A ferry good option

THIS morning marks exactly 16 weeks until December 2; the day the Geelong Flyer will make its maiden official voyage to Melbourne.

Pending approval from the City of Greater Geelong council tomorrow night, the ferry will leave from Steampacket Quay at the city’s waterfront.

Passengers will walk past the city’s floating Christmas tree and the famed carousel to board the 400-seat ferry just before 6.30am. If all goes to plan, they’ll arrive at Docklands shortly after 8am.

The ferry won’t be for everyone, but there’s enough evidence now to suggest billionaire businessman Paul Little has a promising project on his hands.

Estimates that his company, Port Phillip Ferries, has invested close to $20 million in the project suggest Mr Little agrees.

His experience running ferries between Portarlington and Docklands in recent years, and slowly but steadily building a core of regular passengers. gives Mr Little and Murray Rance — the man he employs to run Port Phillip Ferries — confidence the Geelong service will thrive.

As Mr Rance told the Geelong Advertiser yesterday: “It’s worked really well out of Portarlington, and, given the population of Geelong, why wouldn’t it work?”

The service Mr Rance is proposing will no doubt be popular with day-trippers, but it also looks like it will demand serious consideration from many commuters.

The Steampacket Quay berth is a key to the offering. It will mean commuters can travel from the heart of Geelong to the heart of Docklands, where they can easily access the free city tram service.

Mr Rance says a one-way trip will take a little more than 90 minutes, and a return ticket will cost $36, with discounted rates for bulk purchases.

That’s about 30 minutes longer than a train ride to Southern Cross station from Geelong, and more expensive, but there’ll be a guaranteed seat and free Wi-Fi, so it shapes as a legitimate option for commuters to consider.