F3 Parramatta River ferry changes
Residents and politicians unite against a proposal that will remove the direct connection from the Abbotsford, Cabarita, Chiswick, Drummoyne and Sydney Olympic Park ferry wharves to Circular Quay.
Inner West
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Ferry users are making waves against a proposal that will remove the direct connection from the Abbotsford, Cabarita, Chiswick, Drummoyne and Sydney Olympic Park wharves to Circular Quay.
Bottlenecks at Balmain East, extended travel times and a “flawed” consultation process are some of the major issues identified by Cabarita/Breakfast Point resident action group’s Peter Ashcroft.
Transport for NSW said the changes were designed to increase services but Mr Ashcroft claims it would add 15-20 minutes to his ferry trip due to congestion on the Parramatta River ferry service that has experienced a 40 per cent rise in patronage over the past five years.
“I support a better service to and from Circular Quay in peak hours where 20 minutes between services should be the required standard, not 30 minutes,” he said.
He said a more efficient operation could provide a 50 per cent improvement in the wharf utilisation without any capital expenditure.
Inner west politicians are also mobilising against the proposed changes to the Parramatta River ferry service with Drummoyne MP John Sidoti taking his condemnation of the “outrageous proposal” to NSW Parliament.
Transport for NSW and Sydney Ferries operator Transdev are proposing to terminate all F3 ferry services at Barangaroo as part of a wider route review.
Under the proposed changes, residents travelling from the Parramatta River to Circular Quay
and the Lower North Shore will need to change at Balmain East for their regular services.
Mr Sidoti said the proposal was “absolutely disgraceful” and that he was working “to squash this proposal”.
“There is a lack of concrete information and no answers to the questions posed by the community,” he said.
City of Canada Bay Mayor Angelo Tsirekas said councillors unanimously voiced their concerns over proposed changes to the ferry services at the City of Canada Bay’s February ordinary council meeting.
He said the proposed changes would not only force residents to change ferries to travel into the centre of the city but create unnecessary bottlenecks at Balmain East wharf.
“I urge residents to have their voice heard at collaborate.canadabay.nsw.gov.au and our public
meeting on March 4 at the Community Hall Breakfast Point, to which we’ve also invited Transdev and Mr Sidoti,” he said.
Cr Tsirekas said whether it’s to travel to work or enjoy a family trip to the zoo, residents along the Parramatta River had depended on the Circular Quay ferry service for over 100 years.
“It provides a vital connection to work or leisure that shouldn’t be taken away by the private ferry service operators contracted by the State Government,” he said.
The first round of service changes are scheduled for the second half of 2020.
Transdev is undertaking consultation on the proposed changes to the F3 Parramatta River route on behalf of Transport for NSW.
A Transport for NSW spokeswoman said improvements to the F3 Parramatta River timetable had been designed to respond to customer feedback to increase service frequency and to accommodate the strong growth in demand along the river.
“We are seeking feedback on the plans well in advance and to allow for any refinements to be made. We genuinely want to hear the community’s views,” she said.
“The frequency of services will be increased to operate at least every 10 minutes during the weekday peak (between Sydney Olympic Park and the City), and at least every 20 minutes at other times during the day (currently half hourly for most wharves). This is a massive increase in service levels, representing hundreds of potential new services each week.
“The proposed changes mean that F3 services will utilise the new Barangaroo Wharf, which provides easy access into the heart of the city via Wynyard Walk, as well as bus and train services.
“Barangaroo Wharf has the capacity needed to handle the proposed uplift in service, as does the Balmain East wharf.
“Customers who wish to travel from wharves along the Parramatta River to the lower North Shore and Circular Quay will still be able to do so by connecting to services at Balmain East.
The connecting service is proposed to operate frequently all day (not just in the peak) with short transfer times.”
GET INVOLVED
■ You can visit collaborate.canadabay.nsw.gov.au/ferrychanges to share your thoughts on the proposed changes
MORE FROM TRANSPORT FOR NSW
Transport for NSW and Transdev Sydney Ferries (TDSF) have sought public feedback over the past three months on plans to add up to 300 more ferry service in the second half of 2021.
In response to community requests to extend the consultation period, Transport for NSW and Transdev extended the consultation period by a week until Friday 21st February.
Comprehensive information on the changes was available throughout this period, and still is, at yoursay.transdev.com.au
In addition, TDSF met with stakeholders such as local councils and commuters at public meetings, in focus groups and at wharves.
The additional ferry services are across the harbour and Parramatta network and are intended to meet increasing customer demand in coming years.
Public feedback on the proposed changes is being consolidated, analysed and submitted to Transport for NSW to inform the decision on the final service plan including any changes.
No final decisions have been made yet.
TDSF has received a great level of response on its consultation platform with more than 22,500 site visits and 3,000 people registering on the site to share their views.
The redevelopment of Barangaroo in recent years has changed the shape of our city and this included the development of the Barangaroo Wharf.
Barangaroo is now one of the most concentrated employment centres within Sydney CBD, with close to 20,000 employees in the immediate vicinity of Barangaroo Wharf, and around 23,000 permanent employees predicted to be based at this location once the site is fully developed. It is also a place of leisure too, with shopping and a vibrant restaurant and bar scene.
With Wynyard Walk connecting Barangaroo right into the heart of the City and the financial district, Barangaroo Wharf provides convenient access to the City North as well as the rest of the CBD from Wynyard Station which is a short walk from the wharf.
RESIDENTS’ VOICE CONCERN
Cabarita/Breakfast Point resident action group’s Peter Ashcroft views in more detail:
MORE TRAVEL TIME
The current timetable service from Cabarita to Circular Quay is between 31 minutes (peak hour via McMahon’s Point and Milson’s Point) and 44 minutes (via Barangaroo (non-peak). To impose on all services to Circular Quay a change of ferries at Balmain East will add not less than 10 minutes to the service according to Transdev. The likely reality of the additional stop will add 15-20 minutes plus to the total length of the trip because Balmain East will not cope with the extra services and the delays getting into and out of the wharf will cause further extended delays. More ferries will need to transit the gap between Goat Island and Simmons Point in east Balmain which is already a congested part of the harbour. Although I assume existing direct services to Barangaroo will not stop at Balmain East they will still need to pass close to the wharf thus adding to the congestion in this part of the harbour. All that Transdev’s solution does is move the congestion from Circular Quay into Darling Harbour. Balmain East only has two wharves on one pontoon, and these wharves often have a vessel on each side. Transdev will not be able to more efficiently operate Balmain East to ensure the minimum of service delays on the new route.
Consideration also needs to be given to the number of passengers who will find themselves on the Balmain East wharf and the safety issues that this may or will involve. At this time in peak periods passengers line up along the connecting jetty and onto the wharf, in the same manner they do at Cabarita, but this will not be practical for passengers disembarking from a rivercat and seeking to transfer to a Circular Quay ferry. Balmain East will be very crowded in peak periods, potentially dangerously so.
Today I caught the 8.15 rivercat from Cabarita to Circular Quay. The vessel was full (230 passengers) when it left Cabarita. Although it stopped at Abbotsford it could not pick up any further passengers. The Transdev proposal would see all of these passengers needing to change at Balmain East. In my opinion it will be unsafe for 230 people to be on Balmain East wharf, which will already have the usual Balmain commuters and passengers coming from Circular Quay to transfer to continue back up the river.
LESS SAFE
The proposed change will be imposed on all the school children who travel to either McMahon’s Point or Milson’s Point. This is a safety issue particularly for the younger students whose parents felt comfortable with putting their children on one ferry and knowing their child simply needed to get off at the school wharf.
Disincentive to parents/carers with strollers: A significant number of parents with pre-schoolers travel with strollers every day on the ferries particularly to Circular Quay and it will be a significant disincentive to have to get off one ferry with a stroller and re-board another that is already crowded. Every passenger will need to crowd onto Balmain East and then join another queue to get on a Circular Quay service vessel.
DISABLED PASSENGERS
The same applies to any disabled person. Most disabled passengers have a routine that allows them to board comfortably, park their wheelchair or find a disabled seat and travel all the way to Circular Quay without having to move unnecessarily. It is a significant imposition to make them change ferries, as the current fleet make strollers and wheelchair access less than easy. Most of the staff are fantastic helping but its doesn’t lessen the anxiety of needing to disembark and board another vessel. It is very likely that this change will result in the East Balmain wharf being very crowded making stroller and wheel chair access more difficult.
Disincentive to Passengers transferring to the airport rail line
Another group of passengers that will be unnecessarily penalised are any passenger wishing to use the ferry to connect to the train to the airport or to a cruise vessel at the Passenger Terminal. The need to change ferries with luggage at East Balmain will be a significant disincentive to using the ferries to travel to the airport in the future. I am aware that Transdev maintain that such passengers can use Barangaroo and then walk to Wynyard. It is 600m from Barangaroo including three lifts or escalators to Wynyard whilst it is just over 50m from Wharf 5 at Circular Quay to the Circular Quay station. The proposed change is huge disincentive to use the ferry to go to the airport.
PATRONAGE
Patronage on the River ferry services has increased by 40 per cent over the past five years and it continues to grow. The only increasing passenger service east of the harbour bridge is the service to Watson’s Bay which has increased by 20 per cent in the same time.
No other inner east service has increased by more than 5 per cent . Yet the current proposals penalise all services west of the harbour bridge and particularly the River service. Indeed, passengers at the Canada Bay wharves of Drummoyne, Chiswick, Abbotsford and Cabarita are the most penalised, as up until recently they constituted the largest percentage increase in patronage. In the past 12 months patronage at Meadowbank and Olympic Park has continued to rise at the rates in Canada Bay over the past 5 years. This means the river service passengers are the most disadvantaged from the proposal.
CONSULTATION
Despite the efforts of Friends of Cabarita Park and Wharf to get answers as to what is driving the need for change no answers have been forthcoming from either Transdev the operator or the NSW government including the Minister. I also advise that the current consultation process is completely flawed and unacceptable. No discussions have taken place as to alternatives to the proposals. There are in fact no suggestions for alternatives or why possible alternatives do not work. I note that only with assistance of our local member, Mr Sidoti MP has the community obtained a further extension of four weeks to make submissions to Transdev.
No “real” effort was made by Transdev to seek passenger comments on the proposals. The signage at wharves did not indicate the nature of the proposed changes, no notices were placed in vessels, no announcements were ever made on vessels directing passengers to the proposals and their right to make comments, and the notices at least at Cabarita have been removed despite the extension of the comment period. I am aware that Transdev did have officers at some wharves, but I never saw any officer at Cabarita despite using the ferries regularly throughout February.
NO ALTERNATIVE
No proposal to improve efficiencies under the existing route: There is no apparent consideration by Transdev to improving its operations at Circular Quay where I believe a more efficient operation could provide a 50 per cent improvement in the wharf utilisation without any capital expenditure, thus completely eliminating the current congestion. I have assumed this is the reason Transdev is proposing the changes. It is not possible to fully appreciate the need for any change because the Transdev contract, its terms and conditions have never been disclosed. Transdev do not make any case for the change on its web site. Officers of Transdev that visited wharves could not provide any reason for the need to change.
I constantly observe the poor performance of Transdev at Circular Quay. In the morning vessels on occasion take an inordinate amount of time at very slow speeds (significantly less than the speed limit in the Quay) to travel down the Quay to a wharf, when the wharf was vacant (as observed by me from the time the vessel passed under the Bridge and I could look down the Quay) , and no vessels were reversing out of the wharf across the disembarking wharf. When questioned why, staff just shrug their shoulders.
During the evening peak vessels are often lying on another wharf unattended and only leave that wharf immediately before the scheduled departure time ensuring that the vessel will leave at least five minutes late. Why are not the vessels moved to the departing wharf in a timely manner before the supposed required departure time? If this is causing Transdev to be in default under its performance requirements in its contract there is no one to blame except Transdev. Better management would fix this problem.
Don’t make the passengers suffer because of a failure in management by Transdev.
No effort is made by Transdev to get passengers on or off the vessels in a timely manner, except in the case of the rivercats when dual companionways are used. Passengers are never requested to board or disembark promptly. I understand that Transdev is constrained by the poor design of the vessels in not having two entry/exit points on each vessel but this does not stop the staff encouraging passengers to embark or disembark safely but quickly. Disembarking passengers should be advised of the next stop and asked to get ready to disembark.
I suggest that Transdev visit both Town Hall and Wynyard stations during the evening peak to see how City Rail manages those two very busy stations. No similar effort is made at the any wharf, and it is particularly required at Circular Quay.
I conclude by stating Transdev can do a much better job using the existing routes. No change to the existing routes should be supported. Indeed, I support a better service to and from Circular Quay in peak hours where 20 minutes between services should be the required standard, not 30 minutes.
NEED FOR NEW VESSELS
The rivercat I caught this morning to Circular Quay is over 24 years-old. The entire rivercat fleet pre-date the Sydney Olympics. Passenger numbers on the River services have increased by 70 per cent since 2000. I understand that passenger numbers on the river services have increased by 40 per cent over the past five years and the rate of increase continues at this pace, with the primary growth now coming from Meadowbank, Sydney Olympic Park and Rydalmere. In the five years to 2016 the primary growth came from Cabarita, which is still the busiest stop.
In 2012 I met with Gladys Berejiklian when she was the Minister for Transport, with a number of local Cabarita and Breakfast Point residents when she promised four new ferries within 12 months for the River services. Eight years later we are still waiting. The service is only maintained by Sydney Ferries (now Transdev) using leased or long term hire vessels from other suppliers (Captain Cook Cruises and Fantasy Cruises). All of these hired vessels were designed for tourist cruising and not as commuter vessels with constant stopping. None of them have easy and efficient boarding and disembarking systems.
I understand that the government cannot provide replacement ferries immediately and that there is a lead time between order and delivery, but new efficient vessels with two entry and exit points, low drafts (so they can operate in shallow water) , and low wash (to prevent sea wall or river bank damage along the River) are crucial to ensure the continued operations and meeting current and future demand. I understand there are no current proposals for new vessels.