Roads and Maritime Services will be conducting a trial second ferry service at Lawrence until the end of April 2019.

Roads and Maritime Acting Director Northern Region Vicky Sisson said the trial will be monitored closely to allow the agency to assess both how the service operates over this period, and its benefits.

“Roads and Maritime has listened to community concerns about lengthy delays at the Lawrence ferry and will be bringing the second vessel into service during peak periods over the next month,” Ms Sisson said.

“This trial will help Roads and Maritime determine if the second ferry can be operated in a safe and cost effective manner. 

“During the trial, two ferries will be operated at the same time between the hours of 7.30am to 9.30am, and 4pm to 6pm Monday to Friday, including school holidays. This arrangement will also be applied for the Easter long weekend, which is typically a very busy period due to the number of visitors to the region.

“Roads and Maritime will analyse and compare information gathered during the trial against records for the past 12 months.

“Other aspects will be monitored during the trial, including waiting times and the number of vehicles crossing per hour.”

“Customer satisfaction with the service is of high importance, however this has to be balanced with other aspects such as safety and value for money. The data collected during the trial period will help us to determine whether it should continue.”

Ms Sisson said the trial will provide vital information for Roads and Maritime regarding safety for ferry operators at Lawrence, especially for fatigue and traffic management.

“All services provided by Roads and Maritime must be carried out with close regard to the health and safety of the agency’s and contractor’s employees,” Ms Sisson said.

To help Roads and Maritime measure the success of the trial, the community will be able to take part in an online survey which will be available on the ferry website from April 8.

For more information or to take part in the survey, visit https://rms.work/lawrenceferry.