State report backs Port ferry service

Jessica Benton
A STATE Government report has backed plans for a commuter ferry connecting the Bellarine Peninsula and Melbourne.
The consultants’ report for the Department of Transport found the ferry was “potentially viable from a travel time perspective”.
“The travel time could prove to be significantly less than existing transport options from the Bellarine to Melbourne,” the report said.
The ferry would also have the advantage of operating without competition from an existing rail service between the peninsula and Melbourne.
The report said the ferry would cost about $12,500 to run each day.
However, the Government would have to subsidise the service because initial daily revenue was forecast to be about $5200.
The report said the ferry would cost about $7 million, while infrastructure upgrades to accommodate the service would cost about $1.27 million.
A Geelong ferry would not have competitive advantages in cost or travel time against existing commuter transport options.
A group pushing to establish the ferry service at Portarlington welcomed the report.
Bellarine Ferry Group secretary John Rae said it proved the town was the best base.
“Portarlington is a better base than Geelong because ferry bay services that are successful are ones that don’t compete with other transport options,” he said.
“The only transport options for Portarlington to Melbourne are to drive or to get a bus and a train. We absolutely believe that commuters would be in Melbourne within the hour compared to the minimum two-hour car trip.
Mr Rae said a survey had found support to use the service among Bellarine Peninsula residents.
The Government had allocated space for the service in the town’s harbour redevelopment.
But a spokesperson for Roads and Transport Minister Lynne Kosky said the ferry was “not a priority at this stage”.
“A network of ferries in Port Phillip Bay is unlikely to be viable,” the spokesperson said.