CATCHING a boat to work could become a new routine for Hobsons Bay and Wyndham commuters, with the results of a feasibility study for a Sydney-style ferry expected within weeks.
Planning Minister Matthew Guy announced in May the state government would investigate a commuter service from Werribee South to Docklands, with possible stops at Point Cook, Altona and Williamstown.
Mr Guy last week said the $300,000 study was almost complete and “a release date is not far away”. The results are expected to be announced before the new year.
Under the study’s terms of reference, the service would only be viable if trips took less than an hour, had reasonable ticket prices and could attract enough passengers.
Developers of the multimillion-dollar Wyndham Harbour project in Werribee South, which is building more than 400 new houses on the waterfront, hope the study will give the government a green light.
“The harbour at Wyndham Harbour has been designed to accommodate the docking of a ferry and we would be extremely pleased if such a service could be offered to the local community as another mode of transport,” development director Sonya Miller said.
But Tarneit Labor MP Tim Pallas said the previous government had conducted a similar study in 2008. That concluded a ferry in the west was not financially or practically viable. It listed slow travel times, choppy conditions, low demand, cost blowouts and the need for a heavy government subsidy as the biggest obstacles.
“A ferry on Port Phillip Bay is an appealing idea, so the previous government undertook a detailed investigation into whether it could be done. It found it could not,” Mr Pallas said.
