Ferry a viable option

AT the moment it seems as if V/Line Geelong’s Twitter account is informing commuters almost every second day that one of the local train services has either been cancelled or is running late.

Staff sickness, track trespassers, track faults, track congestion and even ill customers are offered up as contributing factors to the interruptions that plague our V/Line service and frustrate commuters on a regular basis.

Meanwhile, drivers’ patience is tested daily by crippling long waits on the West Gate Freeway, with roadworks and the prospect of tolls on the tunnel project adding to their angst. A struggling rail service, congested road system and competing infrastructure needs — with Geelong’s population expanding at record rates, there is no easy fix for the many workers who need to travel to Melbourne every day. Or is there? Our society is so focused on road and rail that we often forget one of our city’s greatest unique assets — its waterfront.

Why should commuters be restricted to travelling over land to Melbourne when there is a viable water option literally on our doorstep? It is a solution Sydney discovered and invested in very early on, running one of the world’s most sophisticated ferry networks that carries 15 million passengers every year. Brisbane, too, has embraced the alternative of water transport, with its 30 ferries running at least every 15 minutes every day.

A daily commuter ferry service between Geelong and Melbourne could ease the pressure on our ailing rail and road systems as well as provide jobs for locals.

It is something Port Phillip Ferries has been experimenting with through its footy ferries to Cats games in Melbourne, as well as its daily PortarlingtonMelbourne service. But the prospect of an express service getting workers into Melbourne around 8.30am every day would surely prove a winning alternative to the confusion and frustration of battling traffic and train delays.

Now that’s something we can all get behind.