Parramatta River ferry services overhaul
Ten new vessels, a shuttle from Parramatta to Sydney Olympic Park and more weekend services — find out what other changes are planned for Parramatta River ferry passengers.
Parramatta
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Parramatta ferry passengers are to get more weekend services and a shuttle to link booming riverside suburbs but Transdev, the private operator of Sydney Ferries, has been criticised for failing to consult the community about the overhaul.
Changes are expected to start in 2021.
WENTWORTH POINT WINNERS
Along the Parramatta River, key changes to the F3 service include a shuttle between Parramatta and Rydalmere to Sydney Olympic Park that will run every 60 minutes in peak periods.
The 26-minute journey means passengers who board from Parramatta and Rydalmere will have to change at Sydney Olympic Park and wait eight minutes for the ferry to Barangaroo.
Another plan is for reduced stops from Sydney Olympic Park to Barangaroo. The service would be all stops to Abbotsford then Balmain East — eliminating five stops — and run every 20 minutes during peak hours.
Currently, a ferry comes every 30 minutes.
An all-stops service from Abbotsford to Barangaroo would run every 20 minutes in peak hours.
An all-stops night service would run from Sydney Olympic Park to Barangaroo every 20 minutes on weekday nights from 9.15pm then every 60 minutes from 10pm until midnight. On weekend nights, services would run every 30 minutes from 5.30pm and every 60 minutes from 8pm.
Western Sydney Business Chamber president David Borger welcomed changes for Wentworth Point residents, whose closest wharf is Sydney Olympic Park.
“It’s great news that people living in Wentworth Point and Olympic Park are going to get a much more frequent ferry service to the city and Barangaroo and Circular Quay,’’ he said.
“The train station at Rhodes (used by Wentworth Point commuters) is overcrowded, it’s an isolated community that needs far better transport including the second stage of the Parramatta Light Rail.
“The river is a viable option for that community. Whatever mode of transport the more frequent, the more likely people use them.’’
LEISURE SEEKERS
The changes also reflect how Parramatta passengers use the ferry for leisure more than daily commuting.
On the weekends, services will run every 30 minutes from Parramatta and Rydalmere in the morning and depart every 30 minutes from Barangaroo in the afternoon.
Currently, they only depart every hour.
Mr Borger said ferries were a key part of Parramatta’s plans to become a river city.
“They’re absolutely critical,’’ he said.
“If you look at Brisbane, which is probably the best river city in Australia, there’s a strong ferry service there.”
West Ryde resident Carol Hearne reflects that trend. She occasionally catches the ferry from Meadowbank but caught the Rivercat from Parramatta to the city on Friday as a novelty.
She suggested more frequent stops to Milsons Point on weekends to reach Luna Park.
“During the week it goes to Luna Park, during the weekends it doesn’t,’’ she said.
THE NEED FOR SPEED
Mr Borger has long pushed for faster fleets to service the Parramatta River compared with the “slow and clunky” Rivercats.
He supported Transdev’s plans for 10 new, 200-seat ferries but wanted to determine their speed before they were rolled out.
“We need to research the science of erosion to see how far we push the speed of these vessels so they become more efficient,’’ he said.
“Getting a ferry from Parramatta to the city is too slow.
“It’s not well patronised and the reason is it’s so slow, the train beats it convincingly.
“If you had more frequent vessels and faster it could be a more successful form of public transport.
“The real opportunity for all these river communities, like Meadowbank and Melrose Park, is developing a new fleet of vehicles getting to Parramatta quickly.
“If they can get to Parramatta and the services are frequent, that’s a real option. I think that’s something that should happen in the future.”
PLEASE EXPLAIN
Parramatta Lord Mayor Bob Dwyer said he was disappointed Transdev failed to consult the council about changes to the F3 services.
“The ferry to and from the Parramatta CBD is hugely important to the people who live, work, study and visit our great and growing city,’’ he said.
“The F3 line serves more than 2.5 million passengers a year – including many international, domestic and local tourists who come by ferry to enjoy Parramatta’s heritage, culture, food and entertainment. Any change that would impact our position as a tourist destination would be of great concern.”
He said the development of the Powerhouse Precinct and Parramatta Square meant the ferry would play an even bigger role in connecting commuters to “Sydney’s Central River City”.
“We would welcome plans to increase the frequency and reliability of ferry services to support and maintain this growth,’’ he said.
The council is reviewing the proposed changes and plans to make a submission to the consultation process.
“We encourage any residents, workers or visitors who may be affected by the proposed changes to also have their say.”
Submissions for the proposal close in mid-February.
Make a submission at yoursay.transdev.com.au