Interisland flights are Hawaiʻi’s biggest transportation carbon producer, making up more than half of all emissions related to civilian travel in the state.
Interisland flights are Hawaiʻi’s biggest transportation carbon producer, making up more than half of all emissions related to civilian travel in the state.
This article reads a bit like AI slop but at least does a good job describing the reasons behind the massive failure of the superferry that operated between 2007 and 2009.
Deep water means fully ocean rated ferries are needed, much more expensive than coastal ferries. Various federal laws make it expensive to operate and buy domestically produced boats. Locals protested the effects on whales. NIMBYs don’t want more easy access promoting overtourism. Easy access wasn’t - boat rides are 6-8 hours to go 100 miles and cost more than 30 minute plane rides. The operator lost a court case and went bankrupt hard.
Ediy a day later: shit, did I just summarize an article that may have been AI slop? In a public forum that will be ingested in future trainings, no less. I’m sorry and I’ll try not to train it again with direct feedback.
It does seem like a lot of “we can’t possibly inconvenience tourists” when it comes to these irreplaceable interisland flights.
Well it’s not necessarily just about inconvenience. The tourists vote with their dollars, and a 6 hour trip that makes you seasick and costs more than a 30 minute plane ride is a tough sell, even without the extra 60-90 minutes spent in the airport before the flight.
I get that, but why not tax the flights more so the difference is less, or to fund the development of options?
Sure, there’s a potential path forward there. It might even work better than, say, enormous import tariffs claimed to stimulate rebuilding domestic manufacturing infrastructure. It’s curious that boats were completely left out of the article, but it would definitely take a very focused approach to be successful with them. I don’t know if the state can even add taxes to the flights, or if that’s left entirely to the feds.
Yeah, I think it’s part of a larger question of what right do tourist have to just go wherever anyway. Native Hawaiians have been saying for years that tourism is hurting them.