NSW Ferry Discussion until December 2017.

[boronia]

The government has also said it would roll out its new public transport ticketing system - dubbed the Opal card - onto ferries this year.

As many regular ferry passengers would probably use two transport modes for their journeys, will this mean they will need two lots of tickets for each trip??

[drpurpleturtle]

The government has also said it would roll out its new public transport ticketing system - dubbed the Opal card - onto ferries this year.

As many regular ferry passengers would probably use two transport modes for their journeys, will this mean they will need two lots of tickets for each trip??

Yes most likely, until the government roles out opal onto buses and trains, ferry passengers are going to have to carry the opal card & either a MyBus Or MyTrain Ticket . The passengers who use Manly Fast Ferries & Sydney Fast Ferries usually carry two tickets the smartcard for the ferry & a MyZone Ticket. Thankfully the government has confirmed that it'll retain control of the fare & ticketing when Sydney Ferries is privatised, making it not as complicated as those passengers who use Manly Fast Ferry or Sydney Fast Ferries.

I wonder if that was the first time both Stockton ferries are used - at the same time for Australia Day, or just a usual Australia Day extra.

Probably Yes (due to Australia Day), this very similar to the Manly Ferry Service. When The Summer Timetable is effective all 4 Freshwater Class Vessels are put into service (MV Freshwater, MV Queenscliff, MV Narrabeen & MV Collaroy) also sometimes the odd MV Lady Northcott may fill in if one of the Freshwater Class Vessels are out of service. But when the regular Manly Ferry Timetable is effective (after the summer period & school holidays finish) then only 3 Freshwater Class Vessels are needed to operate the service (This is when most/nearly every vessel in the Sydney Ferries Fleet gradually gets general maintenance e.g. painting, repairs & cleaning).

[paulbrown3]

If you register for the fantasea palm beach text alerts here is an example of what you may get:

"ETT/WAG; SERVICE DIVERSION TO PATONGA CHECK HM Page WEBSITE FOR TIMES. BUSES ORGANISED TO TRANSFER TO ETT & WAG. THX 4 UR PATIENCE PBFS"

[Newcastle Flyer]

ETT/WAG, HM, THX = ??

[C130]

ETT is Ettalong
WAG is Wagstaff
HM is Home
THX is Thanks

[drpurpleturtle]

Hi all, recently i've heard that Transit Systems are in the lead for getting the Tender of Sydney Ferries. It'll be good if they do get the contract as firstly it's an Australian Company and secondly they won't have to change the livery colours as the Transit Systems Livery is a green bottom and white top which is similar to the current Sydney Ferries Corporate Livery which is applied to all vessels commissioned beyond the 1990's (RiverCats, HarbourCats & SuperCats) and have the Waratah Logo replaced with the Transit Systems Logo. For the rest of the fleet (Freshwater Class, First Fleeter Class & The Lady Class) these vessels will just have the Waratah Logo replaced with the Transit Systems Logo.

[Daniel]

What's not to say the waratah will be kept?

[drpurpleturtle]

Yes the Government will retain control of Fares and the entire Fleet but i reckon they would allow the Company to change some things such as the Logo.

[mackinenator]

Look at what MOT/TNSW allowed the bus company's to keep, I think the same will occur with Ferries

[paulbrown3]

I was able to obtain from the neutral bay wharf email a pdf of the posters that were on display at the wharf. PLEASE NOTE THIS IS ABOUT A 14 - 18 Meg File. This Relates to the wharf closure.


Dropbox:
http://db.tt/B9U8N7mf

[CCCC]

Wangi Queen show boat listed for sale in the Newcastle Herald.
Seems a bit strange when it was reported not long ago it was acquired
by Marmong marina owners from previous owners .


One of the nicest looking preserved wooden vessels around.

http://www.wangiqueen.com.au/theboat.htm

[paulbrown3]

Wangi Queen show boat listed for sale in the Newcastle Herald.
Seems a bit strange when it was reported not long ago it was acquired
by Marmong marina owners from previous owners .


One of the nicest looking preserved wooden vessels around.

http://www.wangiqueen.com.au/theboat.htm

i wonder if it will return home to the coast

[CCCC]

Wangi Queen show boat listed for sale in the Newcastle Herald.
Seems a bit strange when it was reported not long ago it was acquired
by Marmong marina owners from previous owners .


One of the nicest looking preserved wooden vessels around.

http://www.wangiqueen.com.au/theboat.htm

i wonder if it will return home to the coast

Not unless the new owner wants to lose the forward bookings which would be extensive from the buildup over the years.
And she might have trouble getting out the channel going by the reports in the paper about the shallow entrance and dredging
about to start again.

[kypros1992]

Something basic

An image of the Collaroy fleet has appeared as the Photo of the Day on English Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sydne ... v_2008.jpg

[On Air]

Tonight on nine news, complete with the usual incorrect historical information it was reported that the Harbour Queen, former Sydney ferry Lady Scott has sunk at its wharf in Blackwattle Bay. The presenter said that she was a former Manly ferry- who would've risked a trip to Manly back in her Lady Scott days?

I'm not certain but I think the Harbour Queen was the last wooden hulled ferry still in use? Albeit as a rather shabby looking booz barge!

[drpurpleturtle]

Yes the Lady Scott has sunk saw it this afternoon being held up by two support cranes.

[drpurpleturtle]

Just found an interesting article - http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/promise-of-ex ... 1vfrz.html

It turns out that the services which were supposed to be offered by Sydney Fast Ferries (Woolwich-Darling Hbr via Balmain, Rose Bay-Darling Harbour via Milsons Point & Darling Hbr loop) have lost their contract as they did not have the money or vessels to accommodate these services.

Now the tender is open to other companies, my bet is on Manly Fast Ferries as they already operate the Manly-Milsons Point & Darling Hbr Service, they are also interested in buying Sydney Fast Ferries. Interesting Times Ahead

[Industry]

Hawkesbury River Ferries based at Brooklyn went into Liquidation on thursday after serving the River for 37 years

Banksia Charters is running an emergency service on the Riverboat Postman and Danger Island and Little Wobbie, pending NSW Transport finding an operator to service these locations with no road access.

[paulbrown3]

Hawkesbury River Ferries based at Brooklyn went into Liquidation on thursday after serving the River for 37 years

Banksia Charters is running an emergency service on the Riverboat Postman and Danger Island and Little Wobbie, pending NSW Transport finding an operator to service these locations with no road access.

More info: http://www.abc.net.au/news/topic/brooklyn-2083 & https://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&biw=19 ... badadf4356 & https://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&gs_nf= ... 0&bih=1019

[paulbrown3]

http://www.sydneyferries.info/news/168/ ... erator.htm RE New operator for sydney ferries

[Newcastle Flyer]

Wether or not or believe in privatisation, it's not their property to sell, government infrastructure belongs to the people. If the "caretakers" want to sell OUR assets then take it to the owners and have a referendum.

[Daniel]

Sigh. You haven't read into what's going on have you?
Nothing is being 'sold'. The operation is being contracted out for a private consortium to run the ferries using essentially the same staff.

[On Air]

Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian today announced Harbour City Ferries, a partnership between Veolia Transdev and Transfield Services, had won the contract to operate Sydney Ferries under the NSW Government’s franchise model, and will transition to take over management as early as late July.

Previously the new operator was expected to be in place by the end of the year.

“This is exciting news for ferry customers,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“Veolia Transdev and Transfield Services won the contract from an experienced field of local and international transport operators.

“A key responsibility for the new operator will be to improve the customer experience for the 14 million trips carried out on ferries each year.

“Sydney Harbour is an international icon, and it deserves to have a world class ferry service.

“The new operator was selected based on the best package of approaches to improving customer service, safety, operations, maintenance and management of the Sydney Ferries workforce.

“The NSW Government will work in partnership with the new operator to improve services for ferry customers.

“The NSW Liberals & Nationals committed to delivering on the key recommendations of the Walker Inquiry, and today is an important step towards giving ferry customers the world class services they deserve.

“Importantly for customers, the colours of the existing Sydney Ferries fleet will be retained and so will the name ‘Sydney Ferries’. Existing services and fares will continue as normal as the operator focuses on improving services for customers.”

Under the franchise model the NSW Government will retain ownership of Sydney Ferries’ existing vessels and the Balmain Shipyard, and will retain full control over fares and service levels.

Well, there you go. Now when the private management takes over the first thing they'll most likely do is attempt to reduce staff both on the ferries and on the wharves. The unions involved will most likely pull the plug refusing to operate with reduced crews. Joe public as usual will suffer.

A Manly boat deck hand was telling me of rumors that the private operator will try and reduce one deck hand from the manly boats for starters and even look at ways of reducing the need for an engineer!

Perhaps the new operators should visit RC Model Hobbies inc for the latest gear to operate the ferries by remote from their plush office.

[drpurpleturtle]

Well, there you go. Now when the private management takes over the first thing they'll most likely do is attempt to reduce staff both on the ferries and on the wharves. The unions involved will most likely pull the plug refusing to operate with reduced crews. Joe public as usual will suffer.

A Manly boat deck hand was telling me of rumors that the private operator will try and reduce one deck hand from the manly boats for starters and even look at ways of reducing the need for an engineer!

Perhaps the new operators should visit RC Model Hobbies inc for the latest gear to operate the ferries by remote from their plush office.

Yes they are thinking of getting rid of engineers on most vessels and replacing them with GPH's + there are rumors going around saying that maintenance work at the Balmain Shipyards at Mort Bay will be scaled down as well, so there may be some redundancies after the two year employee agreement signed by the unions and government expires. We will just have to wait and see how things change from late July.

[On Air]

And with scaling down of maintenance at Balmain that can mean only one sure thing for the Manly boats and for the rest of the aging fleet for that matter.