RESIDENTS and lobby groups have welcomed the prospect of a commuter ferry to the CBD via Altona and Williamstown, after a 10-month feasibility study came back with positive results.
According to the $300,000 study, launched by Planning Minister Matthew Guy last May, a trip between Werribee South and the Docklands on a large catamaran could take 50 minutes.
But the opposition yesterday slammed the idea as “half-baked” and accused the government of having no real plan to implement it.
The preliminary Ernst & Young report found privately run services could work on a route between Portarlington and Docklands, with stops at Werribee South, Altona and Williamstown.
It stated that rapid growth in Wyndham and the need to counter West Gate Freeway congestion had caused a “pressing need” to explore all transport options. A viable service could take between 50 and 65 minutes from Werribee South and about 80 minutes from Portarlington.
“If Melbourne is to grow sustainably we need to examine all aspects of commuter movement to keep our city liveable,” Mr Guy said.
A final report and cost analysis won’t be handed down until July. A 2008 study that examined a similar ferry route listed choppy conditions, low patronage, cost blowouts and the need for heavy government subsidy as the biggest obstacles.
Altona Labor MP Jill Hennessy said the money being funnelled into ferry planning would be better spent on a second river crossing, arterial roadworks and expanded bus services to better connect with trains.
Opposition treasury spokesman Tim Pallas said a bay ferry should not be taxpayer-funded as it would carry a negligible number of commuters compared to the 220,000 cars predicted to use the West Gate by 2020.
Mr Guy said a discussion paper gauging potential demand for a ferry service found between a quarter and a third of the resident workforce in Point Cook, Altona and Williamstown commuted to the CBD, “confirming a large potential catchment for a future service”.
Point Cook resident Alice Osborne said a bay ferry would provide an alternative to crowded trains and choked roads.
LeadWest chief executive said a third transport option was an “interesting proposal, and if the numbers stack up I wish them well”.
