The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has today released the results of a survey of private ferry usage. The survey was undertaken as part of IPART’s review of fares for 7 private ferry services in Sydney, the Central Coast and the NSW North Coast.
More than 88% of residents surveyed across all routes said that a ferry that serviced the route was at least quite useful to the community, with more than half of those surveyed for the Brooklyn, Church Point, Cronulla and Palm Beach routes describing the service as essential to their community.
Other findings from the survey include:
- on average across all routes 85% of residents said ferries were an enjoyable way to travel
- lower fares and more stops were the factors most likely to increase people’s use of private ferries
- the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on people using ferries – with 1 in 4 using their local service less in the previous 12 months.
The full survey report is available on IPART’s website.
The survey results will help both IPART and stakeholders understand the role of these private ferry services in their communities. The survey asked residents and passengers about how they use private ferry services, including the reasons why they do, or do not, use them, how satisfied they are with their local service and the extent to which fares and other factors influence their use of private ferries.
Further details about the review are included in an Issues Paper and related Information Paper. IPART is inviting public comment on the Issues Paper until 6 August 2021.