CityHopper

RiverCity Ferries

RiverCity Ferries

Ferry operator in Brisbane, Australia


RiverCity Ferries is a public transport company which commenced operating ferry services in Brisbane on 4 November 2020. It is a subsidiary of the Kelsian Group.[1][2]

Quick Facts Industry, Predecessor ...

RiverCity Ferries operates 32 vessels serving 21 wharves on the Brisbane River under a ten-year contract (with an optional five-year extension) with the Brisbane City Council.[3][4] The company won the contract from the previous operator, Transdev Brisbane Ferries.[1]

Services

CityCat

CityCat services operate from UQ St Lucia to Northshore Hamilton calling at West End, Guyatt Park, Regatta, Milton, North Quay, South Bank, QUT Gardens Point, Riverside, Sydney Street, Mowbray Park, New Farm Park, Hawthorne, Bulimba, Teneriffe, Bretts Wharf and Apollo Road.[5] Not all CityCat services stop all stops, with some peak time express services operating.[6]

CityHopper

CityHopper is an inner city service between North Quay and Sydney Street, stopping at South Bank, Maritime Museum, Riverside and Holman Street.[7]

Cross River

Cross River consists of cross-river services at two locations.[8]

Changes from 15 November 2020

  • Some services which were suspended by Brisbane City Council on 20 July 2020, were either cancelled or reintroduced by RiverCity Ferries as follows:-
  • The Norman Park Cross River service was cancelled permanently.
  • Resumed services were:
    • The Kangaroo Point Cross River service no longer stops at Thornton Street and Eagle Street, and instead operates from Holman Street to Riverside wharf only.
    • Likewise the CityHopper service no longer stops at Dockside, Thornton Street and Eagle Street. Riverside Wharf can be used instead of Eagle Street.[9][10]
    • The resumed services use the leased KittyCat catamarans.

Fleet

RiverCity Ferries's fleet consists of 23 CityCats, five KittyCats and one CityFerry (out of service undergoing repair).[11] All except the KittyCats are owned by Brisbane City Council; the KittyCats are leased from Captain Cook Cruises.

CityCat ferries

The CityCat vessels are catamarans, and named after the Aboriginal place names for various parts of the Brisbane River and adjacent areas (with the exception of the 19th CityCat, the Spirit of Brisbane, which honours the 2011 flood recovery volunteers[12]). All CityCats are operated by a crew of three - a master, a deck hand and a ticket seller.[citation needed]

First generation

First generation CityCats have a capacity of 149 passengers.[5] These are to be replaced by additional fourth generation vessels.[13]

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Second generation

Second generation CityCats have a capacity of 162 passengers.[5]

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Third generation

Third generation CityCats have a capacity of 162 passengers.[5]

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Fourth generation

Seven fourth generation CityCats are being delivered from late 2019. They have a capacity of 170 passengers, including 20 on an open upper deck, plus more space for wheelchairs and bicycles than earlier generations. The vessels which each cost $3.7 million, are being constructed at Murarrie by Aus Ships Group.[29][30][31]

In December 2019, Brisbane City Council awarded Aus Ships Group a contract for an additional six fourth generation CityCats to replace the first generation vessels at a cost of $3.73 million each.[13]

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KittyKat 'Victoria' (September 2021)

KittyCats

Five 12 m (39 ft) catamarans, nicknamed KittyCats, have been leased from RiverCity Ferries sister company Captain Cook Cruises in Sydney since November 2020 to operate the CityHopper and cross river services after the monohulled ferries were withdrawn. The first, MV Cockle Bay, arrived in Brisbane in September 2020,[42] to fill in for suspended cross-river ferries awaiting repairs. They have a capacity of 60 passengers (36 seated, 24 standing) and are operated by a crew of one. They are powered by 2 x 184 kW (247 hp) Cummins QSB engines with an economical normal service speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) and a maximum speed of 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph).

Residents have expressed concerns with the noise of the new vessels, since they came into service. In May 2021, Council ordered SeaLink to fit mufflers to the vessels to reduce noise concerns.

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Monohulled ferries

When the CityFerry and CityHopper fleets were suspended from service due to deterioration of their wooden hulls, ferry Kalparrin with its steel monohull remained in service. Kalparrin is currently out of service, undergoing refurbishment and restoration. It's powered by a 86 kW (115 hp) Perkins engine, with a maximum speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) and is operated by a crew of one.[5]

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EVCat

A prototype electric ferry, to be called the EVCat, was announced by Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner on 14 June 2023. Development would be funded by Brisbane City Council and developed jointly with River City Ferries and Aus Ships. The proposed prototype would be 15 metres (49 ft) long and carry 50 passengers, larger than the KittyCats but smaller than the CityCats.[44]

Former fleet

Monohull ferries

The monohulled ferries worked the inner city CityHopper and cross-river CityFerry services. All units were suspended from service in July 2020 following the discovery of rotten wood in their hulls and later replaced by KittyCats.[45]

Restoration of these ferries was mooted but later abandoned due to cost and their 30+ year age; they were auctioned off in August 2022.[46]

CityHopper

These were powered by 134 kW (180 hp) Scania engines, with a maximum speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) and were operated by a crew of one.

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CityFerry

These were powered by 86 kW (115 hp) Perkins engines, with a maximum speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) and were operated by a crew of one.[5]

Kalparrin was the only ferry to survive withdrawal of the fleet due to having a steel hull instead of timber.

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Network

The wharves are given in geographical order, heading upstream along the Brisbane River.

More information Wharf, Stopping patternSE = SpeedyCat Express (weekday peak)CC = CityCatCH = CityHopper CF = CityFerry (cross river) ...

References

  1. SeaLink secures Brisbane CityCat contract Archived 30 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine Business News Australia 29 June 2020
  2. CityCat, SpeedyCat and ferry services Archived 5 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Brisbane City Council
  3. "River City Ferries". River City Ferries. Archived from the original on 19 September 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  4. "CityCat timetable" (PDF). Translink. 15 November 2020.
  5. "CityHopper timetable" (PDF). Translink. 15 November 2020. pp. 1–2.
  6. "Bulimba-Teneriffe cross river timetable" (PDF). TransLink. 15 November 2020. pp. 3–6.
  7. Stone, Lucy (23 October 2020). "Council scuttles two Brisbane River ferry services permanently". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  8. Fast Facts Archived 27 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine Transdev Brisbane Ferries
  9. "New CityCat honours Brisbane's flood heroes". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
  10. "Council cuts CityCat ties with 100-year-old Brisbane boat supplier". Brisbane Times. 5 December 2019. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  11. Brisbane CityCats Archived 26 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine BSC Marine
  12. "CityCat network offline for months, bikeway damage could take years to repair, Brisbane City Council warns". ABC News. 8 March 2022. Archived from the original on 10 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  13. Griffith, Chris (2 August 2004). "Supercat's launch barely raises a ripple". The Courier-Mail. p. 4. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  14. Kennedy, Julian (22 June 2005). "Ferry fever catching". Brisbane City News (1 ed.). p. 12. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  15. "Brisbane CityCats". Norman R. Wrights & Sons. Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  16. Petrie, Constance Campbell; Petrie, Tom, 1831-1910 (1980). Tom Petrie's reminiscences of early Queensland (PDF). Currey O'Neil. p. 316. ISBN 978-0-85550-278-2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2020.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. Robinson, Georgina (23 June 2008). "New CityCat bolsters fleet". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  18. Waters, Georgia (13 November 2008). "Lucky 13 as Rice launches newest CityCat". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  19. Moore, Tony (21 April 2009). "CityCats to get military-style cameras". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  20. Moore, Tony (18 February 2010). "CityCats go express". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  21. Moore, Tony (2 July 2010). "New CityCat a floating canvas". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  22. Calligeros, Marissa (25 July 2011). "CityCat terminal to plumb new depths". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 25 February 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  23. Moore, Tony (4 October 2011). "New CityCat honours Brisbane's flood heroes". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  24. Kim Stephens (4 November 2014). "CityCat No. 20 a floating tribute to leaders' summit". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 11 April 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  25. "CityCat 22". Brisbane City Council. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  26. "Multimillion-dollar double-decker CityCat to be built". Brisbane Times. 6 November 2018. Archived from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  27. "Cat's out of the bag: First look inside Brisbane's double-decker CityCat". Brisbane Times. 20 August 2019. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  28. "Brisbane's first double-decker CityCat hits the water". Brisbane Times. 22 October 2019. Archived from the original on 23 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  29. "27m Passenger Catamaran - CityCat 22 "Yoogerah"". Aus Ships Group. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  30. "Neville Bonner's legacy to travel the Brisbane River". Brisbane Times. 25 August 2020. Archived from the original on 25 August 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  31. "27m Passenger Catamaran - CityCat 23 "Neville Bonner"". Aus Ships Group. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  32. "27m Passenger Catamaran - CityCat 24 "Mianjin II"". Aus Ships Group. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  33. "27m Passenger Catamaran - CityCat 25 "Barrambin II"". Aus Ships Group. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  34. "27m Passenger Catamaran - CityCat 26 "Mooroolbin II"". Aus Ships Group. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  35. "27m Passenger Catamaran - CityCat 27 "Kurilpa II"". Aus Ships Group. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  36. Howard, Vicki (1 August 2023). "New CityCat launches into service". Vicki Howard. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  37. "27m Passenger Catamaran - CityCat 28 "Binkinba II"". Aus Ships Group. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  38. "'KittyCats'". Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  39. Gardan, Stephanie; Pemberton, Alexander Gordon; Graham, Verna E (1 January 1972). Kalparrin : a voluntary agency looks to itself. University of Queensland Press. p. 127. Archived from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  40. "New owners for Brisbane's wooden hull cross-river ferries after auction process". ABC News. 17 November 2022. Archived from the original on 19 February 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.

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