Altona could soon be serviced by a ferry running from Werribee South to and from the city, Planning Minister Matthew Guy has revealed.
Mr Guy said that within 12 months a ferry linking Melbourne’s west to the Melbourne CBD would ease congestion on the West Gate Bridge.
He said the final stages of negotiation were taking place, and a ticket on the boat would include a free tram ride.
“They will run it out of Wyndham Harbour into the city [and] it will land at Docklands,” he said. “And the beneficial point from that is … from January 1 next year the trams will be free.
“So effectively you’ll pay for the ferry ticket and that’s it.” Mr Guy said the ferry trip would take 40 minutes and carry about 200 people.
“The concept of driving to a terminal, getting on, 40 minutes of a Wi-Fi [enabled] ship getting into Docklands is certainly attractive compared to sitting on the West Gate,” he said.
He added they were looking at stops at Point Cook and Altona.
“I’m tremendously excited because this is something people have talked about for years and I can finally see it happening.”
Mr Guy said the ferry would most likely be a catamaran, meaning Wyndham Harbour would not need to be deepened.
