Plan around the peaks. The River Derwent ferry between Bellerive Pier and Brooke Street Pier is a commuter contract, not a sightseeing loop: eight weekday departures from the eastern shore, seven back from the city, a Saturday service from nine till four, and nothing on Sundays or public holidays. Right now it also costs nothing — Tasmania has made its public transport free until 30 June 2027.
Transcribed from Derwent Ferries' timetable page on 24 September 2026 (page last revised 27 April 2026). No end date is printed; the operator says it runs Monday to Saturday, excluding public holidays Derwent Ferries – Timetable · 2026-09-24
Get to Bellerive Pier before 6:20 am if you want the first boat, and do not plan a midday crossing on a weekday — there isn't one. The River Derwent ferry runs in two tight blocks, an early-morning one into the city and an afternoon one back, with nothing between 9:00 am and 3:50 pm. On Saturdays it switches to a roughly hourly shuttle between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm. On Sundays and public holidays it does not run at all.
That shape is deliberate. Derwent Ferries operates the service for the Tasmanian Government under a contract that sets the timetable around commuter hours, and the operator is refreshingly blunt about it: it cannot add runs for festivals, football or anything else. The contract began in August 2021 as a twelve-month trial, carried more than 110,000 passengers in its first year, and became permanent when the 2022/23 state budget set aside $19 million to keep it running for four years.
The trip itself is short — about fifteen minutes from the eastern shore to Brooke Street Pier on the Hobart waterfront — and, until 30 June 2027, free.
Nobody pays on this ferry at the moment. The Tasmanian Government made its contracted buses and the River Derwent ferry fare-free from 30 March 2026 as a response to fuel prices, originally until 30 June 2026, and has since pushed the end date back twelve months to 30 June 2027. It covers adult, concession and child fares alike.
Once fares return, the ferry charges the same as a Metro Tasmania bus trip, with the usual 20 per cent Greencard discount and a free transfer to a Greencard bus within 90 minutes. The operator already lists its post-June 2027 prices; we will publish them when the government confirms them.
| Adult | Free |
| Concession | Free |
| Child or student, 5 to 16 | Free |
| Bike or e-scooter | Free |
Free travel on Tasmanian public transport until Wednesday 30 June 2027, as published by Transport Services and Derwent Ferries and read on 24 September 2026 Transport Services Tasmania – Fares · 2026-09-24
Drawn on the map, the route is short: just under three kilometres from the eastern-shore pier to the city waterfront, a route that keeps well south of the Tasman Bridge. By road the same trip means joining the bridge queue, which is precisely the traffic the state is trying to take off it. Bellerive Wharf is, in the government's own description, the only place on the eastern shore with infrastructure suitable for an accessible passenger ferry — which is why every expansion plan starts here.
The pier is a building site until mid-2027, and you still board here. Construction of a $7 million terminal began in July 2026. The Tasmanian Government has said the ferry itself is not affected; what moves is the walkway, with temporary access shifted slightly towards the fish punt and signage for pedestrians. The City of Clarence warns that access around the terminal may change while the work goes on, so allow a couple of extra minutes rather than walking your usual line.
There is no ferry car park documented at Bellerive. The state's advice is to walk, cycle or be dropped off, and the nearest buses stop on Cambridge Road, roughly 400 metres away. The pier has its own bike storage area; bring a lock.
The pier on Franklin Wharf is also Derwent Ferries' office address, and it has an accessible toilet. From here the city buses are about 400 metres up on Elizabeth Street. The pier building is shared with food stalls and tour desks; the commuter boat is the one run by Derwent Ferries, and it is the only service from here covered by the free-fare scheme.
The Excella has room for 15 bikes a trip. Anything over 30 kg, or awkward to stow, can be refused by the skipper, and every bike or scooter has to be pushed across the gangway, not ridden.
Children under 12 cannot travel alone: they need a parent, guardian or a sibling aged 15 or over. It is a rule the crew enforces, so a school-run plan built on a younger child riding solo will not work.
Food and drinks are for sale during the crossing, and there is an accessible toilet both on the ferry and at Brooke Street Pier. Only accredited assistance animals are allowed; pet dogs stay home.
The contract fixes the schedule. Derwent Ferries says outright that it does not add runs for the Wooden Boat Festival, Dark Mofo, the Regatta or a night at the cricket; any special event boat is chartered by someone else and announced separately.
More than 500 people a day now use the service. The state's own advice to adults is to let a full boat go and take the next one — easy in the peaks, a long wait if you miss the last morning sailing.
The ferry is not a new idea on this river, only a revived one. Before the old Hobart Bridge opened in the early 1940s, boats were the normal way across. After the Tasman Bridge disaster of January 1975, ferries ran again from Lindisfarne and Bellerive to the city until the bridge was rebuilt. The state's draft River Derwent Ferry Masterplan cites that history directly, and it explains why Bellerive, rather than a newer site, was the obvious place to restart a commuter run.
What happens next is also written down. The terminal works at Bellerive, due to finish in mid-2027, produce a design the government intends to reuse at every new stop, with shelters, secure bike parking and screens showing the timetable. The next stops named for the coming four years are Lindisfarne, Sandy Bay and Wilkinsons Point, with Howrah, Kingston Beach and Regatta Point further down the masterplan's list. For now, though, it is one boat, two piers and a timetable written for people with office hours. Set it beside Sydney's F1 from Circular Quay to Manly, which sails from early morning until close to midnight every day of the week, and the gap between a commuter contract and a full harbour network is plain. Victoria's bay crossing from Geelong to Docklands sits at the other extreme: a long, once-a-day run that competes with the train on scenery rather than speed.
Yes, until Wednesday 30 June 2027. The Tasmanian Government's fare-free public transport scheme covers Derwent Ferries along with Metro and the other contracted bus operators, so adults, concession holders and children all ride for nothing.
Still at Bellerive Pier on Victoria Esplanade. Works started in July 2026 and run to mid-2027; the government says the service is not affected and that temporary access has moved slightly towards the fish punt, with signs for passengers.
No. The last morning departure from Brooke Street Pier is 8:40 am and the next is 3:50 pm. From Bellerive the gap runs from 9:00 am to 4:10 pm. Weekday travellers outside those hours need the bus over the Tasman Bridge.
The 5:50 pm from Brooke Street Pier, Monday to Friday. On Saturdays the last departure from the city is 3:30 pm, and the final Saturday boat of all is the 4:00 pm from Bellerive to Hobart.
Not as part of the timetable. The contract covers Monday to Saturday only, excluding public holidays. Match-day or festival boats have run in the past, but only when another organisation chartered them.
Yes, at no charge, up to 15 per trip on the Excella. The crew assesses anything heavy or bulky, 30 kg is the limit, and you push it across the gangway. If it will not fit, Bellerive Pier has bike storage.
The ferry charges the equivalent of a Metro Tasmania bus fare, with a 20 per cent discount on a Greencard and free bus transfers within 90 minutes. Derwent Ferries has posted figures for July 2027; we will publish them once the state confirms them.