OUR NEW FERRY OFF TO A FLYER
COMMUTER SERVICE SETS SAIL ON MAIDEN VOYAGE
GEELONG commuters have been urged to follow the lead of Sydneysiders by taking to the water after the launch of Port Phillip Ferries’ newest ferry, the Geelong Flyer.
The $10 million purposebuilt vessel will start twicedaily services between Victoria’s two largest cities from Monday.
Speaking at yesterday’s launch, Paul Little AO, Little Group chairman and owner of Port Phillip Ferries, said that he hoped the new service would prove popular with Geelong commuters hoping to escape the rat race.
“Back in the 1850s ferries were actually in great demand and if you look at some of the early pictures of Geelong you will see the ferries berthed in this very location,” Mr Little said.
“Today, some 168 years on, we at Port Phillip Ferries are great believers in the adage that history does repeat itself and we are looking forward to having the ferry operations running from next week.
“While today cars and trains dominate the movement of commuters between Geelong and Melbourne, Port Phillip Ferries remains very confident that we will see a strong demand for a safe, comfortable and reliable passenger ferry service to help circumvent the congestion issues currently faced by cars and trains.”
He was unsure why ferries were slow to catch on in Melbourne compared with Sydney.
“I think Melburnians are slow to change, the water culture that does exist not just in Sydney Harbour but in other Australian ports is very strong,” Mr Little said.
“We have had this love affair with our cars but now you’re seeing that change and it should change.”
He said the Geelong Flyer’s sister ship, the Bellarine Express, was transporting about 6000 passengers between Portarlington and Melbourne per month.
He said he looked forward to similar growth and expansion on the Geelong to Melbourne route.
“Geelong is a major regional city and one that is growing more quickly than most,” Mr Little said.
“We felt from a commercial point of view it would make a lot of sense.
“But I have a lot of connections down here in Geelong, so from an emotional point of view it also worked.”
He said the trip would be about 100 minutes, with 70 per cent of the crew living in Geelong.
Murray Rance, chief executive of Port Phillip Ferries, said it had secured 80 parking spaces on Cunningham Pier to assist with parking.