Circle Immigrant Park, on the foot of fifth Street in Alameda, and on the foot of Broadway at Jack London Square. The Alameda pier is near grocery stores and shopping at Alameda Landing, in addition to parks and latest residential developments. The Oakland pier is situated in the center of Jack London Square, a preferred shopping and dining destination within the East Bay.
The water shuttle was purchased from a New York tour boat operator and transported cross-country to Svendsen's Bay Marine shipyard in Richmond for maintenance and repairs. The U.S. Coast Guard will conduct a final inspection of the boat before it’s launched on July 17.
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