Transport minister Phil Twyford expects to know within a week whether the Waiheke Island ferry service can be brought under the oversight of Auckland Transport.
It comes after ferry company Fullers reduced its winter services to the island earlier this year, resulting in long queues, lengthy delays and cancellations.
Commuters have described being left in the cold and rain because ferries were cancelled without warning, and about their children missing sports games on the mainland.
Frustrations reached boiling point in recent weeks, with passengers reportedly jostling crew members and "[holding] the gangway hostage" and preventing a ferry from departing with empty seats.
READ MORE
• Ferry fury: Waiheke passengers accused of violence as tensions rise
• Wharf management and care of elderly short-term focus to fix the Waiheke ferry fury