Cumberland Council opposes Transdev F3 ferry changes
More objections that say changes to Rivercat ferries “take western Sydney for granted” and fail to consult the community are flooding operators Transdev.
Parramatta
Don't miss out on the headlines from Parramatta . Followed categories will be added to My News.
Cumberland councillors have backed their Parramatta counterparts who slammed the F3 ferry operators for proposing controversial changes that fail to cater for passengers west of the harbour.
Cumberland Council plans to write to the government’s private ferry operator, Transdev, and Transport Minister Andrew Constance showing its support to Parramatta Council’s submission it lodged.
Wentworthville ward councillor Lisa Lake raised the motion and called for Circular Quay to be retained as the main termination point, not Barangaroo.
Under planned changes that start in 2021, Parramatta commuters would have to change twice — at Sydney Olympic Park and Barangaroo to reach Circular Quay.
“I think it would be a great shame if we couldn’t put our overseas friends on to a ferry and enjoy coming through Sydney Harbour under the bridge … and then around into the Quay area and just enjoy that vista of it all opening up,’’ Cr Lake said.
She also echoed Parramatta councillors’ calls for Transdev to implement changes that would draw more people west of the harbour.
“There is a tourist industry in Parramatta,’’ she said.
“There is still some heritage to visit and of course we’ve got other things going on in Parramatta, like the football, so there is a marketing opportunity that creates jobs in Parramatta.
“Our residents are quite often employed in Parramatta and we want to create more employment there so I think that will have a negative impact on Parramatta’s plans to grow.”
At its February 10 meeting, Parramatta councillors slammed “backward” plans to overhaul the ferry network and said the burgeoning city was being treated “second rate”.
Cr Lake also joined a chorus of Sydneysiders criticising Transdev for starting the consultation process in the holiday season of January and cutting off consultation on February 14.
“The other thing I really think we should do in supporting this is to make a statement to Transdev and also the State Government that western Sydney shouldn’t be taken for granted and that this sort of consultation process isn’t acceptable,’’ she said.
“There’s a lot of changes being made to transport and we want to be involved in the discussions in a genuine way where there’s real commitment from the State Government and its contractors to deliver a service that is of great benefit to us.”
Our Local Community councillor and former Parramatta Lord Mayor Paul Garrard, who was on the council when the Rivercat started in 1993, said “the ferry existed because people power enabled it to happen in the first instance”.
“This service was not a decision made by bureaucrats to Parramatta. It was a long, hard slog to get a ferry down to Parramatta,’’ he said.
“At the moment the ferry just bypasses everyone and some turn around at Rydalmere and don’t go any further.
“The ferry has been under attack for years.”
Labor councillor Ola Hamed said her family had a little money growing up but a trip on the harbour was always a treat they could afford.
“Every time a friend or a family member came from overseas often they wanted to see the Bridge and they wanted to see the Opera House, of course Mum and Dad would say ‘Let’s jump on the ferry, and let’s take them there’ and that became a real sense of pride for me and sisters and my brother,’’ she said.
“I think if that is cut that would be detrimental and I’d hate to see that happen.’’
Cr Lake said she was hopeful Transdev would accept the council’s late submission because it did not meet in January when it was accepting feedback.