Travellers trying to make their way from Auckland city centre's ferry terminal to areas like Devonport and Beach Haven are being put into Ubers to complete their journey due to cancellations.
On Friday night two late-night services from downtown to Devonport were ditched at the last minute, with little warning for commuters to make alternative travel plans.
At least 20 people faced being stranded in torrential rain when the 11.30pm service was cut just three minutes before it was supposed to leave.
One would-be ferry passenger, who regularly catches the Friday night services after work, told 1News he decided to wait around for the midnight service but was gutted to learn that had also been cancelled.
Fullers staff made an announcement to commuters advising "a fleet of Ubers" would be arriving to complete their journey.
Four people were allocated to one vehicle and were taken over the Harbour Bridge to the ferry terminal on the North Shore.
The man got back to the North Shore just after 12.20am.
A journey from the Auckland Downtown Terminal to Devonport Ferry Terminal can cost between $35 to $40 at non-peak times but commuters paid their regular public transport fee, which is currently half price at the moment at $2.70.
At a minimum, the bill is likely to have been at least $175 for the group 20 to be taken where they needed to go.
An AT spokesperson told 1News: "Ferry suppliers organise these alternative services directly, with Uber working as a vendor for Fullers360 and not AT".
Concerns about the potential cancellations are seeing passengers having to leave home earlier than normal to make sure they are prepared for travel disruption.
Contracted routes, such as the Devonport ferry service, are managed by AT.
The AT spokesperson said Friday night's services were abandoned due to "vessel mechanical failure", adding: "Unfortunately sometimes mechanical or equipment issues happen last minute".
But over the weekend, more than 50 services to and from Auckland and Hobsonville Point, Auckland and Half Moon Bay and the Inner Harbour Loop were replaced by Uber and taxis.
AT said: "When capacity requirements for alternative transport is low, it is generally easier for the ferry operator to secure the provision of taxis and Ubers, rather than sourcing larger buses, particularly during the evenings."
Fullers should foot the bill - councillor
Chris Darby, Auckland Councillor for the North Shore, told 1News that ordering Ubers for passengers is "not remotely" a good way of operating.
He said if Fullers are responsible for the service being cancelled, they should be paying the bill.
Darby said: "Fullers, I expect, will be footing the bill for that, not AT, not Auckland ratepayers - if Fullers failed to deliver that ferry service, they will be footing the bill.
"It's not the way to travel, the way to travel is by a reliable ferry service."
Last year, Ubers and taxis replaced more than 350 ferry services across Auckland with many of the cancellations attributed to "high levels of engineering failures" while crew shortages and "operational constraints" were attributed to others.
As of October, 2312 of about 61,000 ferry services in 2022 were replaced by either buses, taxis or Ubers, RNZ reported at the time.
Darby said issues appear to be "ongoing", particularly on the downtown-Devonport route.
He said: "It's right on our radar and we're putting the blowtorch on Auckland Transport to make sure that they do everything possible to ensure Fullers360 do perform that service to the requirements of their contract."
AT told 1News: "AT pays the cost of all replacement transport for ferries; and in return AT receives either a rebate or an abatement for trips not provided.
"AT does not have a commercial relationship with Uber for the provision of any alternative services."
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