New Free Oakland-Alameda Water Taxi Launches Sevice

Submitted by the Event Organizer

A brand new — and free — Oakland Alameda Water Shuttle (OAWS) pilot service will launch Wednesday morning, July 17.

The OAWS, named Woodstock, will carry people across the Oakland Estuary, Wednesday through Sunday, for the next two years. It will offer 37 trips per day that take under 10 minutes. The ferry is free to ride. Bicycles are welcome.

“This pilot program is a public-private partnership designed to help people move easily and sustainably between Alameda and Oakland without driving. Bicyclists and pedestrians can also hop on the shuttle, rather than traveling through the Tube,” stated Alameda Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft.

The water shuttle, a 45-foot yellow pontoon vessel named Woodstock, will operate between public docks at Bohol Circle Immigrant Park, at the foot of 5^th Street in Alameda and the foot of Broadway in Oakland’s Jack London Square. The Alameda dock is close to grocery stores and shopping at Alameda Landing, plus parks and new housing. The Oakland dock is in the heart of Jack London Square, one of the East Bay’s premier shopping and dining destinations, also with housing.

A new limited liability corporation, Big Yellow Boat, purchased MV Woodstock from a tour boat operator in Buffalo, New York, before trucking her cross-country to Svendsen’s Bay Marine boatyard in Richmond for initial maintenance and repairs. SF Bay Ferry staff, in consultation with the City of Alameda and ATMA, designed modifications to allow MV Woodstock to comfortably accommodate bikes and people in wheelchairs. The modifications were made by Romero’s Welding in Vallejo.

The first ride on the OAWS is planned to depart the Oakland dock at 7:00 AM on Wednesday, July 17.

The ferry operates 5 days per week, Wednesdays through Sundays. Service levels may change later depending on funding and season. View the full-service schedule.

The OAWS pilot is funded with $1 million in grant funding from the Alameda County Transportation Commission and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and over $1.7 million from the ATMA, West Alameda Transportation Demand Management Association, Port of Oakland, Jack London Improvement District, and the City of Alameda.

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The Oakland Alameda Water Shuttle service begins July 17! Trips will connect @alameda_landing (near Target/Safeway) and Oakland’s @JackLondonSq Wed.-Sun. See the press release and full details: https://t.co/I1mOGUk6rQ pic.twitter.com/2i3i1MVJv5

— San Francisco Bay Ferry (@SFBayFerry) July 2, 2024

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