Ferry service under review
Burns Point Ferry, the link to South Ballina, is under Ballina Shire Council review, with staff looking at ways to make the service break even or return a profit.
The decision followed a motion on notice to the January 19 council meeting by Cr Keith Johnson, who said the ferry averaged a loss of $100,000 a year over the past five years.
Cr Johnson’s motion proposed:
* Increasing the cost of seasonal and casual tickets to a level that would eliminate losses.
* Selling the ferry service to a private operator who would not receive any subsidy or assistance from the council.
* Give the ferry service to a private operator who would commit to maintaining the existing service with no assistance from the council.
* Sell the ferry and discontinue the service.
Cr Johnson said it should be noted that casual users of the service accounted for about 20 per cent of the use but paid 80 per cent of the revenue. Season ticket holders contributed 20 per cent of the revenue but accounted for 80 per cent of the usage.
He tabled figures which said that in 2004-05 about 295 season tickets were issued, of which about 100 were for the same address.
About 170 quarterly season tickets had been issued per quarter, with 34 being for the same address.
Cr Johnson said that many of the addresses were in Ballina Shire but were not South Ballina addresses. He said that there was the possibility that fishermen invested in a season ticket.
The council’s dilemma over the ferry is that it has lost more than half a million dollars in the past five years, but its abolition would be extremely unpopular with South Ballina residents and those who utilise the area’s isolated and pristine beaches — fishermen, surfers, beachgoers and tourists.
Without the ferry service, people wanting to visit South Ballina would have to drive up to an extra 50km to get there, travelling from Ballina to Wardell and back through Empire Vale.
