Derwent River Ferry Service

[ozbob]

Mercury --> Ferry service push for River Derwent gathers momentum

THE Hobart City Council is set to call on its neighbouring councils and the State Government to help fund a study on developments around potential ferry stops in the ongoing push for a commuter service on the River Derwent.

Off the back of a roundtable forum in July with representatives from councils, the State Government and private operators, a new report by SGS Economics and Planning has found the key to a successful River Derwent ferry service would likely lie in first developing suitable terminals and onshore facilities.

The council's Economic Development and Communications committee meeting on Thursday will vote to recommend the council:

SEEK a commitment from the Southern Tasmanian Councils Authority and the Brighton, Clarence, Glenorchy and Kingborough councils to jointly fund a study to examine the potential for development around ferry stops.

UNDERTAKE a joint business case for the most promising options for a River Derwent ferry service with the State Government and neighbouring councils.

COMMIT to contribute up to $20,000 for a potential joint study on existing docking facilities and the development of ferry nodes, as well as the business case.

ESTABLISH a smaller working group from the participants of the forum to act as a working and reference group.

ASK the State Government to improve its Southern Integrated Transport Plan 2010, particularly in areas of multi-modal integrated ticketing, real time transport data and connected transport routes.

The motion will then be considered by the full council in a fortnight.

The SGS report noted the case for ferries significantly addressing congestion was not convincingly made on the day of the forum.

While congestion was the catalyst for taking another look at the possibility of ferries on the Derwent, the report found that would not be the leading reason for its implementation.

Ferries were more seen as something that would provide an addition to the character and amenity of Greater Hobart.

There was an emphasis on making the ferries themselves a unique, state-of-the-art attraction.

The report also found a well-designed, modern and efficient service could be less expensive than past reports had suggested and that commuter and tourist ferries would likely need different approaches.

"There is also a degree of agreement that for ferries to work, it takes more than setting up some suitable, well-designed docking locations with a passing bus connection and hoping passengers will come," the report said.

"Developing attractions, denser development and connections to walking/cycling and other links are suggested to reinforce and support a series of ferry-centric nodes along the river."

Alderman Philip Cocker, whose motion in May last year kick started the council's investigations into ferries, said the first logical step would be to start off with a basic commuter service and build from there.

"If we get commuter ferries up and operating Monday to Friday then it makes sense to turn them into a tourist service of a weekend," he said.

Infrastructure Minister Rene Hidding said the Government still believed ferries could be an important part of Hobart's future active transport mix.

"Once the final report is formally made available to the Government, we will of course consider it in more detail along with any proposal for the different levels of government to work together on planning and funding more detailed analysis," he said.

[Lungfish]

ABC ->http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-23/liberals-plan-for-ferry-network-for-hobart-run-by-metro-bus/9790526?pfmredir=sm

The Tasmanian Government will introduce legislation to allow Metro to run a ferry service between Bellerive on Hobart's eastern shore and Sullivans Cove.

There is no date on when a ferry service will be operational but the Government has committed $2 million for a study into what is needed to run it.

The plan includes two new terminals on both the Hobart waterfront and on the eastern shore.

Infrastructure Minister Jeremy Rockliff said a ferry service would help ease traffic congestion in Hobart's city and inner suburbs, which can often cause delays for several hours at a time.

"We've allocated $2 million for a scoping study to support Metro to develop the service, some of that will also include money for TasPorts for infrastructure planning," Mr Rockliff said.