SYDNEY'S outgoing ferries could be used to expand Newcastle's ferry service, the city's state MP believes.
Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp is calling for the Sydney vessels to be re-used in the Hunter when they are phased out.
A second shipment of the new Sydney ferries bought from overseas arrived in the Port of Newcastle earlier this week.
The River class ferries will replace Sydney's HarbourCat and SuperCat vessels.
Mr Crakanthorp said Transport for NSW showed a rise in ferry use with the exception of the pandemic period, saying 550,000 Opal trips were recorded in 2019 compared to 516,000 in 2018 and 471,000 in 2017.
He said a SuperCat could transform public transport on the harbour.
"With the western end of Honeysuckle soon to be delivered and vessels coming available, it would make sense to incorporate a wharf into that development and expand our ferry service," he said.
"With the approval of numerous high rises the population growth in that part of the city is going gangbusters, and this is an opportunity to create the transport connections which will service those people into the future.
"I've been raising the idea of an expansion with the government for many years and now we have a golden opportunity to grow our ferry service."
