Transperth Ferries
Two Transperth ferries operate between the City (Barrack Street) and South Perth (Mends Street) providing 80 services on an average weekday from September to April and 60 services on an average weekday from May to August. The service has been competitively tendered since 1995, and is currently provided under contract by Captain Cook Cruises.
During the year, the MV Phillip Pendal operated as the primary vessel with the MV Shelley Taylor-Smith as the back-up vessel. The MV Phillip Pendal was commissioned and started services on May 3 2009.
Patronage
Transperth Ferries: Patronage (millions)
The ferry service represents only a very small proportion of Transperth system patronage (less than 0.5 per cent). Tourism has a significant impact on this service as tourists account for about half of our ferry passengers. Consequently ferry patronage tends to fluctuate with the level of tourist traffic.
In 2010-11, ferry total boardings were 471,000, up 1.6 per cent from 2009-10’s 464,000 and reversing that year’s significant decline. Cash and SmartRider initial boardings, which fell 16.7 per cent in 2009-10, rose 2.9 per cent to 342,000. The noteworthy feature of ferry patronage was that fare-paying boardings, which fell 20.8 per cent in 2009-10, recorded an increase of 3.9 per cent in 2010-11.
On a per kilometre basis, total boardings increased 1.6 per cent to 13.640 from 2009-10’s 13.430. Cash and SmartRider initial boardings rose 2.9 per cent to 9.908 (9.627 previously).
Passenger satisfaction
The 2011 PSM showed that a very high proportion of ferry passengers are satisfied with our ferry service overall, continuing a trend of many years. The importance rating of the key service characteristics (other than passenger safety) and their respective levels of satisfaction are shown in the accompanying table.
In 2011, “access to ticket purchase facilities” replaced “temperature on board” as a key service characteristic. The satisfaction rating for most service characteristics improved or remained unchanged. In the case of “speed of the trip” and “availability of seats”, the satisfaction rating slipped slightly to 98 per cent from 99 per cent.
Transperth Ferries: Level of overall customer satisfaction
| Service characteristic | Importance rating (%) | Satisfied (dissatisfied) % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2011 | 2010 | 2011 | |
Cost of the fare |
59 | 80 | 80 (2) | 84 (0) |
Cleanliness on board |
59 | 73 | 99 (0) | 99 (0) |
Punctuality |
52 | 61 | 94 (1) | 98 (0) |
Shelter at the jetty |
49 | 60 | 75 (14) | 78 (14) |
Speed of the trip |
46 | 53 | 99 (0) | 98 (0) |
Availability of seats |
40 |
52 |
99 (0) | 98 (1) |
Service frequency weekdays |
42 | 50 | 79 (5) | 79 (7) |
Access to ticket purchase facilities |
48 |
94 (0) |
||
Passenger safety
Transperth Ferries: Customer perception of safety
In the PSM, ferry users were asked “How safe do you generally feel from personal interference or threat from other passengers?” The accompanying graph shows the proportion of respondents who “always” or “usually” feel safe at the specified times/locations.
Results over the past five years show that virtually all ferry passengers feel safe on board and at the jetty during the day. However, the proportion of users who feel safe on board at night fell from 2010’s 94 per cent, to 89 per cent. The proportion who felt safe at the jetty at night was also down, slipping from 88 per cent to 86 per cent.
A CCTV camera system has been installed on the two vessels. The cameras are monitored to ensure passenger safety and the security of the vessels when operations have ceased.