But if the Task Force members had done their homework, they would have learned that fast ferries create tremendous environmental and safety problems. They are 34 times more polluting than the natural-gas buses being built for many cities today. Ferries, however, have managed to escape Clean Air Act requirements. Ferries use a dirtier type of diesel fuel than buses and their engines spew massive amounts of cancer-causing particulates and sulfur emissions. These pollutants, which peak during docking and loading operations, frequently wind up in densely populated neighborhoods inhabited by low-income, racially diverse people.
Politicians often ignore problems of environmental justice.
The Water Transit Task Force has ignored them as well. The operation of diesel ferry engines would also dump cancer-causing dioxin into bay waters. Noise pollution and diesel fumes would annoy water recreationists and shoreline residents, destroying one of the last truly peaceful open spaces in the region. San Francisco's Harbor Safety Committee, a government group replete with marine industry experts, warned that such an extensive ferry network would increase the risk of collisions with other vessels and oil spills in the bay. Windsurfers, kayakers, fishers, and marine mammals are also at risk of collisions.