Free Oakland-Alameda water shuttle launches — then shuts down due to mechanical issue

When the bright yellow water shuttle approached the dock near Jack London Square in Oakland on Wednesday morning, there were a few groans from the crowd onshore.  

They had expected to be the first riders on the new ferry service between Oakland and Alameda. But when the boat arrived, it was already brimming with passengers from Alameda — an “off-the-books” journey for people who had brought the project to fruition, as one Alameda official put it.