‘Metronet on the Swan’: Perth’s river ferry network tipped to expand

Perth’s ferry network could soon become “Metronet on the Swan” after Premier Roger Cook announced plans to expand the service with five possible additional stops flagged.

Cook revealed the development of a business case to examine the Swan River’s full potential for a ferry service during a Property Council event at Optus Stadium on Wednesday.

Perth is closer to supporting a fully-fledged ferry network.Credit: WAtoday

“We’ve seen the success of ferry systems in other states, and we’ve watched the growing popularity of our existing route between Perth and South Perth,” he said.

“January was our busiest month ever in relation to the use of ferries – nearly 110,000 boardings – 49,000 more than in January 2023.

“But we’ve never fully cracked the code for expanding beyond the one ferry route here in Perth, and as our city continues to grow and improve, I think that requires a rethink.

“Imagine having a pint at the Raffles and catching the ferry to the footy … It’s an opportunity not just to move people around the city but alway provide another option in relation to tourism.”

The ferry system currently only services one route between South Perth and the CBD.

Cook said new routes were being considered to Applecross, Canning Bridge, Optus Stadium, Nedlands and Belmont.

The latest plan would be the eighth report looking into expanding Perth’s ferry network in the past three decades.

It comes after the most recent 2019 report revealed Perth was closer than ever to being able to support a fully-fledged public transport ferry network.

The Department of Transport Ferry Service Current Status and Future Use report identified opportunities to expand the existing CBD-South Perth route, to include stops further down the South Perth foreshore, Canning Bridge, Matilda Bay, East Perth, Burswood and Belmont.

The report found previous barriers to a ferry route being cost-effective were falling away thanks to waterfront developments and improved opportunities for ferries to link with existing train and bus public transport routes.

“Elizabeth Quay now exists as does the new Optus Stadium, and there are now firm plans to develop several high-density nodes around the river, albeit it could be some time before such plans are fully implemented,” the report read.

“The last study [2016] … noted that in future a ferry system on the Swan River linking intense developments such as Canning Bridge Precinct, Elizabeth Quay, Riverside, Claisebrook Cove, UWA and [Optus] Stadium would provide a net benefit to the overall public transport system.”

Since the report was written, the state government’s $2 billion proposed Waterbank project, which would have housed 7000 new residents along the East Perth riverbanks, has been mothballed.

Another $3.8 billion development proposal for Belmont Park riverfront to build 4500 homes is yet to begin construction.

Former South Perth MP John McGrath chaired a 2016 inquiry into a ferry service and said the most likely first stops for an expanded service would be near the Raffles Hotel in Applecross or to UWA.

He said as Perth’s population grew it would be inevitable that the government would need to add more public transport options to the mix.

“Demand will grow on our freeways and main roads travelling to the CBD, they’re only going to be busier,” he said

“Metronet will have some impact, but I think we will have to one day look at ferry services as an alternate way to get into the city.”

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