Village Voice News - Community - Abbotsford resident says ferries getting a bad rap

I was surprised and disappointed by the article on ferry services in the April Village Voice.

Certainly, there are full ferries in peak hour, as there are full trains and buses. In morning peak times there are six ferry services in one hour, and yes they can be crowded.

So are the 504, and 438 buses from Chiswick and Abbotsford.

Outside of the main peak periods, ferries are not full, and to travel by ferry is a joy compared to noisy buses on busy roads.

The comments regarding the wharves are also strange.

The wharves at Abbotsford, Chiswick and Huntleys Point were all rebuilt about ten years ago, with only Drummoyne being partly upgraded.

Drummoyne wharf is the least used, possibly because it is difficult to park nearby, there is no bus service to the wharf due to narrow roads and because there is a constant stream of buses to the city on Victoria Road.

Regarding connecting buses, at Abbotsford there are buses leaving every seven to 10 minutes, at Chiswick only every half-hour. At McMahon's Point, the bus is always there for the ferry.

The report's negative and inaccurate summary regarding unreliable services, dilapidated wharves and overfilling leads me to assume this article was written to strengthen the case for ferries to be privatised.

Everyone I know who has travelled on the ferries either to work or for pleasure, always comments on how lucky we are to have such a service and that we are privileged to have ferries on the river.

Margaret Hagar

Abbotsford