Bay Area Council Unveils Website on Bay Area Water Transit Initiative.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 28, 1999--

The Bay Area Council today announced that the Bay Area Water Transit Initiative, a bold plan calling for an extensive high-speed ferry transit system for the Bay, has its own website. The address is www.bayareacouncil.org/watertransit. The site can also be reached by accessing the Bay Area Council website at www.bayareacouncil.org, then clicking on the icon for the Water Transit Initiative.

The Bay Area Water Transit Initiative, which is being spearheaded by the Bay Area Council and the Bay Area Economic Forum at the direction of the State Senate, is intended to relieve the Bay Area of its increasingly congested freeways and roads. The system would consist of some 120 vessels shuttling between 35 to 40 bayside terminals while transporting 25 to 30 million passengers per year, approximately seven times the region's current ferry passenger total. The initiative is being led by a 52-member Blue Ribbon Task Force consisting of Bay Area private and public sector leaders, including the mayors of the region's biggest cities, and chaired by businessman Ron Cowan. Following an April 28 event at San Francisco's City Hall, the Task Force will submit its final report to the state Legislature for approval.

The website will be used to share facts, figures and plans about the Bay Area Water Transit Initiative, as well as to invite public comments and questions through an online questionnaire.

"Given the scope, importance and ramifications of the plan, one of the most important things for us to do is to seek public involvement and support," remarked Russell Hancock, Vice President of the Bay Area Council. "That's why this website is important. It will serve as a valuable tool for sharing important news with the public and for receiving public feedback."

The Bay Area Council is a CEO-led, business-sponsored public policy organization founded in 1945 to promote regional economic prosperity and quality of life in the Bay Area. The Council presents a strong, united voice for more than 225 major employers from throughout the region to help shape public policy affecting transportation, environmental quality, sustainable economic development, housing and land use, water policy, education and workforce preparation, and telecommunications infrastructure and information technology.