A commercial electric ferry service between Barangaroo and Pyrmont was trialled by the NRMA shortly after the 2021 lockdown,but it is not currently in operation as patronage was too low.
The NRMA ferries are currently docked near Sydney Aquarium and only used for special services after a trial in 2021.Rhett Wyman
The chief executive of the New Sydney Waterfront Company,Jace Tyrrell,said a free ferry was his top priority to improve connectivity and slash travel times around the precinct,and was key to lifting the number of foreign tourists who venture west of the bridge.
“The ferry is No.1 on our list,” Tyrrell told theHerald’s Sydney 2050 Summit on Monday. “We’re doing some work now in terms of who that electric ferry provider could be.”
The idea takes its cues from the Gold Coast’s Hopo ferry,which runs a longer journey between Southport and Seaworld,as well as similar hop-on,hop-off ferries in Hong Kong.
Tyrrell said he was still working through the numbers,but the service could run every 10 minutes,carrying 20 to 25 people. “We would like to fund it as the business community ... so that people who work in the area,live in the area,visit the area can hop around the western harbour.”
New Sydney Waterfront Company chief Jace Tyrrell at the Herald’s Sydney 2050 Summit.Dion Georgopoulos
The not-for-profit New Sydney Waterfront Company was ($450,000 from the state and $40,000 from the City of Sydney) and is tasked with Sydney’s first “business improvement district” (BID).
Based on a model used in London,New York,Auckland and elsewhere,a BID is a defined area where business and landlords contribute a levy to fund agreed projects within the precinct boundaries. Historically,they have funded activities seen as being inadequately performed by governments.
The corporation’s precinct essentially runs from the Harbour Bridge to the Anzac Bridge,taking in Walsh Bay,Barangaroo,Darling Harbour,Pyrmont and Blackwattle Bay. Partners include Crown and The Star,Lendlease and Mirvac,the Powerhouse,UTS and the ICC.
The New Sydney Waterfront Company,the first “business improvement district” established in Sydney,covers an area from Walsh Bay to Blackwattle Bay.Supplied
It operates on a voluntary basis,with nearly 50 partners,but the government could pass legislation to make it mandatory (as long as the majority of businesses in the area agree). The new Labor government is yet to commit,but Tyrrell will soon take Jobs and Tourism Minister John Graham on a tour.
Several large projects are set to transform the western harbour in coming years,such as on the site of the now-demolished Harbourside shopping centre, and.
Tyrrell,who was appointed in June after holding a similar role in London’s West End,has ambitious goals to increase visitors and spending in the precinct.
He said Sydney’s western harbour struggled to attract international tourists,and referred to research that found only 25 per cent ventured west of the bridge.
“They’re very much going out to Bondi,to the Opera House ... but 75 per cent aren’t turning to the west and spending time with us,” he told the Sydney summit. “[It’s] quite an alarming statistic.”
The NRMA – which runs the Manly Fast Ferry to Circular Quay – trialled an electric ferry between Barangaroo and Pyrmont from December 2021 to June last year. The two vehicles ran on 28.8kWh rechargeable batteries that charged to full in 2.5 hours,with seven hours of operation per charge.
However,patronage numbers did not justify the service. The NRMA said it was talking to the New Sydney Waterfront Company about how the ferries could become part of a permanent service.
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