$6M FERRY SPLASH

COMMUTER BONUS: State pledges $6m for three-year trial

A DAILY ferry service between Geelong and Melbourne has been secured for at least three years in a major boon for the local region.

The State Government announced last night it would splash $6 million on a threeyear trial, due to start early next year.

The new service will operate twice a day and carry up to 400 passengers.

It comes after Port Phillip Ferries trialled several free services between the Geelong waterfront and Docklands last month.

About 150 people boarded the inaugural service in a trip that took 95 minutes.

Port Phillip Ferries owner Paul Little said he was “thrilled” the State Government had thrown its support behind the new service.

“My vision for Port Phillip Ferries has always been about making ferry travel accessible to as many Victorians as possible,” he said. “This takes us one step closer to that vision.”

The ferry operator already provides daily services between Portarlington and Melbourne, attracting about 6000 commuters each month.

Premier Daniel Andrews said he expected the new route to open up new opportunities for Geelong.

“A ferry service between Geelong and Melbourne doesn’t just benefit commuters — it’s a major boost for tour- ism to our second biggest city,” Mr Andrews said.

“Victorians are getting onboard — we’ve seen a take up of 6000 passengers a month on the Portarlington to Docklands ferry — now Geelong locals will have another transport option.”

The funding certainty means Port Phillip Ferries can push ahead with commissioning a state-of-the-art high speed ferry necessary to deliver the new services.

It is expected the purpose- built vessel could see travel times between Geelong and Melbourne slashed to less than 90 minutes.

A regular service between the two cities had been strongly backed by the Committee for Geelong, which had facilitated the initial trial.

Chief executive Rebecca Casson recently told the Geelong Advertiser the service was needed to relieve pressure on the Geelong rail line and Princes Freeway traffic.

“Every day more residents are relocating to Victoria’s second city, with many of them commuting daily to work from Geelong to Melbourne,” Ms Casson said.

“Our city region is the fastest growing in the state and more than 17,000 Geelong commuters are travelling to Melbourne every day — more than 12,000 by road and over 5000 choosing the train. The Committee for Geelong believes the time is now right to explore alternatives to the standard transport options.”