The Public Transport Authority of Western Australia (PTA) is hoping to expand ferry services on the Swan River in the south of Perth, with five new electric ferries and a new ferry terminal capable of delivering bring high voltage charging.
The proposed expansion was officially opened for comment on Monday by the Western Australian government’s Environmental Protection Agency, and involves a major expansion to its existing Swan River ferry network and the addition of electric ferries.
Two new ferry terminals are planned, with the Matilda Bay to also include the necessary onshore infrastructure to provide high-capacity charging for the ferries, and docking facilities for at least four electric ferries.
The Matilda Bay terminal will be located centrally along the shore of the bay and is expected to improve access to the University of Western Australia Crawley campus, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, as well as the Matilda Bay area more broadly.
WA’s Cook government called for expressions of interest in August 2024 from local industry to design the new fleet of ferries, which it reiterated again earlier this year in a Request for Tender for local vessel manufacturers to design and construct the five electric ferries.
According to the PTA’s environmental review, the environmental impact of the proposed expansion and development of new ferry terminals “are not considered to be significant” and will be fully mitigated and managed through the typical planning approval process.
Pending regulatory approvals and tender processes, the Cook government expects construction of the two new terminals to begin midway through next year. There are also potential further expansion plans under investigation which would extend ferry operations north along the Swan River into the Perth central business district.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.