City-to-airport commuter ferry mooted for Wellington

Wednesday, 6 December 2017

Wellington's commuter ferry company is 'ready to go tomorrow' with the purchase of a new boat and development of a city-to-airport service, provided it can secure a long-term contract from the regional council.

East by West Ferries has long been promising frustrated commuters a new boat for its regular service between Queens Wharf, on Wellington's waterfront, and Days Bay, in Lower Hutt.

If it was to get one, it would look at using one of its two existing boats for the new airport service, which would run between Queens Wharf and a redeveloped Miramar Wharf.

East by West managing director Jeremy Ward said a shuttle service would take passengers the rest of the way to the airport. The ferry trip would take seven minutes, with the entire journey taking just 15 minutes.

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The service would run every half hour at peak time, or perhaps more frequently, helping to take cars off the road and provide a more attractive way of getting to and from the airport.

But the company needed the assurance of a decade-long contract to justify making the investment, Ward said.

'We're ready and committed to build a third boat tomorrow, but for the last year we've been waiting for the regional council to sort out the long-term contract so we can do that.'

The company had held a succession of two-year contracts for the past 12 years, and had been seeking a longer deal since 2015, he said. Its current contract expires in July.

'For us to be able to invest $2 million-plus in a new boat, we need a 10-year contract.'

A regional council spokesman confirmed the ferry company had approached it about their interest in buying a new ferry and the constraints they have around investing.

'We are interested in their proposal, as we want to increase the number of ferry passengers using Wellington Harbour,' the council said in a statement.

'However, we are still looking at options on how to do that. At this stage, it is not possible to give any timeframe on if or when formal contract processes for additional ferry services might start.'

Regional council chairman Chris Laidlaw said he had nothing to add to the statement.

Ward said a new boat, for the route between Queens Wharf and Days Bay, would take about a year to build, and carry up to 135 passengers. It would also allow for an extra service in the morning peak.

The company's two existing boats, the Cobar Cat and City Cat, hold 99 and 91 passengers respectively. The Cobar Cat is almost 10-years-old, while the City Cat is 30-years-old.

Preliminary discussions about the city-to-airport ferry have been held with CentrePort, which owns Miramar Wharf, Wellington City Council and Wellington Airport, Ward said..

'It's early days but there is no negative feedback from anyone at this stage.'

Simon Woolf, the city council's tourism ambassador, said he supported the airport ferry concept.

'It would reduce a lot of the congestion on Cobham Drive and it would be a fun way to get to and from work.'

Wellington Airport spokesman Greg Thomas also backed the idea. 'The more ways we can get people to the airport, the better.'

A CentrePort spokesman said a lot of work would be needed to develop the wharf, but it was open to the idea.

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