Bill Payne walked off TheBoat at Aloha Tower Marketplace a little before 9 a.m. yesterday with a smile on his face and a lilt in his step.

The ride into town on the city's new commuter ferry service took the 'Ewa Beach resident about 20 minutes longer than the drive into town would have taken under optimum circumstances.

"It was actually a wash for me: It took a little longer, but I got to relax and have a cup of coffee," Payne said. "And I didn't have to deal with the traffic on Fort Weaver Road."

Payne left his Ocean Pointe home, took Geiger Road to what used to be Barbers Point Naval Air Station, shot up Fort Barrette Road to Kapolei and took a shuttle bus to Kalaeloa Harbor, where he boarded the 72-foot Melissa Ann for the ride into town.

"The big advantage was I didn't have to sit there stuck in traffic," Payne said.

On a good day, it takes him about 30 minutes to drive up Fort Weaver Road to the H-1 Freeway and another 30 minutes to drive into town.

As luck would have it, the drive in from Leeward and Central O'ahu took substantially longer than usual yesterday morning because of a four-car pileup in the townbound lanes just past the H-1/H-2 merge.

"The ride was surprisingly rough, but it didn't really bother me since I work around ships quite a bit," said Payne, who is a crew scheduler for Norwegian Cruise Lines.

Once the ferry docked, Payne had about a five-minute walk to the NCL offices at the foot of Bishop Street.

Darin K.H. Mar, a city transportation planner and project manager for the commuter ferry, said 42 passengers were aboard the boat that arrived at 9 a.m. yesterday, while 37 passengers took the 5 a.m. sailing.

A total of 101 passengers rode the ferry to Kapolei Monday afternoon, Mar said. The boat can carry 149 passengers.

"Everybody's schedule is different," Mar said. "Some people might have to get to town earlier than others; some can arrive later. We're trying to provide people with options."

On board yesterday for the 9 a.m. sailing were three Hawai'i Pacific University students, Mar said.

"They told us they are able to leave for school a half-hour later than they were before," Mar said.

He said the city urges people to go to www.trytheboat.com to submit comments and concerns about the service.

"Maybe they want to add a service or suggest a stop at a different destination — we want to know what they want so we can tailor the service to meet their needs," Mar said.

Most of those who rode the ferry to town yesterday morning appeared to be commuters heading for work, Mar said.

"There were a few people in T-shirts and slippers who rode in from Kalaeloa and turned right around and rode it back," Mar said.

"That's OK with us because we want people to try it out and tell their friends about it. Word-of-mouth is one of the strongest marketing forms," he said.

George Wond and his wife took a bus early yesterday morning from their home in Makaha so they could take the 8 a.m. ferry into town.

Wond said the sea conditions were "no problem."

"We plan to hang around town and go shopping until it's time to go home at 4 p.m.," Wond said.

The fare is $2 and includes up to two bus transfers. The one-year pilot program is being operated by Hornblower Marine Services. It is being funded by $5 million in federal grants, while the city is spending $1 million to operate buses in conjunction with the ferry service.

A second ferry will be added to the operation Sept. 26 or later, once it receives Coast Guard approval.

Reach David Waite at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com.