Latest news with #electricferries
ABC News
4 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Perth community divided over WA government's plans for Swan River ferries
As the WA government moves forward with its election commitment to run electric ferries on the Swan River, campaigners want the Matilda Bay terminal moved south. A $107 million plan to expand Perth's ferry services is moving ahead, amid a campaign to move the terminal serving the University of Western Australia 1 kilometre south, to Jojo's restaurant near Pelican Point in Nedlands. Dubbed "Metronet on the Swan" by Premier Roger Cook, five new electric ferries will run on the Swan River with two new stops to be built at Applecross and Matilda Bay in Crawley. Sailing and recreation groups that use Matilda Bay say they are concerned a ferry terminal, with ferries arriving every 15 to 30 minutes, would pose a safety risk. Megan Bagworth, spokeswoman for the group Safety on Swan, which represents a number of sailing, rowing, fishing and swimming clubs that use the bay, told Nadia Mitsopoulos on ABC Radio Perth having ferries passing through would be dangerous. "When I first heard about the proposal about a ferry terminal in Matilda Bay, I spoke to clubs over in Sydney and Brisbane, to find out how can we adapt, how can we make this safe?" Ms Bagworth said. "What I discovered is that there is nowhere in Australia that compares with the proximity of clubs, the volume of people, and the diversity and the vulnerability of the users of Matilda Bay." She said the group did its own risk assessment, comparing five locations for the UWA terminal, and found the risk was lowest if the terminal was located at the Jojo's restaurant site. This is about a 1km walk from the main UWA campus buildings. "Jojo's is a really good strategic option for public transport because not only would it be the fastest route from Applecross to UWA, but it would also provide better access to QE2 [medical centre] and UWA's southern entrance because UWA is a big campus," she said. Graham White, the founder of Sailability, a group that provides sailing classes for people with disabilities at Matilda Bay, said his organisation was also concerned about safety if ferries begin stopping at the bay. "We would have to terminate our program because we just couldn't allow people with disabilities out in little dinghies to be interacting with large ferries," Mr White said. In a statement, a spokesperson for Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said there was strong public support for an expanded ferry service on the Swan River. "The expansion of ferry services on the Swan River has been a long-held ambition for our State, and the plans to expand to Applecross and UWA represent an exciting new chapter in public transport for WA," the spokesperson said. "The assessment of these sites is taking into consideration a range of criteria, including ease of access to UWA for students. "The government understands change can be difficult, but we remain confident a new ferry service can operate safely in the area, alongside recreational users. "There are numerous examples across Australia and the world where ferry services operate safely alongside recreational users, and there's no reason we cannot achieve the same outcomes here." ABC Radio Perth listeners were divided on the issue, with some fiercely opposed to the Matilda Bay stop, others passionate supporters. "I think this is a beat-up," caller Chris said. "I think that we need a ferry system that services UWA, and I think anyone who's sceptical of this should just go down to Hillarys Boat Harbour on any day when they're sailing, and you'll see little kids in little boats co-existing with big ferries coming in and out of that boat harbour." Caller Alan agreed. But caller Barb shared the safety concerns. "Jojo's is the safest location. It's not NIMBY-ism, the frequency and speeds proposed for the ferries means that the multiple training organisations can't share that area at the same time," she said. "We want a ferry, just not inside Matilda Bay." Caller Cam said Matilda Bay was the most beautiful part of the river. "A huge, big jetty and charging station, then parking spots and bus bays, plus the shore damage would be such a shame." Services on stage one of the plan, going to Matilda Bay and Applecross, are expected to commence by the end of 2027. The government plans to build the electric ferries in WA. They would operate every 15 to 30 minutes, with a top speed of 20 knots and the capacity to hold more than 130 passengers.
The Independent
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Ferry firm hails ‘new era' of flying electric boats in UK
The boss of a Solent ferry company has hailed a 'new era' of flying high-speed electric ferries in the UK. Red Funnel, which runs passenger and vehicle services between Southampton and Cowes, Isle of Wight, has partnered with Belfast-based firm Artemis Technologies to launch a zero-emissions foiling vessel next year. The 150-passenger ferry, which costs between £10-12 million to build, uses advanced hydrofoil technology and modularised battery systems. The hull lifts out above the water, which significantly reduces drag and wake so that the electric boat can travel longer distances at speed. The Red Funnel ferry will be plugged in for a quick charge each time it berths and is expected to save up to 3,700 tonnes of carbon emissions each year compared with conventional high-speed ferries. Its launch in 2026 will follow that of two others built by Artemis Technologies, which are expected to launch in Belfast and Orkney later this year. Iain Percy, Olympic sailing gold medallist and chief executive of Artemis Technologies, said the EF-24 Passenger is the first-ever electric foiling boat of this size in the world with permission to run commercial services. 'The problem with electric ferries is they really can't go far or fast,' he said, with challenges including drag and huge amounts of energy from the grid to the batteries that need to be carried on board. 'The flying part here – the foil – it's the unlocker to do commercially viable range and speed.' Fran Collins, Red Funnel's chief executive, said: 'This isn't just a new vessel. It's the beginning of a new era – defined by zero-emission technology, a smoother passenger experience, and a shared ambition to decarbonise ferry travel.' Speaking to a stakeholder audience at the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes, Ms Collins said the partnership with Artemis allowed Red Funnel to take a 'tangible' step in its decarbonisation journey with little risk. 'I was blown away by the technology and blown away by the work and the research that had gone into this,' she said. The cost of the ferry is an uplift of around 30% compared with conventional ferries but the firm will save an estimated £1 million a year on running costs, with a boat shelf-life of around 25 years, according to Mr Percy. The Olympic sailor said the firm approached its mission to decarbonise maritime travel with 'the ability to save enough energy to justify the cost of the technology'. 'The reality of the world is that we can't increase costs to decarbonise in the current environment. It's not going to happen,' he said. This means both firms expect no increase in Red Funnel passenger fares when the service kicks off next year. On ticket prices, Ms Collins said: 'Iain was very clear that his vision for this is that it's cost-neutral to put in the technology, and that's where we expect it to be. 'So from a ticket price perspective, we're not going to put ticket prices up as a result of having the Artemis vessels in.' She also said the new boat will help the firm cut service times back to pre-pandemic from 35 minutes to 30 minutes so they can better match up the journey with train times and improve the service's reliability. Red Funnel hopes to expand its fleet of electric foiling vehicles and introduce hybrid vehicle ferries but Ms Collins said the grid infrastructure remains a bottleneck to scaling their green ambitions. In the meantime, the firm has been calling for the Government to exempt lifeline services from the planned UK Emissions Trading Scheme, which will put a cap on the amount of carbon firms can emit while allowing them to buy more allowances to cover their excess. 'I think we need to be very careful,' she said. 'I think that imposing charges on lifeline services when there's no alternative is wrong. 'I think we need to incentivise us all to change but we cannot be responsible for putting in billions of pounds of infrastructure upgrades. 'We have to be careful it doesn't just become a tax on people because it all comes back to the consumer.'
