The fast ferry has been big business in Europe and Asia for more than a dozen years and it is catching on in North America. Right now the latest figures show that we have about one-fifth of the world market, but the numbers are going the right way…up! Five ferry projects and services have begun just recently.

Many of you will note that the emphasis to date has been on passenger-only vessels, but do not be dismayed. Projects are in design or construction phases now for fast ferries carrying passengers/cars, passengers/freight or freight only ferries. It hasn’t taken ship owners long to recognize that Americans like their cars, especially on vacations, so I am confident that we will see significant growth in this market.

Ferries are an integral part of America’s maritime policy. Seattle and Tacoma thrive due to the Pacific Rim trade that has supplanted Europe as the major U.S. trade partner. The Washington State Ferry has operated for years transporting thousands of Washingtonians from often-isolated islands to the mainland. Each day passengers are confronted with a difficult decision: to get off and go to work or keep enjoying the paradise all around them.

Alaska and Hawaii also have long turned to ferries to solve their geographic challenges. In the 1990s we saw a resurgence of interest in ferries in many cities with the arrival of fast ferries. New York City has fast ferries now and San Francisco is in the process of acquiring them.

I might add that there are unique geological and geographical conditions facing some communities that can make investment in ferries farsighted. The Loma Prieta earthquake in the San Francisco bay area almost 11 years ago closed the Bay Bridge for a month. Ferry service provided by two fleets, the Blue and Gold and the Red and White, helped some 20,000 passengers per day go to work and live nearly normal lives in the face of natural disaster.

This important legislation directed the Secretary to conduct a study of ferry transportation in America that will report on three things: Identify existing ferry operations; identify potential domestic routes; and identify potential use for high-speed ferry services and alternative-fueled ferries. That report is in the final stages of completion and we will make it public as quickly as possible.

Vice President Gore’s Livable Communities initiative resonates with Americans across the country. Job growth is taking a backseat to quality of living issues for many state and local officials, and increasingly they are turning to ferries to help them reduce congestion and smog from car emissions. Ferries reduce highway construction costs by using existing natural highways—our rivers and waterways. Many people believe ferries are less environmentally stressful than the automobile, and R&D efforts to explore alternative fuels will improve existing emissions. DOT is working with Industry and Government on a MARITECH Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise project that will produce better, safer, and less expensive ferries. We know that noise, wash and exhaust are the three most important environmental issues facing the fast ferry industry and industry and government are working to address these issues.

Fast ferries may well serve a national defense purpose as well. There has been significant amount of investigation underway to identify a faster sealift capability for the military. The Center for the Commercial Deployment of Transportation Technology has received almost $10 million from the Congress. Why? CCDoTT officials are trying to determine what types of high-speed, current and future, commercial vessels might be suitable for military use in times of national emergency. Speed is important not just in helping people ‘beat the clock,’ it may prove to be vital in saving lives and responding to crises more efficiently and effectively.

I am proud of the DoT efforts to date in getting ferries back on the front page of transportation planning. But we need to stay hungry and to demand more of ourselves. How can we stimulate ferryboat service and construction? We have two ideas and I’m confident you have others.

We will be suggesting to Secretary Slater that a government-wide ferryboat task force be established. It could monitor all federal efforts on ferryboat service, regulation and construction. Membership would include the four DOT modes represented today as sponsors—MARAD, Coast Guard, FHWA, FTA—and the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers. At this point we believe that it could be convened as a subcommittee of the Marine Transportation System.