Commuters take to the waterways

By WAYNE THOMPSON

Take your pick: 30 or 40 minutes' driving in Auckland peak-hour traffic or a 25-minute high-speed cruise up the Waitemata Harbour?

That tradeoff is a twice-daily reality for 300 commuters who catch the ferry from Half Moon Bay in the Tamaki River up to downtown Auckland and return in the evening.

A Howick resident and Fullers Group executive, Michael Fitchett, says he gladly deserted the Pakuranga Highway crawl for a drive to Half Moon Bay when Fullers introduced the service last May.

For him the deal was irresistible: exchange the gruelling car trip for a quick cruise during which he can read the newspaper, have a coffee and breathe fresh sea air.

Fullers runs the service on a two-year contract with the Auckland Regional Council, which pays a $500,000 annual subsidy.

A worker's monthly ticket costs $189, and a 10-trip ticket has come down from $54 to $50.

Patronage has grown from 60 commuters a day to 300.

Mr Fitchett says the ferry option makes Howick or the Bucklands Peninsula a more attractive place to live for central-city workers.

The success of the service has the ARC looking to pick the next winner, says council transport director Barry Mein.

The first official study for six years of potential routes serving North Shore, Waitakere and Manukau cities starts next month.

It will test the waters for the council, which approves the total of $1 million a year in subsidies supporting Fullers' commuter runs between downtown and Half Moon Bay, Bayswater, Birkenhead and Gulf Harbour, on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula.

The list of possible future water escape routes for car-bound commuters includes West Harbour, Beach Haven, Te Atatu, Greenhithe, Browns Bay, Beachlands and Panmure.

There are, however, significant costs, drawbacks and obstacles to be overcome.

Waiheke Island soared in popularity for living and tourism with the introduction of the Fullers Quick Cat 13 years ago.

Starting with 200 commuters a day, the vessel came to carry 700 to 800 because of its reliability, frequency and halving of the trip time to 30 minutes.

But it did not have to compete with cars and buses.

On the North Shore, Fullers has experienced a slower climb in patronage with the Bayswater service introduced 21/2 years ago.

"It takes time for people to decide to buy a house in a certain area because they know they can rely on the ferry service," says Fullers managing director Douglas Hudson.

He suspects Half Moon Bay has caught on more quickly than Bayswater because it is further from downtown, and the ferry can show a reasonable time-saving for both peak and off-peak travellers.

Mr Mein says the regional council is not aiming for ferries to take any particular share of commuters, and believes most passengers will be residents of marine suburbs served by a wharf.

However, he says, Half Moon Bay was the exception because many passengers drive to the wharf from a big catchment area.

Some people suggest that new ferry services and real estate booms could go hand-in-hand.

"The first thing any housing developer who gets his hands on the Hobsonville air base [in the upper Waitemata] should do is build a ferry wharf," says Fullers' Mr Fitchett.

"A $300,000 wharf would pay for itself in one section sale. A ferry service increases value like nothing else does."

Mr Mein says there is optimism in the council for expanding services because of the combination of Infrastructure Auckland, which has money for improving and building wharves, and potentially better funding arrangements from the Government, plus the ARC's willingness to put money into passenger transport.

"But you have to be careful with such very high capital investment that you are spending wisely."

Asked about the chances of new services, Mr Hudson says: "We have done the easy ones. Where we go from here is not going to be as easy for setting-up costs and infrastructure required to make them work."

For example, he thinks a service to Browns Bay on the North Shore could cost about $10 million to set up.

A number of things need to happen if ferries are to do more than just chip round the mounting peak-hour chaos on Auckland roads.

"We have learned with Half Moon Bay that you have to do it properly, and that means putting in real serious money."

In November, Fullers introduced a $3.5 million vessel, the StarFlyte, built to avoid creating a wake nuisance on the Tamaki River.

Maintaining a weekday timetable of six peak and three offpeak return trips required leasing a second fast, low-wash catamaran seating 186 passengers.

"If you want to get people out of cars, you have to sell the time on the ferries as being quality time. Therefore your vessels must be up to specification from day one in terms of speed and comfort, with tables and television sets.

"We would be hesitant to go into any other new route with a token service and token vessels.

"You have to do it right from day one."

Two vessels are needed to give frequent sailings and backup for breakdowns; larger vessels avoid the need to cancel services because of bad weather.

Mr Hudson says that for years a lack of subsidies restrained his company in developing patronage on existing services and starting new routes.

He believes Fullers carries more passengers than Tranz Rail yet receives less subsidy.

The $1 million in ferry subsidies compares with $27,774,000 for buses and $6,795,000 for Tranz Rail.

Now that more funds are available for public transport, he says, the key issue is how they will be spent.

Mr Hudson says the regional council and city councils must consider these essential ferry requirements:

* Adequate wharves.

* Buses bringing suburban residents to and from the wharf and linking with the ferry timetable.

* Plenty of parking at the wharf and an area where commuters can be dropped off.

* Facilities for cyclists.

A regular user of the Half Moon Bay service is the East Tamaki representative on the regional council, Les Paterson, who chairs the regional land transport committee.

He says ferries are important to the transport strategy, and the council will take a thorough look at any potential service.

He is concerned that the chances of competition on the North Shore ferry runs are threatened by Ports of Auckland wanting to sell the Devonport, Birkenhead and Northcote wharves. If one ferry company secures exclusive use rights from an owner, it could block competitors by asking unreasonable landing charges.

Mr Paterson says the council will encourage the North Shore City Council to bid for the wharves so they are available to all.

Funds to buy them could come from Infrastructure Auckland, which owns 80 per cent of the port company.

Competition could also spur the pioneering of new routes.

Pacific Ferries, which runs a cut-price Waiheke service, is talking to the Waitakere City Council about starting a Te Atatu-downtown service using a 160-passenger catamaran.

Managing director Steve Young wants the city council to share the cost of building a wharf. He also hopes for a subsidy from the regional council.Herald Campaign: Getting Auckland Moving

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