UPDATE: Parramatta River Ferry services
We stood up and we made our voices heard!
We are thrilled to announce, as confirmed by John Sidoti MP, the proposed changes to F3 Parramatta River Ferry Services will no longer be going ahead and services will continue as usual.
The community meeting will not go ahead tomorrow 4 March, to read more about this announcement scroll down.
A message from Mayor Angelo Tsirekas:
I write to you today to celebrate our community’s stunning win. The proposed change to sever the direct ferry link between our wharves and Circular Quay has been scrapped by the NSW State Government.
In just over a week, 885 residents took the time to make a submission on the proposed changes through our Collaborate Canada Bay page. The results were damning and unequivocal:
- 99.3% of residents did not support the proposed changes
- 93.1% agreed that the changes would have a negative impact on tourism to the area
- 91.8% felt that the changes would push more residents to using private transport
In addition, we had over 260 individuals RSVP for our public meeting.
Let me thank each and every one of you for adding your voice to this campaign. This is a striking case of passionate, local activism. Together we advocated for the protection of a vital public service… and we won.
With the State Government backing down from these damaging changes, the public meeting on Wednesday, March 4 will not be going ahead. Please help us out be sharing this news with anyone you know who may have been attending.
It’s important to note that this is not the end of the fight for better ferry services, better public transport links or for better services from all levels of Government. This win is an indication of what we can achieve if we stand together as a community.
Lastly, I’d like to say thank you to the Member for Drummoyne John Sidoti for advocating for his community on this issue, to Council staff who worked hard over the past week to support the campaign and most importantly to the residents who got behind this fight. If you are looking to celebrate, why not hit the river this week on one of our iconic Parramatta River public ferries – I might see you out there!
Original Outreach Message
City of Canada Bay Mayor Angelo Tsirekas is calling on residents to share their concerns about damaging changes to local ferry services.
The State Government’s private ferry operator Transdev are proposing to terminate all F3 ferry services at Barangaroo as part of a wider route review.
Under the proposed changes, residents travelling from local wharves to Circular Quay and the Lower North Shore will need to change at Balmain East for their regular services, severing a century-long direct link between the City of Canada Bay and the centre of Sydney.
For more detail on the proposed changes, click here to visit Transdev's website.
“Whether it’s to travel to work or enjoy a family trip to the zoo, residents along the Parramatta River have depended on the Circular Quay ferry service for over 100 years,” Mayor Tsirekas said. "This will not only force residents to change ferries to travel into the centre of the city but create unnecessary bottlenecks at Balmain East wharf."
“I urge residents to have their voice heard by completing the quick survey below. Your responses to this survey will help build our submission to Transdev and the State Government."
Residents are also invited to a public meeting at 6pm Wednesday, 4 March at the Community Hall, Village Drive, Breakfast Point. Council has invited representatives of Transdev and the local State Member John Sidoti. Residents can RSVP to the meeting on this page.
