Ferry service boost on upper harbour

By MATHEW DEARNALEY

Subsidised ferry services between Birkenhead and central Auckland are to be increased and possibly extended to Beach Haven, where a commercial operator already has a foothold.

The Auckland Regional Council wants to add at least one morning and one evening trip next year to Birkenhead services, which carry more than 300 passengers a day, and it will consult ferry operators on extending its reach up the Waitemata Harbour to Beach Haven.

Canopies and lighting have been installed in an upgrade of the Birkenhead wharf, to which the Auckland Regional Transport Network will add a second pontoon and ramp early next year for safer and faster ferry turnarounds.

Beach Haven already has a limited ferry service in peak hours, which Yellow Water Taxis runs with a 30-seater vessel but on an unsubsidised fare unattractive to all but a handful of the suburb's residents.

Many prefer to drive to Birkenhead to board a subsidised Fuller's ferry, but it is becoming harder to find parking space there, prompting the regional council to look for other solutions, such as improved feeder bus services.

Few ferry passengers now catch buses to the Birkenhead wharf, leaving regional council staff and politicians questioning the effectiveness of an integrated ticket set up by operators of various transport modes, which costs $12 a day.

This compares with an $8.40 return ferry fare from Birkenhead to Auckland, which is subsidised by about $1.80c, and $2.40 for a return bus trip between Highbury and the wharf.

Yellow Water Taxis charges $11.80 return from Beach Haven.

But the company is already enjoying more success with a service it began last week from Westpark Marina near Hobsonville.

Owner Dave Farrell says a sister 30-seater vessel to the Beach Haven ferry is already almost full just from word-of-mouth publicity.

The 25-minute ride, which he says can cut an hour off driving time in peak hours, costs $65 for a week-long pass or $79 for a 10-trip ticket.

Alison Rust, the regional council public transport planning co-ordinator, has acknowledged in a committee report that it may be preferable to tender only for offpeak and evening trips from Beach Haven which do not conflict with Mr Farrell's service.

A recommendation on whether an unsubsidised service should be extended to that suburb would be made after consulting operators.

She said the Beach Haven wharf might need a new ramp and pontoon, but a ferry operating from there could eventually link with future services from Hobsonsville and call at Island Bay near Birkdale.

The Defence Force has yet to indicate when the public will gain access to the Hobsonville wharf after the closure of its base there, but Mr Farrell suggests use of the site may allow him to extend services to Greenhithe, Herald Island, or even Paremoremo.

Ms Rust said the Northcote Pt wharf, where the Birkenhead ferry calls on request, had already been modified to make boarding safer.