Articles etc: CityCats back

[ozbob]

From the Courier Mail click here!

CityCats back despite falling demand

CityCats back despite falling demand

   * Robyn Ironside and Sarah Vogler
   * From: The Courier-Mail
   * February 14, 2011 12:01AM

BRISBANE City Council has launched an investigation into a dramatic fall in patronage of its CityCat service as part of the fleet returns to the river today.

A flotilla of 15 CityCats and seven ferries took to the Brisbane River yesterday in the most visual sign yet the city is getting back on its feet after last month's floods.

A reduced service will begin today with 15 terminals reopening and temporary facilities expected to be in place at most terminals by the end of April.

However, Translink said the number of passenger trips on the CityCats had plunged steadily in the past 12 months, dropping 12.1 per cent (212,000 trips) in the first quarter of 2010-11 traditionally the busiest period of the year.

At the same time, the number of bus trips jumped by 963,000 (3.2 per cent) and train trips increased by 590,000 (3.7 per cent).

It is believed the express CityGlider bus route between Teneriffe and West End, introduced early last year, lured commuters away from the river with a travel time that was 20 minutes faster than the ferries.

BCC's public and active transport chairwoman Margaret de Wit said council was investigating the decline and could not rule out the impact of State Government fare increases.

Since 2010, fares have increased an average of 35 per cent but the rises also applied to bus and train travel.

Cr de Wit said 18,000 people a day were using the CityCat ferries before the service was shut down due to flood damaged terminals.

Since then, travel times had increased by more than 30 minutes on some roads.

Roads to the eastern and southern suburbs appeared to suffer the worst spike in congestion.

"That clearly shows how valuable the CityCat ferry network is to cutting congestion and keeping Brisbane moving," Cr de Wit said.

Other figures provided by BCC showed bus travel times had also increased in the past month as a result of the CityCat shutdown.

In the week from January 4 to 10, buses using Wynnum Rd between Riding Rd and Latrobe St were taking six minutes and 11 seconds to cover the distance. That doubled to 12 minutes 46 seconds in the week from January 24 to 30 also the week school resumed.

Similarly, buses travelling over the Story Bridge from Lytton Rd to Ann St clocked five minutes 14 seconds from January 4 to 10, compared with eight minutes 26 seconds after CityCat services stopped.

Cr de Wit said water travel would become even more attractive after the ferry fleet was increased to 19 vessels and timetables improved. It could take up to two years for all terminals to be rebuilt.

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

CityCats, ferries return to Brisbane

CityCats, ferries return to Brisbane
February 14, 2011 - 6:00AM

Most of Brisbane's ferry services have resumed this morning following last month's devastating floods.

Fifteen of the city's 23 ferry terminals are back online after many suffered major damage and some were dragged away during flooding on January 13.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said the return of the ferries heralded an important milestone in the reconstruction process and would lead to significant savings in travel time.

The suspension of services on the Brisbane River has had a major knock-on effect to road congestion and it is hoped that will be alleviated today.

Roads along the river, the eastern suburbs, main roads and connector roads like Riding Road and Hawthorne Road have been experiencing major delays since the ferry services stopped.

Mr Newman said travel times on the bus network had also significantly risen, with the Wynnum Road route recording a 35.8 per cent increase between Wynnum Road at Riding Road and Lytton Road at Latrobe Street.

"Our CityCat ferries move 18,000 people per day, and following the flood and the subsequent service suspension most of these people have been travelling in cars or on buses," Mr Newman said in a statement.

"Since the CityCats have been offline, we've seen travel times increase by over 30 minutes on some roads."

The University of Queensland, West End, Regatta, North Quay, QUT (Gardens Point) and Sydney Street CityCat terminals remain closed until further notice, as does the Holman Street ferry terminal.

[BrizCommuter]

http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com/2011/02/citycats-are-back.html
BrizCommuter welcomes the return of the CityCats!

[Jonno]

15 ferries having such an effect on traffic clearly shows the efficiency of public transport...again!!!

[ozbob]

Media Release 14 February 2011

SEQ:  Welcome back CityCat and CityFerry services!

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport commuters has congratulated TransdevTSL (Brisbane Ferries) and the Brisbane City Council on the return to service today of many Brisbane River Ferry services.

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"The Brisbane River Ferry system is an important public transport asset on the overall TransLink public transport network in Brisbane. Very popular with tourists and commuters alike, the return today of a number of services is very welcome! Full details are available on the TransLink website (1)."

"TransLink and Brisbane Transport responded well with some supporting bus services whilst the ferries were out of action.  Buses do unfortunately get caught up often in the road congestion.  A pleasant journey and commute on the river is for many, much more enjoyable than the peak hour road gridlock, and the resumption of services today will be welcomed by all."

Reference:

1. http://www.translink.com.au/travel-information/service-updates/bulletin/1294689251

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

CityCats, ferries return to Brisbane

CityCats, ferries return to Brisbane
February 14, 2011 - 11:03AM

Most of Brisbane's CityCat and CityFerry services have resumed this morning following last month's devastating floods.

Fifteen of the city's 23 ferry terminals are back online, after many suffered major damage and some were washed away during flooding on January 13.

The Brisbane river services employ about 180 operating staff.

The first upstream CityCat service departed from Apollo Road at 5.25am today, while the first downstream service left the Guyatt Park terminal at St Lucia at 5.40am.

Commuters welcomed the return of the services.

CBD worker Tony Speer, who caught a ferry service from Dockside to Eagle Street pier this morning, said he had been relying on "terrible" bus services while the ferries were out of action.

The Kangaroo Point resident said he had found the buses to be not as reliable as the ferries, which ran "like clockwork".

"I think they've done a sterling job to get them back as quickly as they have," Mr Speer said.

"It's a sign that everything's returning to normal. The river was the main cause of the flood; to see the ferries back on it's great."

Commuter lobby group Rail Back on Track described the ferry services as an important part of the public transport system.

"A pleasant journey and commute on the river is for many, much more enjoyable than the peak hour road gridlock, and the resumption of services today will be welcomed by all," spokesman Robert Dow said.

Services are expected to run every 12 to 13 minutes for most of the day.

Cross-river ferry services will operate between Bulimba and Teneriffe, Norman Park and New Farm Park and Thornton Street and Eagle Street Pier about every 10 to 15 minutes.

A partial Inner City Service will operate between South Bank 3, Eagle Street Pier, Dockside and Mowbray Park every 30 minutes.

The University of Queensland, West End, Regatta, North Quay, QUT (Gardens Point) and Sydney Street CityCat terminals remain closed until further notice, as does the Holman Street ferry terminal.

Yesterday the fleet of ferries powered up the river in an impressive formation to signal their return.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said the return of the ferries heralded an important milestone in the reconstruction process and would lead to significant savings in travel time.

The suspension of services on the Brisbane River has had a major knock-on effect to road congestion and it is hoped that will be alleviated today.

Roads along the river, the eastern suburbs, main roads and connector roads like Riding Road and Hawthorne Road have been experiencing major delays since the ferry services stopped.

Mr Newman said travel times on the bus network had also significantly risen, with the Wynnum Road route recording a 35.8 per cent increase between Wynnum Road at Riding Road and Lytton Road at Latrobe Street.

"Our CityCat ferries move 18,000 people per day, and following the flood and the subsequent service suspension most of these people have been travelling in cars or on buses," Mr Newman said in a statement.

"Since the CityCats have been offline, we've seen travel times increase by over 30 minutes on some roads."

[ozbob]

From the Brisbane mX 14th February 2011 page 4

Ferries back in action