T000074 - Noosa North Shore Vehicle Ferry Service

Summary and scope

Noosa Shire Council invites tenders for the provision of the Noosa North Shore Vehicle Ferry Service commencing from 1 July 2024 for an initial term of up to 20 years. Council seeks experienced operators to deliver the ferry service across the Noosa River located at Moorindil Street, Tewantin. The service involves provision and operation of dual cable-operated vehicle ferries running daily throughout the year and is offered in accordance with a draft Service Agreement. Noosa’s vehicle ferry service is one of the highest patronised cable ferry services in Australia and is a gateway to the World Heritage listed Great Sandy National Park and Cooloola Recreation Areas. These areas include many world-class natural sites, which attract day visitors, campers and commercial tours. The ferry service also provides essential access to residents on the Noosa North Shore, Teewah Beach township and tourist accommodation facilities and camp grounds north of the Noosa River. Noosa Council seeks to partner with a service provider having the necessary resources, capacity, skills, knowledge and experience to deliver the service to meet community needs. The successful respondent will provide high standards of customer service and drive new innovations to improve and adapt the service over the term of the contract. Key service requirements include: • Provision and operation of two suitable vessels having equal or greater vehicle handling capacity to the existing service (being 2 x 10 vehicle vessels having a minimum peak carrying capacity of approximately 240 vehicles per hour). • Provision of an electronic payment option(s) and contemporary customer service systems. • Demonstrated understanding and management systems to cater for peak customer demands to minimise vehicle queuing and wait times. A traffic assessment is included in the tender documents, which indicates a larger vessel(s) is likely to improve peak carrying capacity, reduce queueing and improve the customer experience. Respondents are also invited to consider other means of traffic and queue management. Respondents must submit a Service Plan outlining their proposed service levels, handling capacity, management approaches and innovations. The successful Respondent’s Service Plan will become a key contract document. The contract revenue structure comprises of: • Fixed Annual Fee – retained from revenue in monthly instalments • Revenue Share Percentage – retained portion of revenue over and above the Fixed Fee component The fixed fee component provides certainty for the successful contractor and removes risk of customer number fluctuations. Council invites tenderers to nominate both their Fixed Annual Fee amount and Revenue Share Percentage. Respondents are invited for a range of initial contract terms from 10 to 20 years commencing on 1 July 2024, with the contract including an option for a further 5 years to follow the initial term. All documentation submitted will be treated as confidential by Council and will be assessed by an evaluation panel under probity. Please refer to the Invitation to Tender documentation attached for further details..