New operators of Queenstown's water transport service are dropping prices and boosting services to encourage more residents to "take the lake''.
Queenstown Ferries, formerly Queenstown Water Taxis, is now being operated on Lake Wakatipu under the Go Orange brand after parent company Real Journeys' purchased it and Thunder Jet earlier this year.
The new pricing and timetable, catering to commuting and hotel guest travel times, will come into effect on November 1.
Go Orange general manager Luke Taylor said transport industry figures showed State Highway 6, between Frankton and Queenstown, was close to 90% of its "theoretical capacity'' of 28,500 vehicles a day, which was a motivator to boost ferry services.
"It's a no brainer to `take the lake' as part of the future of sustainable public transport in Queenstown and stop people automatically reaching for their keys,'' Mr Taylor said.
"We should be using the natural highway that's right here on our doorstep, the one without traffic, congestion and that doesn't require locals to pay through the roof for parking.''
By implementing a timetable the ferry service would run "whether there's somebody standing on the jetty or not''.
Mr Taylor said they would initially "overcook it'' to ensure there was enough capacity, possibly running more than one of their three boats on the same schedule, "and then we'll play around from there''.
"If there's enough demand then we'll invest in bigger vessels.''
A 10-trip concession card cost $49, while a one-way ferry would cost $9, and return $15.
Previously single trips cost $10, while a 10-trip concession card, introduced by the former operators last December, cost $80.
Mr Taylor said the company had "gone as low as we can go, commercially, to ... not take a hiding''.
To increase frequency or lower the cost a public transport subsidy would be required, he said.
The company was also continuing discussions about establishing a wharf at Frankton Beach, but believed its construction should be "a ratepayer-funded burden'' because it was a "public amenity''.
Longer-term the company, which operates ferry services in the Foveaux Strait and Banks Peninsula, had not ruled out extending Queenstown Ferries to cater to commuters from residential subdivisions like Bridesdale Farm, close to the Kawarau River.
That, however, would require investment in three or four new boats capable of navigating the shallow and rocky area beneath the historic Kawarau Bridge, first built as a dam in 1924.
Mr Taylor said if there was "an indication'' that service was supported by the resident community it was something the company would investigate.
"It is actually a really expensive undertaking to go and commit to that class of vessel when you don't know whether the demand is there to justify it.
"So what we're really relying on is the success of the Frankton Arm service to [support] the commercial justification to be able to build those additional vessels, rather than outlaying potentially millions of dollars only for them not to be used.''
