RAIL - Back On Track Forum

Government Statement

Miles Government provides $15 million for Weinam Creek ferry terminal carpark

22nd March 2024

https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/99947

When the answer is a hammer everything looks like a nail!!!

https://x.com/ozbob13/status/1774983620580761956?s=20

https://x.com/bne_lordmayor/status/1775317076099702966?s=20

Couriermail --> Global gong for Brisbane ferry operator $

QuoteThe champagne corks are popping over at SeaLink South East Queensland HQ with its new ferry Talwurrapin being named one of the best designed boats in the world.

The vessel, which had its maiden voyage last year and plies routes connecting island communities in Moreton Bay, took out the best small ferry in the Baird Maritime Work Boat World Best of 2023 Awards. ...

https://x.com/ozbob13/status/1785724822414373157

New SMBI ferry and bus timetables

https://translink.com.au/updates/450641

From Monday 13 May, the Southern Moreton Bay Island (SMBI) ferry will run to a new and improved timetable to better meet your travel needs.

Next stop PID on the Free City Hopper. It also has audio announcements.

While not dynamic, I believe they are getting replaced with new dynamic ones in the future.

Couriermail --> New CityCat stop, Premier warns 'use it or lose it' on 50c fares $

QuoteNEW CITYCAT STOP

The popular Howard Smith Wharves will become more accessible from Monday with CityCats to begin making stops at the precinct.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the introduction of the CityCat services aimed to reduce congestion on Brisbane's roads and provide a sustainable, low-cost way to get to and from Howard Smith Wharves or to and from Fortitude Valley.

"Our council is committed to keeping Brisbane moving and we will continue to enhance Brisbane's lifestyle and make public transport even better," he said.

Patrons of Fortitude Valley's nightlife venues will be able to catch the CityCat home from Howard Smith Wharves until about 11:30pm on weeknights and midnight on weekends.

The first CityCat service will depart Howard Smith Wharves at 6.10am on Monday.

The Brisbane Times are reporting that thousands are using the new CityCat Terminal at Howard Smith Wharves.

I actually caught a CityCat myself from Teneriffe to North Quay on Saturday, and by my estimate Howard Smith Wharves was the second most popular stop for boarding/disembarking on the boat I was on, behind South Bank but in front of New Farm.

QuoteThousands hop on CityCats after new Howard Smith Wharves service opened

By Felicity Caldwell

Almost 20,000 ferry trips have been made from the Howard Smith Wharves terminal in the first month of CityCats stopping at the destination.

The Howard Smith Wharves terminal now has more than 1750 services per week, and can be accessed from every stop along the 22-kilometre ferry network.

Including Howard Smith Wharves on the route from May 27 was made with minimal change to the CityCat timetable, with no changes to service frequencies.

There were almost 12,000 CityCat passengers boarding at Howard Smith Wharves to June 23 – more than 6000 CityHopper passengers and 1535 cross river ferry trips.

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/brisbane-news-live-first-metro-routes-revealed-where-seq-s-workers-live-20240708-p5jrwn.html?post=p578xk#p578xk

Ferries/CATs could be on the cards from Redcliffe to Caloundra. ---> https://www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/News/Media/Moreton-Bay-Ferry-Service-study-funding

I wonder which one will be operating first, train or CAT? Hopefully, the CATs will allow bikes as well.

Quote from: verbatim9 on October 20, 2024, 17:47:10 PMFerries/CATs could be on the cards from Redcliffe to Caloundra. ---> https://www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/News/Media/Moreton-Bay-Ferry-Service-study-funding

Where is Caloundra mentioned in that article?

Anyway, I hope it doesn't receive public funding. It's an incredibly wasteful form of public transport for that corridor.

If there is real tourism potential, let a private tourism company run it without subsidy.

QuoteCouncil is committed to providing frequent and reliable ferry services to help Kangaroo Point residents connect to the people and places you love.

With our record investment in new infrastructure nearing completion, the iconic Kangaroo Point Bridge opening on 15 December and the Mowbray Park ferry terminal upgrade also opening soon, we expect the way people travel and use ferry services in Kangaroo Point will change.

As a result, we are looking at how our existing ferry services can better support Kangaroo Point residents. That's why we've developed a plan to better link Kangaroo Point with three new frequent Cross River routes dedicated to serving these terminals.

The new routes will operate at least every 15 minutes, providing frequent and reliable connections to the CBD and New Farm, as well as the wider CityCat network at Sydney Street, Riverside, and QUT Gardens Point terminals.

Your new ferry network will:

introduce more frequent services
provide better connections to the high-frequency CityCat network
provide more capacity and improved reliability.
Have your say:

We now want to hear what Kangaroo Point residents think of our plan. You can read below what is being proposed and have your say by completing the survey, which should take no more than 5 minutes to complete. Your feedback will help us understand your experiences when travelling on our ferry network.

Feedback on the Kangaroo Point ferry improvements will close at 11.59pm, 3 November 2024.

QuoteWhat is being proposed?

Brisbane City Council wants to improve ferry services to and from Kangaroo Point. We have developed a plan that will deliver more frequent and less crowded services, while also providing better connections to CityCat Services.

It is proposed that the existing CityHopper and Inner-City Cross River routes be reconfigured into three new higher-frequency Cross River routes:

Maritime Museum - QUT Gardens Point
Holman street - Riverside
Dockside - Sydney Street
These new routes will operate at least every 15 minutes.

QuoteHow does this plan compare to the existing services?

CityHopper services currently operate to all Inner-City terminals except for QUT Gardens Point. These services are:

infrequent - operating only every 36 minutes
often full - with limited capacity for only 60 customers
much slower than CityCats due to speed restrictions
Inner-City Cross River services operate every half-hour between Holman Street and Howard Smith Wharves via Dockside.

These services operate independently and connections to CityCat services are not planned.

Current


Proposed

https://yoursay.brisbane.qld.gov.au/kangaroo-point-ferry-plan

I find it interesting that they say the services are 'independent' and no connections to CityCats are planned. Given all the services will be running with the same headway, it wouldn't be too difficult to plan connections IMO. It's a bit of a cop out really.

Maritime Museum-QUT seems a bit pointless, as it's basically duplicating the Goodwill Bridge.

I'll be very thankful for the additional frequency to Holman street. The half hour frequencies were awful there. But yes agreed that Maritime museum to Qut seems completely pointless

FYI - https://qtenders.epw.qld.gov.au/qtenders/tender/display/tender-details.do?CSRFNONCE=78572E8795191521C274FE1702ADB552&id=53574&action=display-tender-details&returnUrl=%2Ftender%2Fsearch%2Ftender-search.do%3FCSRFNONCE%3D4B14950A676B9E9F32841627C134949F%26amp%3Baction%3Dadvanced-tender-search-open-tender%26amp%3BchangeLevel%3D%26amp%3Binputlist%3DhasETB%26amp%3BorderBy%3DcloseDate%26amp%3BwithdrawalReason%3D%26amp%3BexpiredReason%3D%26amp%3BtenderState%3D%26amp%3BtenderId%3D%26amp%3Bpage%3D3

QuoteNext Generation Integrated Passenger Information Display (PID) System

The Translink Division of the Department of Transport and Main Roads are seeking offers for the provision of a Next Generation Integrated Passenger Information Display (PID) System with enhanced accessibility features.

Initially, the deployment scope will focus on Brisbane City ferry terminals, with the potential for expansion to other modes in the future.

The scope of delivery includes:

Provision for operationalisation of the PID system (including any training required).
Supply, install and configure hardware.
Supply, install and configure software.
Supply and configure services for the data feed.
Ongoing support and maintenance of the hardware and software backend.

I think this is a better outcome than present.

The one terminal I think is missing at the moment is Davies Park but I am not sure how best to tackle it.  I would be loathe to add another stop to the Citycat but not sure they have the fleet for another cross-river service - they only have 6 non-Citycats (although I recall there was some noise about an electric ferry trial being planned).

Quote from: RowBro on October 21, 2024, 11:29:06 AMI find it interesting that they say the services are 'independent' and no connections to CityCats are planned. Given all the services will be running with the same headway, it wouldn't be too difficult to plan connections IMO. It's a bit of a cop out really.

The issue will be that the Citycat is every 15 minutes in both directions.  Which direction do you time the connections with?  (In the CBD does it really matter?)

Quote from: SurfRail on October 21, 2024, 15:04:31 PMI think this is a better outcome than present.

The one terminal I think is missing at the moment is Davies Park but I am not sure how best to tackle it.  I would be loathe to add another stop to the Citycat but not sure they have the fleet for another cross-river service - they only have 6 non-Citycats (although I recall there was some noise about an electric ferry trial being planned).

Would a Davies Park-Regatta service be feasible? Do that instead of Maritime Museum-QUT.

Makes sense with the KP bridge opening on December 15, it will likely shift numbers around on cross river services.

Looking at those maps, I wonder whether there'd be any value in a new cross river ferry stop in the vicinity of Edward Street to anchor the QUT to Maritime Museum service. The Kangaroo Point Bridge is fairly well connected to ferry services on the Kangaroo Point side with Dockside and Holman Street both being ~500-600m away (depending on exact route taken). On the Edward side though, the nearest options to the bridge are QUT Gardens Point, which is a fair hike to pretty well anywhere, and Riverside which currently has no direct connection thanks to the Riverside Brisbane development (a temporary situation).

It would give the residents living between Lower River Terrace and Vulture Street a more worthwhile ferry connection, although admittedly that is servicing a relatively small residential pocket.

Brisbanetimes --> Council floats plan to double KittyCat services after passengers give low scores $

QuoteThe push to get more commuters onto Brisbane public transport continues, with residents invited to have their say on a plan to double the frequency of services on the KittyCat network.

Under the proposal, the CityHopper and inner-city cross-river ferry routes would be reconfigured into three cross-river services that would deliver transport every 15 minutes, as opposed to the current 30-to-36-minute frequency.

Brisbane City Council transport chair Ryan Murphy said residents who used the CityHopper "often face overcrowded vessels and want more frequent services".

Following the introduction of 50¢ fares in August, ferry patronage increased by 22.7 per cent – a surge coinciding with a drop in CityCat passenger satisfaction, according to Translink's latest customer experience survey. ...

>>> https://yoursay.brisbane.qld.gov.au/kangaroo-point-ferry-plan

https://www.couriermail.com.au/entertainment/citycat-ferries-rebrand-into-citydog-in-honour-of-bluey-and-bingo/news-story/4c682bfa1749387ee4fb1699ee28faf5

" Brisbane's public transport just got a very cute upgrade, with iconic blue heeler sisters taking over the CityCat fleet.

Announced on Sunday, two CityCats – or CityDogs – have been completely repainted to resemble children's cartoon characters, Bluey and Bingo.

Arriving just in time for the grand opening of Bluey's World, the CityDogs will travel the full length of the Brisbane ferry route. ... "

https://x.com/ozbob13/status/1852964302954831888

Quote from: verbatim9 on October 20, 2024, 17:47:10 PMFerries/CATs could be on the cards from Redcliffe to Caloundra. ---> https://www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/News/Media/Moreton-Bay-Ferry-Service-study-funding

I have raised this idea with Moreton Bay Council as well as a number of Sunshine Coast Councillors including Mayor Rosanna Natoli and Federal MP Andrew Wallace. The study is in its early phases.

Couriermail --> River taxis, overwater helipads, bay ferries: Brisbane's 2032 legacy $

QuoteWater taxis linking Brisbane's riverside precincts, new overwater helipads, and ferries direct from the central business district to Redcliffe and Bribie Island are all on the list as leaders consider how to boost the city's global tourism standing in the lead-up to the 2032 Games.

River-based businesses are also working to establish more inner-city moorings to harness the tourism potential of the southeast's signature "superpower" over the next few years.

Brisbane City Council has identified 21 locations for potential river activation opportunities, while the City of Moreton Bay continues to push for a new fast ferry service. ...