Westgate Punt

 

Take a punt on Ride to Work Day

6 October 2009. The Westgate Bike Punt will run on Ride to Work Day, October 14, to help more western suburbs riders to make their trip to work. Take advantage of the special low fare.

The punt will operate from 6.30-9.30am, then 4pm to 7pm, leaving ScienceWorks Jetty on the half hour, and Fisherman's Bend 15 mins later.

The special Ride to Work Day fare is $3 one way or $5 return.

This kicks off the Summer service, which will run Saturdays and Sundays at the standard timetable and price.

The Punt supporters are looking for volunteers to collect some statistics on the riders using the Punt that day.

Punt commuter service trial

 

29 January 2009. The Westgate Punt will trial a weekday commuter service from Monday 9 February to Friday 13 February to assess demand.

If successful the operator will consider a regular workday service. A previous trial was conducted in 2006, with sporadic commuter services since then, at the operator's discretion. The commuter service has also operated on National Ride To Work Day in 2006, 2007 and 2008. 

In recent weeks the punt skipper has experimented with a commuter service on Fridays and Mondays.

The weekend and public holiday service continues. The commuter service then ran on Ride To Work Day in October of 2006, 2007 and 2008. 

For further timetable details contact Alex, the Punt skipper: 0419 999 458.

Punt Timetable

The Spring and Summer weekend service resumes on Saturday 18 October 2008.

Weekend and Public Holiday Service: 10am – 5pm

For more information on extra operating hours contact the operator on 0419 999 458.

Ticket Prices

Tickets are $4 one-way or $6 return

Children under 10 free

Bicycles no charge

Weekday Bike punt trial winds up

June 2006. The trial of a subsidised weekday commuter service for cyclists and pedestrians across the Yarra River closed at 7pm on Friday 2 as a result of low patronage.

Since December 2005, Hobsons Bay City Council has administered a trial on behalf of a stakeholder group that subsidised a weekday commuter ferry service for bicycles and pedestrians that cross the Yarra River.

The stakeholder group that consisted of Hobsons Bay, Maribyrnong, Melbourne and Port Phillip City Councils, together with Parks Victoria, the Port of Melbourne Corporation and Bicycle Victoria, provided the cross-river trial transport in morning and afternoon peak times on working days.

After four months of operation, and despite considerable publicity, usage rates have remained below 25 per cent, with a monthly average high of 61 passengers per day in March, the highest usage recorded to date.

Bill Jaboor, CEO of Hobsons Bay City Council, on behalf of the stakeholder group, said that with the onset of the cooler and wetter months and an expected further decline in patronage, it was decided that the trial service should be terminated.

'The stakeholder group has invested considerable time and money to encourage cycling as a means of fostering a healthier population,' said Bill Jaboor, on behalf of the working group.

'It is most disappointing that the demand for the service has simply not been sufficient to justify the significant subsidies paid each month.

'The decision to terminate the service is based on the responsibility of the stakeholders to provide the best possible amenities to the greatest number of people and at the lowest possible cost.'

General Manager of Bicycle Victoria, Mr Harry Barber, said the termination of the subsidy is recognition of the low demand for the service at this point in time.

'One day there will be a bicycle ferry under the Westgate Bridge that will be heavily used, but this trial has shown that such a day has not yet arrived,' said Mr Barber.

Stakeholders will seek expressions of interest for the provision of a more permanent commercial service in the future.

A Business Plan is being prepared that will incorporate all relevant information on the trial. This will be incorporated into an information package that will be made available to operators that may be interested in putting in a proposal to operate the services in the future.