Gold Coast ferry trial: Just two companies put forward offers to council

An operator for the Gold Coast ferry service trials has been locked in. But it turns out there wasn’t that much competition to start off with.

ONLY two companies put forward offers when the Gold Coast City Council went to market for a ferry service trial, a report reveals.

SW CruiseCo Pty Ltd, operating as CruiseCo which runs services between Sea World and Surfers Paradise accounting for 85 per cent of the Coast cruise market, was the successful operator.

SeaLink Travel Group, which operates a fleet of 80 ferries carrying more than 9 million passengers a year, missed out. A third submission was from NRMA, but it pulled out.

A redacted council report, released after a closed session debate between councillors, explains why only three of the 34 companies which downloaded the expression-of-interest (EOI) documents proceeded.

COAST FERRY SERVICE LAUNCHES ON COAST

The busy boating mecca that is the Broadwater. Photo: Kit Wise.

“NRMA stated that they would not be able to deliver a viable ferry service in any trial period without the provision of an operational subsidy,” the report said.

Council officers concluded why the EOI put to the market in April only received applications from the two experienced operators.

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“Research undertaken to determine the effectiveness of the EOI revealed that a number of interested companies did not submit proposals due to the uncertainty around system patronage and there being no operational subsidy to deliver the service,” the report said.

CruiseCo had offered “the best response” to the city’s preferred ferry service operations including the minimum five-stop network “albeit that service frequencies would be hourly throughout the day”.

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Boating on the Broadwater. Photo: Kit Wise.

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“It was identified that service frequency could be increased once sufficient demand for the service is demonstrated,” the report said.

Council is developing a detailed communication management plan and officers recognise public support which translates to patronage will be critical.

Councillors ticked off on ratepayers paying $1 million to deliver the disability access and facilities needed at ferry stops.

Council has also allocated $500,000 in operational funding in 2019-20 for “necessary management activities” along with community consultation. Another $500,000 is provided for the following 12 months.

COAST FERRY SERVICES TO START TRIALS IN DECEMBER

An aerial view of yachts and houseboats moored in 'Bums Bay' at Main Beach on the Gold Coast. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)

The city is responsible for upgrading public pontoons and waiting areas, and the ferry operators must undertake marketing and brand awareness.

Experienced tourism stakeholders with marine backgrounds are strongly supportive of the proposal but seriously question the timing of the December trial. They say a major destination point is needed.

“This system has been applied world wide. In Sydney you have Manly and Taronga Park Zoo. In Townsville, it’s Magnetic Island. New York has the Statue of Liberty,” the tourism stakeholder said.

“There’s nowhere on the Gold Coast. There will be in five years time if we have a global tourism resort. In three or four years when HOTA is finished, it may be a major destination point for Surfers Paradise.

“If you have a major function at HOTA, you should do a park and ride from Appel Park. It should run every 15 minutes, 15 hours a day.”

When announcing the trial, Mayor Tom Tate said he intended to accelerate work on the ferry terminal at HOTA, Bundall.

“If you look at 10 years from now I can see this being another mode of transport that people will get to and from work like catching a bus. Kids going to school,” Cr Tate said.