Manly ferry has to be replaced because it is ‘too popular’, transport boss says
The Freshwater ferries, which have ploughed between Manly and Circular Quay for nearly 40 years, are set to be replaced. See the reasons why, explained by a top transport boss here.
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A top transport boss said the iconic Manly ferries need to be replaced by smaller, faster and more frequent boats, because the service to and from Circular Quay is “too popular”.
Howard Collins, Transport for NSW’s chief operations officer, said the large Freshwater-class ferries are being phased out because travellers “deserve better services”.
In a direct message to commuters and tourists, Mr Collins has written an opinion article for the Manly Daily to explain why the controversial decision to ditch the large ferries next year was made.
He reminded travellers that at the height of summer about 150,000 trips a week were made between Manly and the city.
“This popularity is why changes need to be made,” Mr Collins wrote.
Earlier this month Transport Minister Andrew Constance conformed that three new Emerald Class series 2 vessels will be introduced into service on the F1 Manly route from next year, but could not confirm a start date. It will save taxpayers about $6 million a year in running costs.
Mr Constance said while he was looking at the option of keeping one or two of the older Manly Freshwater class ferries for use in some capacity, he said the “world’s moving on” and they presented ongoing maintenance costs due to the age of the vessels which have been running since the 1980s.
The announcement sparked a community backlash.
Northern Beaches deputy mayor Candy Bingham said she would be leading a campaign against the scrapping of the ferries.
“It will be the death of Manly as a destination,:" Cr Binghams said.
“It appears they’re talking about getting rid of the big ferries which had the capacity for 1100, to these little peddley things which can only take 400, it’s an enormous difference.
“I don’t see how it’s going to work. It’s going to have a huge impact on Manly’s economy and on tourism.
“Its also about the history and heritage. It’s a 20 minute journey instead of a 30 minute journey so the whole iconic experience will be gone. You’re on a beautiful old boat and there’s that whole historic connection between Sydney and Manly.”
A petition is being shared on social media on platform Change.org, created by a northern beaches resident to “Save Australia’s Manly ferries”.
Article by Howard Collins, Chief Operations Officer – Transport for NSW
EMERALDS WILL DELIVER WHAT FERRY CUSTOMERS NEED
The Freshwater ferries have ploughed a path between Manly and Circular Quay since the 1980s. They hold a lot of fond memories, however, they cannot run forever and our customers deserve better services.
The F1 Manly is the busiest ferry route in the country. At the height of a typical summer there are around 150,000 trips a week made up of locals commuting to and from the CBD, and tourists heading for the beach. This popularity is why changes need to be made.
The Emerald class ferries will comfortably cater for the crowds, especially over summer, by delivering more services. In fact, because of these faster vessels, 328 services will be added to the F1 Manly timetable each week – an increase of around 67 per cent.
The extra trips will give customers more choice around when they travel and during the busiest periods, you will only wait 10 minutes for a ferry instead of half-an-hour. The trip will also take only 22 minutes, eight minutes faster than the current journey.
The Freshwaters can carry around 1000 customers, however, for the majority of days a year they run well below capacity. During an average morning peak the number of customers ranges from around 30 first thing in the morning at 6am, to around 280 at its busiest at 8am.
Outside of the busier periods in December and January, you rarely see more than 400 customers on board a Manly ferry which further demonstrates the Emeralds’ ability to meet demand.
There will be periods of the year where demand is higher than normal and in these situations we will be able to put extra Emeralds into service to keep people moving. This is a luxury that is not available with the Freshwaters.
The Emeralds offer better value for money for taxpayers. They cost around 50 per cent less to run each hour when compared to a Freshwater, which even with extra services, equates to savings of around $6 million a year.
Maintaining the Freshwaters is expensive. Their size means we need to hire dock space instead of using our own facilities and, because of their age, some parts need to be custom built.
The Emeralds were designed with the customer in mind. They’ll offer the same iconic views of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House and importantly, are fully accessible for our less mobile customers.
There is a misconception that the Emeralds can’t handle conditions around Sydney Heads. There are currently six Emeralds the fleet and these often travel to Manly when a Freshwater unavailable or if there is high demand.
The new Emeralds are designed to handle swells of up to 4.5 metres and there are some conditions where these newer vessels can still run while a Freshwater would have been sidelined.
While many of us love the iconic nature of the big Freshwaters, much like the old ferries that they replaced in the 1980s, it is time to move forward and into a future where our ferries are fully accessible and more energy efficient.
The old Freshwaters aren’t done yet. They will operate over summer and we are currently investigating options for their potential use into the future. However, it is time to give Manly ferry customers the service they deserve and need.