Sick of the Traffic? Jump on a Gondola

AN armada of small private ferries may soon be criss-crossing Sydney Harbour after the NSW government said it was willing to license more vessels to help serve small communities along the Parramatta River.

Community groups are anxious to see an expansion in the number of small ferries, running directly between harbourside suburbs and the city, saying they could ease traffic in the inner suburbs and unclog the streets around major ferry stops.

The president of the lobby group Ferry Alliance for the Inner West Region, Mike Perry, said without small operators, carrying a maximum of 30 passengers, many commuters would drive to major wharves in crowded suburbs, such as Balmain, Woolwich and Abbotsford, to catch Sydney Ferry vessels.

This will hopefully be a welcome change to Sydney's Traffic congestion, but will people start using more public transport and drive less?