Brisbane: Water taxis

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Brisbanetimes --> New Brisbane water taxis demand CBD access

Brisbane's first water taxi in decades could be about to start operation along the city's eponymous river, but the CBD will remain off limits for the time being.

But Brisbane City Council has poured cold water on the idea, with deputy mayor and infrastructure chairman Adrian Schrinner saying the council was "far from being at a point to provide operational approval".

Brisbane Ferry Service and Water Taxis founder and managing director Will Collyer said he would have his 19-seat vessel on the water within weeks and called on the council to make more jetties available.

Will Collyer's water taxi can seat 19 passengers.

Mr Collyer said his water taxi, which had previously operated in Hobart, would have access to South Bank and public jetties up and down the river and out to the Redlands.

"There are plenty of charter operators struggling to survive because there is no city access," he said.

"The council will say they're getting Queens Wharf up on line and Howard Smith Wharves up on line in 2017 and that's all well and good, but it's been a long time since we've had access to a city wharf to load and unload passengers.

"They call it the 'river city', but it really is a schmozzle."

Water taxis have not operated in Brisbane since the 1990s, when an operator ran services during the wharfies' strike.

There were several operators on the Gold Coast, where canals made such services more viable.

Cr Schrinner said the council had to work through "a number of extremely complex operational and infrastructure matters" before any operator could start services on the Brisbane River.

"Not only are there state government approvals involved in river-based activities, but we are potentially looking at needing to overhaul existing public pontoons to ensure operators could be disability compliant and there are complex public liability concerns to be resolved," he said.

"Council made it very clear up-front to Mr Collyer that the suggestion of allowing commercial operators to use CityCat terminals would not be acceptable because it would delay the entire river-based public transport network.

"By choosing to ignore the reality of the due process that needs to be completed, Mr Collyer is asking for a special commercial arrangement for himself, which we are simply not prepared to agree to."

Mr Collyer said he had been working for almost two years to get his business afloat, but had encountered a raft of bureaucratic hurdles.

"The problem is there is not a jetty in the CBD (on the north bank) that a charter boat can use," he said.

"We've been working on Brisbane City Council for them to get their backsides into gear.

"The old QUT CityCat pontoon (at Gardens Point) is sitting there unused, in perfect condition, and it would be ideal for these charter boats but nobody can work out who's responsible to make it happen."

Mr Collyer said he had also held talks with Uber about a potential partnership.

Cr Schrinner also said Mr Collyer was not the only operator who had expressed interest in that kind of river-based service.

"We would need to have an open, competitive process to give everyone the chance to put forward a proposal," he said.

"This is not a simple approval process that Mr Collyer would have the public believe."

Comment was sought from Labor lord mayoral candidate Rod Harding.

Water taxis featured in the council's River's Edge strategy, which was released in 2013.

Greens lord mayoral candidate Ben Pennings said that strategy included some "great projects" that had dropped off the agenda.

"Most seem to have been dumped so council could borrow a billion dollars for Legacy Way tunnel, clogging up the Western Freeway in the process," he said.

"The Greens in council would definitely revisit the River's Edge strategy and I don't see why water taxis can't be supported with berthing if they are commercially operated."

Mr Collyer said it was time Brisbane caught up with other Australian cities.

"You've got water taxis in Perth, Hobart, Sydney, Melbourne," he said.

"We've got this fantastic river in Brisbane and it's just not being used to its full potential."

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/new-brisbane-water-taxis-demand-cbd-access-20160203-gmkzk8.html