Buried report reveals Perth infill ready for ferry expansion

A resurfaced report has revealed Perth is closer than ever to being able to support a fully-fledged public transport ferry network, but it is still not enough to get the Cook government interested.

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.

It’s not the first time the state government has considered expanding its ferry services, with seven reports commissioned in between 1997 and 2016 never being able to identify a feasible new route.

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

The report was written and quietly published in 2019, without fanfare, but was republished on a state government website this month as the government migrated data to its new website.

“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.

The 2016 report recommended a third ferry be purchased to expand the existing service to Optus Stadium. That ferry was commissioned in 2020, but no additional routes were added to the public transport system.

In 2018, the government opened a $5 million 96-metre jetty at the stadium to support transport to the area on event days, but it is now only used by one small charter boat operator and recreational fishers.

The view from the existing Transperth ferry route. Credit: Getty

The report also recommended a fast ferry route between Fremantle and Perth be established. A year later, Rottnest Express was granted special permission to run the service, however, due to the company changing ownership shortly afterwards, the approval fell away.

A spokesman for Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said the government had no current plans to expand Perth’s ferry network but constantly reassessed existing public transport to ensure they remained fit for purpose.

The spokesman also said the government had not received any private sector interest in a new Perth to Fremantle fast ferry permit and was not planning to issue a new one.

Opposition transport spokesman Shane Love said the people of Western Australia deserved a public transport system that rivalled the rest of the country’s.

“WA Labor continues to kick ferry investment for the riverside suburbs down the track by commissioning reports instead of actually delivering,” he said.

“The length of time this report sat collecting dust appears to indicate that the WA Labor Government is not seriously considering improving Perth’s ferry system.”

In 2021/22, the existing ferry service between Elizabeth Quay and Mends Street in South Perth recorded 102 million boardings, which represents just 0.5 percent of Transperth’s patronage.

The average cost per passenger kilometre was $2.17 compared to trains ($1) and buses ($1.74).

Former South Perth MP John McGrath chaired the 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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