Who Killed the Superferry?

Sometimes it seems like Hawai'i never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity.

The interisland Superry service was one of those ideas so good, that there was an audible smacking of heads and shouts of "why didn't I think of that?". True to Hawai'i fashion, it was an idea so good that it had to be stopped with all haste, and at any cost.

Right in the middle of a horribly depressed worldwide economy, someone had the balls to provide auto and people transport between the Hawai'ian islands! Untold numbers of mom and pop operations would be given the chance to peddle their wares statewide. People could take trips on other islands without the hassle of renting a car or dealing with the ever stricter airline security measures. Hawaiians could "tour Hawai'i" and keep, maybe even expand local employment opportunities.

What a terrible idea! How can we stop this?

I suspect the real demise of the Superferry had a big fat "U" written all over it. Their monopoly was being threatened. But a quick perusal of the relevant articles has the stereotypical, ever present, useful idiot as the official culprit.

The oh so helpful, pro union, anti transportation, pretend environmentalist faction lent their support, charging that the Superferry had not commissioned a strong enough environmental impact statement.

Lets look at the complaints raised:

Might hit some whales - Any idea of the total naval tonnage already traveling between the islands?

Movement of homeless people to the outer islands - Well, if they could afford the ferry ticket, I wouldn't worry so much

Movement of drug users to the outer islands - Honest! There's no drug users on the outer islands

Militarization - The military already has the means to move anywhere in the world, quite quickly as well. Seriously, who brought this one up?

Traffic - 100 Superferrys a day would have trouble adding enough cars to make an impact, except maybe on Lanai

Good job Hawai'i. Keep failing your people and keep us suckling on the federal handout. Its not like we have people living in their cars, or public bathrooms or anything.