Sink or swim for Gulf Harbour ferry

A ferry service that has operated between Gulf Harbour and downtown Auckland since the 1990s could end in five years’ time, with Auckland Transport (AT) claiming it costs too much in dollars, and carbon emissions, to run.

AT has contracted the service to Fullers, until 2028. Its draft Regional Public Transport Plan, out now for public consultation, proposes replacing the ferry with buses from 2028.

The proposal relies on the O Mahurangi Penlink toll road from Stanmore Bay to the

Northern motorway improving things for commuters.

However, the new link, due to open late 2026, is 10km away from Army Bay and Gulf Harbour on a road already congested at peak times and which cannot be widened to add a bus lane.

The idea of removing the ferry has caused outrage. More than 300 people packed into a public meeting on Wednesday, July 19 to hear more about the proposal and feelings were running hot.

Crs John Watson and Wayne Walker say the proposal came “like a bolt out of the blue”.

“Until then all we’d heard about the ferry was how to improve it,” Cr Watson says.

He says AT’s assumptions about traffic are flawed, as people value the ferry as the fastest direct route, and most pleasant way to get into the city. He predicts most commuters could jump back into their cars rather than take the bus, creating more congestion.

The councillors pointed out the multimillion-dollar investment in the ferry service, over many years. Its use as a transport hub was key in Auckland Council securing control over The Hammerhead land where the ferry terminal is situated. As noted many times in this paper, the ferry service has declined substantially in the past year with a cancellation rate of more than 43 percent in the last 18 months, due to crew shortages post-pandemic, vessel breakdowns and weather.

Prior to that, average annual cancellation rates were 6.8 percent (2018-2021) and Cr Watson says the ferry could average 16,000 to 18,000 boardings a month pre-Covid-19,