Love Boats has operated the Floriade ferry for the past three years. Photo: Floriade Australia, Facebook.
It’s a suggestion Charles Chatain hears every year while running the temporary ferry service for Floriade.
“What about a ferry service on the lake the rest of the year?”
It turns out the idea has not just come from festival-goers. Canberra’s National Capital Authority (NCA) has been quietly investigating whether ferries could work on Lake Burley Griffin.
Mr Chatain, owner of Love Boats Canberra and operator of the largest fleet on the lake, says now could be the perfect time to try one – especially with major construction underway in Civic.
But even he admits it is still some way off, and unlikely to ever resemble the high-speed ferry networks of Sydney or Brisbane.
Today’s ferry service
For the past three years, Mr Chatain has been contracted by the ACT Government to run a ferry during Floriade.
Using his Love Boats “event vessel”, which has a capacity of 105 passengers, the service runs every two hours on weekends for four weeks between Kingston Foreshore and Regatta Point, with a stop at Queen Elizabeth Terrace.
“I’ve received a lot of positive feedback,” he said.
“It means people going to Floriade don’t have to worry about parking, or getting across the bridge, and can incorporate a nice, 20-minute boat ride across the lake.”
This got him thinking.
“I’ve heard many times, ‘You should do a daily ferry service into the city’.”
What a daily ferry could look like
Mr Chatain says he has spent plenty of time thinking through how a commuter service might work – and where it might fall down.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of construction going on,” he said.
“There are a lot of people getting across the bridge. At the same time, where are you going park all their cars in the city? So I’m thinking, ‘How can a boat really solve a problem?'”
His answer would be a tightly focused weekday service aimed squarely at workers.
“My thinking would be we would do 7 o’clock and 8 o’clock runs leaving Kingston Foreshore – because there’s a nice big carpark right there outside the Glassworks,” he said.
Some of the Love Boats fleet, moored at Kingston Foreshore. Photo: Love Boats, Facebook.
The boat would travel straight under the bridges and dock near New Acton, in the West Basin opposite the National Museum.
“It wouldn’t be much work to put a docking point there so I could just pull in,” he said.
“It’d probably take me about 18 minutes to get there from Kingston, and then it’s just a little short walk across a footbridge and into the city. And if you work in that New Acton area, you’re literally door to door.”
Onboard, the trip would feel more like a café than public transport.
Love Boats’ pride of the fleet – the MV Reliance. Photo: Love Boats, Facebook.
“I’d get a barista on board, and have the morning news on the TV and maybe a couple of newspapers,” he said.
“People are already going to a café, ordering their coffee, and waiting 10 to 15 minutes for it. But if you could just park at the Glassworks, walk down, hop on the boat, go up to the barista on board and order a coffee – and 18 minutes later, we drop you off.”
The return trips would be more relaxed.
“In the afternoons, they could just come down and have a glass of wine or a beer on the way back,” he said.
Mr Chatain estimates a full boat in the morning could take about 200 cars off the road.
In principle, the government likes the idea
Mr Chatain says he has discussed the concept several times with the NCA.
“The NCA has been really supportive of me as I’ve tried to grow the business over the last couple of years,” he said.
In a statement, the authority confirmed it has considered the idea.
“The National Capital Authority is considering the potential of a ferry service for Lake Burley Griffin to connect major lakeside recreational and cultural hubs,” a spokesperson told Region.
“This aligns with the 1912 Griffin Plan for Canberra and the subsequent ‘Griffin Legacy’ policy framework.”
Charles Chatain also operates the lake’s historic paddle boats. Photo: James Coleman.
But the statement also made clear how much work remains to bring the idea to life.
“To date, this has not progressed further than initial enquiries,” it said.
“Early indications are economic viability may be an issue for a third-party provider … There are no current plans for its implementation.”
Why it’s hard to make it stack up
For Mr Chatain, the biggest problem is money.
“If it was a lake cruise, you could charge $30 to $35,” he said.
“But people just want basically the same as a bus.”
He estimates commuters might pay about $5 each way – but even that would not cover costs.
“The running costs of the boat are probably about $10,000 per day,” he said.
“It wouldn’t be viable unless people were paying $20 a ticket each way … no one’s going to do that.”
That – and the fact Lake Burley Griffin is home to more relaxed punters than Sydney Harbour – is why he believes Canberra is unlikely to ever have ferries like Australia’s other capitals.
“The last thing you need is a super fast ferry,” he said.
“You’ve got a lot of people out on the lake in the mornings, and sometimes there’s a little bit of fog.
“And I don’t want it to be a ferry where everyone’s sitting – I would keep it that sort of café lounge style, where effectively you’re getting a lift to work in your favourite café.”
