Time to plan for a smooth ferry ride

Green Ferries are the answer to Hobart's transport woes, writes Brendan Blomeley.

Published in the Mercury on Thursday, 23 November 2023 (see here).

The establishment of a broader Derwent Ferry network has been highly anticipated since the commencement of the Bellerive to Hobart service a little over two years ago. This was a service I worked hard, with council, the community and government, to see delivered – and delivered, has it ever.

The release of the government’s River Derwent Ferry Service Masterplan last week proved how successful the ferry service has been and was welcome news for those of us advocating for expansion.

The River Derwent ferry has been a highly utilised service. It has allowed people to easily move in and out of Bellerive, for work, to attend the football and cricket at Blundstone Arena, or just to experience the sunny side of the river.

I read Peter Boyer’s piece (At last, we’re ferrying in real climate action, November 21) with interest. Politically, we may sit on very different sides of the fence, however in regard to the need to look at electric ferries, Mr Boyer is right. If the government is serious about reducing Tasmania’s emissions and improving our sustainability, traditional diesel ferries should not be an option.

Last week I attended the Rotary Club of Hobart’s speaker lunch to hear from Bob Clifford about Incat Tasmania’s exciting move into electric ferries and the many opportunities this strategic decision will deliver for our state.

The technology is there and ready to go, and it is right in our backyard. If a Tasmanian-based company can build electric ferries for an international market, surely through Incat or another supplier, we should have electric ferries operating here.

I’m hopeful of seeing multiple electric ferries traversing the river as a solution to our congested road infrastructure system, all the while providing an environmentally responsible option for mass public transport.

There are of course other elements of the Masterplan that need serious consideration. While the Bellerive ferry has been a very welcome addition, there is an unease among Bellerive residents around cars lining the streets daily.

The construction of dedicated car parks is not the one and only answer. As was the original intention of the terminal at Bellerive, commuters should be able to bus, ride or walk to a terminal with absolute ease. Better planning around providing alternate options to arriving at the ferry terminals needs to be seriously considered.

The state government needs to work with councils to build better infrastructure for commuting by bike, e-scooter or walking that allow for people to leave their cars at, or close to home, truly alleviating road congestion while also not impacting residents near ferry terminals.

We need a multi-faceted approach to deliver meaningful outcomes for our communities and make it easy for people to change behaviours.

I eagerly await the day we see a constant flow of ferries crisscrossing our majestic Derwent, with not a noise to be heard but the splash of the water and the natter of content passengers happy in the knowledge their government took the sustainability of our state seriously.?

Brendan Blomeley is the Mayor of Clarence City Council. His views here are personal.