Sad to see the report in The Age today that the West Gate Punt will wind-up weekday operations tomorrow:
It was a gamble that did not pay off. The punt that carries cyclists across the Yarra River in the shadow of the West Gate Bridge will be axed tomorrow.
The five-minute crossing – between Scienceworks at Spotswood and Port Melbourne – will be cut on weekdays. The punt will continue to operate on weekends.
There is currently no more funding available to subsidise it.
The service started as a trial in December, co-ordinated by Bicycle Victoria. It has since proved popular, but not enough to keep it going.
Bicycle Victoria general manager Harry Barber said that although the punt had proved popular as a quick trip for cyclists and a way to avoid road congestion and reduce environmental problems, it was an idea that was "premature".
Mr Barber said research had revealed that there were not enough regular commuters to justify the service.
It's a chicken-and-egg thing, isn't it? There aren't enough commuters to justify it, but there will never be enough commuters while they have to battle the long way around to get to the city. I'm not sure, but without the punt I think you'd have to ride all the way to Footscray Road to get across the Yarra – and that's a long detour.
As usual, count on pedaller to look at the numbers and compare the mere tens of thousands required to keep the punt service going to the hundreds of millions used to subsidise the M4 and M5 motorways in Sydney. Equitable use of public funds?
Although I don't use the punt, it's sad to see the service stop. Maybe it's an idea before its time and if so, I hope its time does come – soon.
Comments
I wonder if anyone would ever consider the possibility of closing an unprofitable tollroad after a 5 month trial period? I bet they would be looking at ways of increasing the number of patrons, eg, lowering the toll, spending millions on advertising campaigns etc. Oh, wait a minute, that's just what they are doing with respect to the Cross City Tunnel in Sydney :)