Mike Baird | Member for Manly - Memo to Campbell: Existing Ferries are Not Enough

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Memo to Campbell: Existing Ferries are Not Enough

Wednesday, 14 January 2009

The State Government�s delay in choosing a private operator to run the Manly fast ferry service is posing a safety risk to commuters as existing services struggle to cope with the increased demand, said Manly MP Mike Baird.

�Ferry passengers are clinging to stairwells and bursting out of the aisles � it is not acceptable and I have written to the Transport Minister seeking additional services immediately,� Mr Baird said.

�You can�t simply withdraw a mode of public transport that is relied on by thousands of commuters and cross your fingers that existing services will cope.

�The Transport Minister said ferry services would run at 20-minute intervals during peak, however this is not happening.

�If we are seeing such an overload of capacity in early January when many commuters are on holiday, it is frightening to think what will happen as people return to work.�

Mr Baird said the Government was due to appoint a new operator for Manly�s fast ferry service on Christmas Eve, however it received more tenders than expected.

�The local Fix Our Ferries Group and I wrote to multiple stakeholders including ferry companies around the world to seek their interest in running the fast ferry service.

�It�s great news for commuters that there was a lot of interest, as it�s likely the competitive process will result in a much better service.

�However, the Government needs to either act quickly to appoint a new operator or immediately put additional services on for the transitional period.

�I have made it clear to the Transport Minister that existing ferry services are not sufficient to carry the hundreds of extra passengers who relied on the JetCats.

�During the morning and evening peak, passengers are spilling out of aisles � it is a disaster waiting to happen.�

MEDIA: Lisa Harrington - 0406 726 880

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Comments (13)

Manly ferry service

Agree. This is getting ridiculous. We have no real replacement service. Conditions are cramped and timetables insufficient. My partner finishes work in the city at 6pm. If he runs down to the quay he arrives at 6.15 (just). More often than not it is already full. He then has to wait for the next ferry at 7.00 (that 3/4 hour wait !!). This means he pulls into Manly at 7.30 and home by 7.45. This adds over an hour to his journey home. We Manly residents appear to have been s*** on from a great height and it's about time the government acted to rectify this. Moan over. Thank you (and Thanks Mike for all your efforts to date)

Posted by: Suzy at 15-01-2009 09:03

ferries

hopeless government management

Posted by: ralf at 15-01-2009 09:28

Existing Ferries are not enough

Agree with all comments on the totally inadequate transport state that we as commuters have been left with. A supposedly 'new' summer timetable was realease, not once but twice due to some printying error. How much that error cost no-one would know. But the supposedly 'new timetable' for the peak periods is exactly the same as the old one. What happened to the extra services "at 20 minute intervals" we were promised ? Manly commuters: left high and dry !

Paul

Posted by: Paul O'Brien at 15-01-2009 09:55

Manly Ferry Service

Agree the ferry service is currently inadequate to cope with the large summer crowds.
The timetable has not replaced the services that existed with the jetcat. Commuters are spending a large time in big crowds at the wharf at manly and circular quay as the ferry unloads and loads and there is inadequate seating to cope with the demand.
This will only get worse when school resumes. The peak hour service has also got earlier through to the city as prior jetcat commuters migrate to the road. This is certainly poor management and reflects on the current governments ability to deliver on its promise to replace the jet cat service wth increased ferry services which has not happened

Posted by: louise clarke at 15-01-2009 10:25

Manly Ferry Service

Thanks Mike for chasing this issue.

Potentially if the Government had fronted up with the 20 min, more regular ferry service, as they publicly promised, our desperation for a replacement JC would not have been as great.

The Government have put additional pressure on themselves to make the right decision and have proven once again they're liars, and are not concerned about the plight of the Northern Beaches commuter.

Posted by: Alex at 15-01-2009 10:59

Manly Ferry Service

Mr Rees is now back from NY and from media reports it looks like the state Labour government members have rolled up their sleeves and started focussing on the important issues i.e.internal politics and infighting. Hopefully before 2011 they can spare a few moment to focus on running the state.

Posted by: Alan at 15-01-2009 11:28

Ferries and other services

Mike -it\'s clear the Northern Beaches will stay off any Labor govt\'s radar so perhaps we should seek another sponsor source for ferries, hospitals etc.

As you lnow i believe State Govts are passed ther use by date and we should need only two tiers of govt. with the second being enlarged Council areas eg Northern Beaces incl Mosman perhaps.

Without waiting for that however perhaps we could explore a way for Northern Beaches Councils (NBCs) to form some common entity that could issue govt guaranteed bonds to raise money for utilities, hospital and ferries for instance. In this way the NBCs could actually be the Principal with whom the private contarctors would deal rather than an inept and corrupt State govt?

I;m sure the public (local and wider) would be keen to take up such bonds - say paying between 6 to 8% over a period and safe and redeemable. The NBCs could also borrow from other safe finacial institutions as well for well planned business oportunities that were based on servcies to the local and tourist communties,

Your immediate response is likely to be its too hard or impossible but I\'d suggest to you that such inititiative is what the public wants to see and the opportunity would fre the NBCs form State Govt to actually finance their own destinies. regards carlo.

Posted by: CARLO bONGARZONI at 15-01-2009 12:47

Ferry/Bus service

Hi Mike, Last week mywie & we took 6 of our grandchildren (all 6 -10 yrs) via bus & ferry to the circus at he Opera House. Caught the 4.20pm ferry on return, BUT had then to wait 40mins for a 139 bus which normaly ccnnects with ferries! And it was cold & raining and walking to Q'clff with 6 tired kids was not an option.
So somehow the service ust have fallen in the hrbour! Regards, Richard.

Posted by: Richard Barton at 15-01-2009 16:53

current state leadership

I totally agree. What shocks me even more is the fact that a state leader decides to cease a service without any real plan to minimize impact on tax payers. Wouldn't it make more sense to appoint a new operator to take over the JetCat services before ceasing it so there is no real impact on commuters? What other irrational decisions can we expect from the current state leadership? .

Posted by: Elton Passini at 15-01-2009 18:59

Kevin 08 if you want to get home late...

After getting home close to 8pm today because I missed the 6:15 ferry I told my wife I will have to drive or get a scooter... I do want to see my kids before bedtime. Mismanagement is not good for the environment, or the hospitals, or the schools ..... or our health. Maybe it should be Kevin 11 in you want to go to heaven... because certainly this added stress will send us all to heaven much quicker!

Posted by: Sean at 15-01-2009 21:17

A disaster in motion................

Good on you Mike for speaking to the transport minister, what if we all wrote to the minister and voiced our concerns about this matter. You are very right a disaster waiting to happen, i am worried about my aunt who was distressed after new year when she went to take a ferry to the city. there were so many people around her and she was almost pushed to the ground in the rush to board. This woman is 84 years old and this government is turning Manly residents into an angry mob and it has to stop, so tell us what we can do and i am certain everyone will.

Posted by: Debra Arena at 16-01-2009 10:35

Ferry service

I've been astounded by the cancellation of the jetcats with no alternative plan, but my frustration has reached an all new level today. I came to work late today, which meant that I learnt that ferries are running at 20 minute intervals in the middle of the day! Yet we still only have ferries at 30 minute intervals during peak times. The 11.40 ferry I caught was almost empty. The lack of logic is dumbfounding.

Keep up the great work Mike (and Lisa!). The only upside of the jetcat/ferry debacle is that it shown how committed Mike is to the people of Manly.

Posted by: Kate Horan at 16-01-2009 11:50

Jetcat

How hopeless can this Government of NSW get? Cut a service and not put extra ferries or services on.

Keep up the good work Mike.

Richard Cook

Posted by: Richard Cook at 16-01-2009 14:49