Moloka'i ferry service picks up steam
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
LAHAINA, Maui — After more than six weeks in business, the operator of the newly resurrected Moloka'i-to-Maui ferry says ridership is starting to build slowly following a less-than-sparkling start.
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"We're holding our breath," said Dave Jung, president and general manager of Sea Link of Hawai'i Inc. "We're not at the break-even point yet, but we're approaching it. Hopefully, it's going to work."
The Moloka'i Princess may receive a boost in ridership thanks to a state program and West Maui hotels that are seeking workers.
To date, 22 people have enrolled in the ferry's commuter program, which has employers paying all or some of the discounted tickets offered to workers crossing the channel aboard the 149-passenger Moloka'i Princess. Most of the workers travel four days a week.
"I'm optimistic," Jung said this week. "Every day we're in business, more people are finding out about us. But we don't have the megabucks to promote this."
It appears the ferry will be getting a boost soon.
A state program offering qualified commuters up to 20 days worth of ferry rides has received preliminary approval, according to Alberta Napoleon-Lucas of the state Department of Labor's Workforce Development Division. She said the free passes will help employees travel to their new Maui workplaces before their first paychecks arrive.
What's more, she said, a division-sponsored job fair will be held Friday on Moloka'i. The event, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Kulana 'Oiwi Center near Kaunakakai, will feature at least 12 employers, many of them West Maui hotels looking for workers willing to cross the channel.
A job fair on Moloka'i in February drew 200 people, many of them interested in working on West Maui and commuting by ferry. But that event was held prematurely because of delays in the ferry's startup, Napoleon-Lucas said.
Napoleon-Lucas said she expects another good turnout for the coming job fair. Unemployment on Moloka'i is up to about 19 percent, she said, and unemployment benefits for more than 100 employees laid off following the shutdown of the Kaluako'i Hotel & Golf Club are scheduled to expire in mid-July.
Jung said he believes the job fair may even double the ferry ridership. "Maui has an unprecedented labor shortage," he said.
The Moloka'i Princess makes daily morning and evening commuter runs, as well as sightseeing voyages during the day that are booked by Sea Link's sister company, Island Marine Activities.
Sea Link operated the Maui Princess ferry service between Moloka'i and Maui for 10 years until October 1996, when state subsidies ended. An improving economy prompted Jung to make another go at it, this time without subsidies. But it wasn't the best start when only three people made the inaugural cruise May 7.
Slowly, Moloka'i residents are discovering the employment opportunities available to them via the ferry, Jung said.
Pia Spenser is among the cadre of ferry commuters. She found a reservations job at Island Marine.
But the commute isn't easy. Work days begin at 4 a.m. and she doesn't arrive home until about 7:30 p.m.
"At first, it was hard for my body to get used to. But now I love my job in the office here. It's fast paced, and the day goes by fast," she said.
Sea Link charges commuters $15 per round-trip ticket. Rates for the public are $40 one way for adults and $20 for children. A book of six tickets costs $185.
