FEATURE | A new ferry network for Tasmania’s Derwent River?
PASSENGER VESSEL WEEK
Do you anticipate regulation or public pressure regarding the environment? How might this be met by the proposal?
If one small ferry carries 54 passengers – that could be as many as 50 cars off the road, the environmental lobby should be pleased at any addition to the public transport network.
Who do you foresee will design, build, own and operate the vessels? The terminals?
Robert Clifford has offered to design and build vessels, and then lease them to an operator or multiple operators, however if, for example, the state government decided to run a ferry service they would be free to contract whoever they wished to build the boats.
Ideally the state government would own the terminals. Again, Clifford has offered to build floating jetties, but the operator might have other ideas. The local councils would need to provide infrastructure to access the jetties.
Who will pay for it, and have projections been made for the running of the service? Can it be profitable in your opinion without government assistance?
There certainly needs to be support from local councils in providing access and infrastructure, as there will need to be some car parking, bike storage and access to each terminal.
If fares are to be kept low for commuters to encourage use of the ferries then there may be, at least in early years, some government support required. If it is looked at in the same way as the bus system, which is run by the government-owned Metro, it will be interesting to see what the new Metro report reveals.
Has the state/federal government/s been included in the planning? What sort of support do you think the project could expect?
The state government and Hobart City Council have both been active in looking at a ferry system, but the wheels move painfully slowly.
We stress again – Incat and Robert Clifford are not planning on running this project, merely getting the community talking about it, encouraging action, and giving Incat’s personnel experience of ferry services around the world, ready to support whoever decides to take it on.
Related Posts
