I have previously written about why Perth should consider a ferry service, I am not anti-ferry, I believe there is a demand for a ferry service. We previously had a ferry service on the Swan River, however, the service failed for a multitude of reasons. There is a ferry that goes from Elizabeth Quay to South Perth operated by Transperth, a great option for going to the zoo or South Perth in general.

The ferries really go back to the 1830s running between Fremantle and Perth, this was apparently a popular service as these centres lacked infrastructure in the early days of the colony such as roads and rail. The Swan River Ferry Company, formed in 1897 operated between Coode and Mends Street before expanding to Como, Applecross and Canning Bridge.

I recall the older service on the river stopping at jetties to pick up passengers, from my recollection there were only a few passengers on each jetty. Firstly, there was poor patronage on the ferry service, it was not integrated into other services and was more of a tourist service as I recall that finished in the mid 1990s.

So that leads us to Rita Saffioti’s expanded Metronet ferry dream. Matilda Bay is an A-Class reserve and magnificent bay at the button of King’s Park. As a tourist attraction, the last thing anyone wants is a huge jetty in the middle of the bay, generators running to recharge electric ferries with ferries arriving every 15 minutes.

There will be a ferry parked on charge at the jetty, the ferry will run from Applecross at 20 knots so it will be competitive with the train. Why would anyone get off the train at Canning Bridge and catch a ferry to Matilda Bay when the train goes to the Esplanade station and you watch a bus that gets you closer to the University of Western Australia.