A recent report in The Weekend Sun that the Tauranga City Council has agreed to subsidise a two-year ferry service trial between Tauranga CBD and the Mount, at a cost of $1.4 million beggars belief.

The ferry service that was operated for many years by Faulkner Bros was closed after the first harbour bridge was opened in 1988 through lack of patronage as commuters used the bridge simply because of the speed and convenience of getting between the two destinations.

A service was started a few years ago by an English couple and only lasted a matter of weeks before they abandoned the idea, again through lack of customers.

It needs to be asked: Who is going to use this service on a regular basis to make it commercially viable? The answer has to be: No one.

The odd tourist or cruise ship passenger over summer will not make up for the lack of income over the colder, windy months. It also needs noting that the service obviously has to return from Tauranga, most likely empty. Who, in Tauranga, is going to pay for parking in the CBD and take a ferry to the Mount? I do hope that the incoming mayor and councillors will bring in something that in my opinion is lacking in the council – basic common sense and see this for what it is: A total waste of ratepayer money.

Kerry Gibson, Mount Maunganui.