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Auckland's public transport agency is arranging emergency ferry connections with Manukau and North Shore, after a threat by the operator to withdraw boats from two routes.
Ferry company Fullers dropped a bombshell yesterday on the Auckland Regional Transport Authority by serving 90 days' notice of its intention to withdraw from the Half Moon Bay and Bayswater routes, on which it carries about 800 passengers a day.
That follows the collapse of more than two years of negotiations with the authority for a new contract, during which the company says fuel prices have soared by 60 per cent.
"It is with extreme reluctance we provide this notice, but for 15 months we have operated without a formal contract and at a considerable financial loss," said Fullers chief executive Douglas Hudson.
Despite the negotiating impasse, Mr Hudson believed Fullers had given the transport authority enough notice for it to be able to to make alternative arrangements to ensure ferry passengers were not left high and dry after mid-January.
Auckland Regional Council chairman Mike Lee accused Fullers of playing "Russian roulette" with its passengers and the transport authority, which is a council subsidiary.
"If they are trying to blackmail ARTA, it may be counterproductive," he said. "It's not a good look to back a service up against the wall and it may enable someone else to come in."
The withdrawal notice has also the mayors of Manukau, Len Brown and North Shore, Andrew Williams.
Mr Brown called for an urgent resumption of negotiations between the transport authority and Fullers, saying his community would be aghast if ferry passengers were forced back on to crowded roads.
That call was backed by Mr Williams, although he expressed sympathy for Fullers in its bid to survive through hard economic times.
But last night, the transport authority moved to reassure commuters on both ferry runs that it was committed to retaining their transport links.
"Ferry operators are being approached by ARTA to provide services to Half Moon Bay and Bayswater on an emergency basis," said customer manager Mark Lambert.
