Whangaparāoa locals oppose getting rid of often cancelled ferry

Commuters on Auckland's Whangaparāoa Peninsula are trying to sink a plan to get rid of their ferry. 

An Auckland Transport proposal could see the 50-minute trip from Gulf Harbour to Downtown grounded within the next five years, with passengers forced onto buses instead.

It came as a surprise to locals, who had been hoping for some improvements to the service marred by cancellations.

With almost 40 percent of trips on the service cancelled last year, commuters did not think it could get much worse.

"We've had a lot of tears over the past year trying to get into work," one commuter said.

"Some of us have pulled back to be able to actually get some work done and not be in the boss's bad books."

Another passenger said the evening services were the least reliable.

"There are permanent cancellations. The 5.45 and 6.45 ferries have been permanent bus replacements for months now.

"As an example, I went to get the ferry the other evening and a couple of minutes before we were meant to leave, it got cancelled, and that ferry, I was told, went to replace the Waiheke service.

"It just shows that the Gulf Harbour service has been at the bottom of the priorities as far as AT are concerned."

Auckland Transport's draft regional public transport plan 2023-2031 presented the organisation's priorities, including new and improved services and infrastructure projects.

Low-emission ferries were on the horizon, and passengers on most ferry services like Hobsonville or Half Moon Bay would see an increase in the frequency of trips over the next eight years.

The Gulf Harbour ferry alone had the word "withdrawn" marked beside its name.

AT proposed to remove the service from 2028, after the completion of the Penlink road connecting Whangaparāoa to State Highway One.

Currently, it could take two hours to drive from Gulf Harbour to Britomart in peak traffic.

Passengers said although the new route - which would bypass Silverdale - may reduce travel time, it was still no match for the ferry.

"The Penlink, it's great - it's going to cut travel time by about 20 minutes," one passenger said.

"But then, with the traffic, you don't know how you're going to get to the city; are you going to get to the city on time?

"At least with the ferry, the only traffic you're going to get is the dolphins."

Another commuter said the ferry experience was more pleasant than travelling overland.

"A lot of people can work while they're on the ferry, and it's a bit awkward to do it on the bus.

"It's more comfortable; you can get your coffee."

Other passengers said without the ferry, they would consider moving out of the area altogether.

Albany ward councillors said they were blindsided by AT's proposal to remove the service, despite councillor John Watson also being the chair of the transport committee with oversight of AT.

"This was like a bolt out of the blue," Watson said.

"Along with my fellow councillor, this [Monday] was the first time we'd heard of it - not even a mention of it.

"Everything we'd heard up until this point went to investment that's occurring here, looking to improve the service after the unreliability of the last few years.

"This comes completely out of left field and has no sense in terms of an integrated transport network; it just doesn't stack up."

Councillor Wayne Walker said without the ferry, a lot of infrastructure would go to waste.

"There's a huge amount of money that's sunk in here," he said.

"We've got a park and ride over there at the Hammerhead that has cost millions of dollars to provide; we've got berth space here that is available.

"There's a huge sunk investment in those things but also the huge sunk investment which is effectively the saving of the costs to the roading network if you have to apply any alternative."

Catching wind of AT's plans, Army Bay resident Michelle Amopiu started a petition to save the ferry.

"I want to get at least 10,000 people signing the petition and I also want to raise awareness that if it can be our ferry that is discontinued, it could be any other ferry," she said.

"It could be Half Moon Bay; it could be Hobsonville. It would probably never be Devonport, let's be honest, but it could be other services that get cut."

As of Tuesday afternoon, Amopiu had accumulated almost 3000 signatures and hundreds of messages of support.

Auckland Transport service network development manager Pete Moth said improvements to Whangaparāoa's roads and bus network meant the ferry may end up performing a duplication of services.

"The Penlink connection will allow not just a Northern Express service but also wider bus improvements in and around the peninsula that will give quicker journey times."

He said Gulf Harbour to Downtown was AT's most expensive and carbon-intensive ferry route, and the route most prone to cancellations.

"It's not the most reliable service, whereas the bus option, we believe, will be more reliable, more frequent, and will give better access to people on the peninsula."

Moth said AT would be working to improve the ferry service until it was withdrawn, which would not happen until at least 2028.

"We've been working with the operator [Fullers360] over the past couple of years to try and ensure as much of that service can run as possible, and we intend for that to get better over the next few years."

The organisation would be seeking feedback on its public transport plan from Monday, July 17.

Fullers360 chief executive Mike Horne said he was not consulted on the proposed withdrawal.

"We regard the Gulf Harbour ferry service as a valuable and important part of Auckland's wider ferry network," he said.

Fullers360 was contracted by Auckland Transport to operate the Gulf Harbour ferry service until June 2028.