In Sydney's inner west the Parramatta River narrows to a few hundred metres between Mortlake and Putney, and a cable-hauled punt has worked that gap since 1928. It is free and quick, but it keeps a short working day, so the first thing to know is when it is actually there.
Operating windows from the NSW Government vehicle ferries page (Transport for NSW), read on 15 October 2026. The state publishes no other timetable for this ferry, so these hours rest on that single official listing; no end date is given NSW Government – Vehicle ferries (Mortlake ferry) · 2026-10-15
The Parramatta River pinches in at Mortlake. On the southern bank, in the City of Canada Bay, Hilly Street runs down to the water; facing it, about 375 metres across, a short road off Pellisier Road ends at a ramp in Putney, in the City of Ryde. The Mortlake ferry, which locals on both sides call the Putney punt, carries cars, bikes and walkers between those two ramps on submerged steel cables, in about five minutes.
It costs nothing, but it is not an all-day crossing. On weekdays it covers a morning and an afternoon commuter window and stands idle in between; on weekends and public holidays it works a single middle-of-the-day window instead. Outside those hours the way over is Ryde Bridge, upstream, which Transport for NSW says adds up to ten minutes to most trips.
Each bank has its own set of times, ten minutes apart in the morning and afternoon, so check which side you are starting from.
There is no ticket and no toll. When the punt went back into service in November 2025, the Roads Minister made a point of saying it had always been free and would stay that way. Walkers and cyclists ride at no charge as well.
| Car, ute or motorcycle | Free |
| Pedestrian | Free |
| Bicycle and rider | Free |
Free, as stated by the NSW Government for all its vehicle ferries and repeated by the Minister for Roads at the November 2025 reopening; read on 15 October 2026 NSW Government – Vehicle ferries · 2026-10-15
The punt crosses a straight reach of the river just above Breakfast Point, a stretch also used by the scheduled passenger ferries heading up towards Parramatta. Because the punt hauls itself along cables lying on the riverbed, the NSW maritime regulator laid down a code of conduct for roughly 350 metres of water either side of the crossing, obliging ferry masters to take care over the cables and both operators to keep out of each other's way.
Two other places on this site help put it in perspective. On the Hawkesbury, the Wisemans Ferry crossing is another state-run cable punt on Sydney's fringe, yet it runs around the clock with a second vessel at weekends, which shows how deliberately limited Mortlake's hours are. Closer by, the Lane Cove River boat is the passenger equivalent: a commuter boat on a tributary of the same river, built around the weekday peaks rather than the whole day.
The southern landing is simply the bottom of Hilly Street, which the state's road network data shows running straight down to the ramp. Times on this bank are the earlier of the two sets: the weekday morning window opens at 6.45am here, ten minutes before it does across the river.
On the northern bank a short access road leaves Pellisier Road for the ramp at Putney. During the 2025 rebuild this approach was raised by 200 millimetres, because high tides had been reaching the asphalt. Each weekday window starts and finishes ten minutes later on this side.
Weekday service ends at 9.25am from Mortlake and 9.35am from Putney, and only restarts at 2.45pm and 2.55pm. A late-morning appointment across the river means going round by Ryde Bridge.
On a public holiday expect the weekend window, 10.30am to 5.30pm from the Mortlake side, not the commuter shifts.
Pedestrians and cyclists use it daily; Transport for NSW put the average at around 20 people a day in 2025.
About 400 cars use the punt on an average day, more of them from Tuesday to Thursday, while weekends are quieter. With 18 cars a trip, a queue at the peak may mean waiting for the next run.
Closures are announced through Live Traffic NSW (the website or the 132 701 line), so a quick look before setting off can save a wasted drive down Hilly Street. The ferry is hauled out for a full overhaul and repaint every four years.
A hand-pulled barge worked this reach in the nineteenth century. The diesel-powered cable ferry that replaced it began on 16 May 1928, built for £4000 so that Australian Gaslight Company workers living north of the river could reach their jobs at Mortlake. It had room for eight cars then and holds 18 now. It kept running after Ryde Bridge opened in 1935 and is protected by a National Trust heritage order; Transport for NSW describes it as the last vehicle ferry still operating on the Parramatta River.
Between 14 July and late November 2025 the punt was out of service while both concrete ramps were rebuilt, guideposts and rails replaced and the Putney roadway lifted. It reopened on Wednesday 26 November 2025, and the government marked the occasion by introducing the first woman to command the ferry in its near-100-year history. The centenary falls in May 2028.
Yes. Transport for NSW's official name is the Mortlake ferry, and it notes that it is commonly known as the Putney punt. It is the single vehicle crossing between Hilly Street, Mortlake and Pellisier Road, Putney.
From the Mortlake side, 6.45am–9.25am and 2.45pm–6.15pm. From the Putney side each window is ten minutes later: 6.55am–9.35am and 2.55pm–6.25pm. Public holidays follow the weekend hours instead.
No. Between the end of the morning window (9.25am from Mortlake, 9.35am from Putney) and 2.45pm there is no service, so drivers use Ryde Bridge.
Continuously on demand, from 10.30am to 5.30pm on the Mortlake side and from 10.45am to 5.35pm on the Putney side.
Eighteen. When it started in 1928 it took eight, which gives a sense of how much the vessel has grown.
Walkers and riders cross free. During the 2025 closure Transport for NSW sent walkers and riders to the F3 ferry between Kissing Point and Cabarita instead, which is the obvious fallback when the punt is out of hours.
To rebuild the wharf ramps at both ends. It shut on 14 July 2025 and reopened on 26 November 2025; the closure was not linked to industrial action, Transport for NSW said.