Mike Baird | Member for Manly - A Victory for Manly's Fast Ferry Commuters

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A Victory for Manly's Fast Ferry Commuters

Tuesday, 02 December 2008

While the future of Sydney Ferries remains uncertain, the Manly community has had a win with the NSW Government giving in to pressure to open the fast ferry service to private tender, said Manly MP Mike Baird.

�When the Premier and Transport Minister axed the Manly JetCats in the Mini Budget, they were content to offer no alternative fast ferry service, despite thousands of commuters relying on the JetCats every day,� Mr Baird said.

�On 23 October the Premier told Parliament, �the JetCat provides an unreliable service duplicated by a 30-minute ferry service and numerous bus services from the Northern Beaches� we must now consider the viability of the existing service�.

�The Manly community rallied in protest and today the Transport Minister has confirmed an Expression of Interest will be issued this week to invite private operators to tender to run Manly�s fast ferry service.

�The Transport Minister said a shorter term contract will be offered until the future of the entire Sydney Ferries is determined at the end of next year.

�This will be an opportunity to see what the private sector can offer Manly commuters and certainly any positives or negatives will be conveyed when the future of Sydney Ferries is considered in 12 months time.

�There is no doubt that people power and pressure from the Manly community captured this win for thousands of commuters, which the NSW Government was happy to leave stranded.

�Well done to the hundreds of commuters who wrote to the Minister and signed petitions demanding the retention of their fast ferry service. I also congratulate Manly Council and the role of the Fix Our Ferries Group in helping to secure this win.

�We urge all private operators to contact the Ministry of Transport if they are interested in running the Manly fast ferry service and we look forward to an improved service for commuters.�

Mr Baird said the Mayor of Manly, the General Manager of Manly Council and the Chair of Manly�s Fix Our Ferries Group joined him in today�s meeting with the Transport Minister.

The NSW Government will withdraw the JetCats from operation on 31 December 2008.

MEDIA: Lisa Harrington - 0406 726 880

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Comments (4)

Fast ferry service.

Good on you Mike for pushing people power through your website giving us access to the Transport Minister. I am sure the "Private Sector" will show expressions of interest. When the review of the whole "Sydney Ferry" system comes up for tender at least the operator that takes up our service may" have their hat in the ring,"

Posted by: Bruce O'Toole at 04-12-2008 09:45

FAST FERRY SERVICE

Congratulations Mike on your effort and pressure to keep a fast ferry service from Manly to Sydney. I do however hope the private tenderers are not burdened with unreasonable union wages and conditions which challenge the viability of the service and therefore the cost of commuting to the user.

Posted by: bob blackmore at 04-12-2008 10:00

Surely there is a private operator that

Why not try the operator who is running Brisbane's City Cats?
They're expanding their carrying capacity, even though Brisbane is not as reliant on water transport as Sydney is.
Then there's the Pittwater ferry operators, who also seem to be able to make a go of it.
Given that the jetcat fares were never linked to any other public transport fare, it should be an easy thing to cost the operation and set fares, since no concessions need be expected.
I really cannot see how the cost per passenger was so high (did I read $35 or $50 per trip?), given that water taxis seem to be able to make a profit charging similar amounts for a much more personalised service, with no economies of scale at all.

Posted by: Alicia at 04-12-2008 10:07

Surely there is a private operator that

I second Bob Blackmore's comment. There really doesn't seem to be any particular advantage in the Jetcats being government-run public transport. There is no linkage to other fares and I don't recall there being any concession fare, as it is a premium service.
Hopefully the excessive cost of the current service is due to historical reasons and not the true cost of supplying the service.

Posted by: Alicia at 09-12-2008 15:29