Douglas Shire Council - Fare Collection Network at Daintree River Ferry

The Daintree River is located within the Douglas Shire and the only means of vehicular transport across the river is by the Daintree River Ferry, which is a cable ferry. The service provided by the Daintree River Ferry is an essential service providing connectivity between the northern and southern parts of the Douglas Shire Council and further north to the Wujal Wujal Shire and the Cook Shire via the Bloomfield Track. The Daintree River Ferry is a vital component of the Council’s road network and to ensure the effective and efficient transport of vehicles across the river, a robust, reliable and innovative fare collection network is paramount.

What Is Required
Council is seeking to install a fare collection network that is:
* Concise, contemporary and compliant;
* User friendly particularly for ferry staff who are the “front of office” operators;
* Robust hardware that can be operated in the various weather conditions experienced in the tropics;
* That delivers innovative options for the consumer including but not limited to on-line ticket purchases, off-site ticket purchases and at the same time meeting all contractual requirements between Council and the ferry operator;
* Greater use of technology to automate current manual procedures including validation of fares/concessional travel;
* Creates efficiencies at time of travel (including accurate collection of statistical data) and through reconciliation and back office administration; and
* Provides real time access by Council staff to the receipting process and comprehensive reporting options.

Although the receipting at the Daintree River Ferry is Council’s main priority, Council also operates the Wonga Beach Caravan Park and it would be desirable, but not essential, if the fare collection for the caravan park could utilise the same system.