By Juliano Oliveira
The Brisbane City Council will resume cross River and CityHopper ferries services on Sunday 15 November.
New timetables will be set after the decision of winding up services at Dockside, Thornton Street or Eagle Street Pier terminals.
Five new KittyCats vessels will be placed on Brisbane waters and, according to the council, they are incompatible with three closed terminals.
The Kittycat has a top speed of 23 knots, and that allows services 44% faster than the timber ferries. The new timetable will run at 25-minute intervals and stop at six stops, compared to the previous 36-minute monohull service that serviced eight stops.
Kangaroo Point Cross River Ferry will now run between Holman Street and Riverside terminals. Shuttle 27 will continue to run between Eagle Street and Baildon Street, Kangaroo Point, but will now run every 25 minutes.
Bulimba to Teneriffe Cross River Ferry will continue as usual.
Brisbane City Council has opted for the closing of the Norman Park ferry terminal due to the lowest patronage. The route that heads to New Farm, affirms the administration, carries 133 passengers on 136 services per day (pre-COVID), less than one passenger per trip.
Reactions
The announcement from Brisbane City Council to wind up services in two ferry terminals in Kangaroo Point and Norman Park has sparked irritation among commuters.
Morningside Ward, Councillor Kara Cook, has initiated an online petition with Brisbane City Council requesting the reinstallation of Norman Park Ferry services on 4 November 2020 when the new “KittyCats” start operation.
Councillor for The Gabba Ward, Jonathan Sri,has informed on Facebook that he would “be seeking an urgent meeting with the chair of public transport next week about this.”