Assessing the economic and social performance of Ro-Ro services to Tasmania’s regional islands

The purpose of this paper is to examine the Roll-on Roll-off (RO-RO) services currently supporting small island communities in Tasmania. The paper analyses the different governance models, operational processes, and capabilities of the three RO-RO services, to compare the ways each service impacts the island communities socially and economically. The three services, Bass Island Line (BIL) (King Island), Bass Strait Freight (BSF) (Furneaux Group), and SeaLink (Bruny Island), operate within different social and geographical contexts. All services perform varied roles based on the specific needs of the community and their geographical situations. None of the Tasmanian RO-RO services act in competition with each other. Therefore, it is not appropriate to rank the services on best performing to worst performing, however, all RO-RO services could learn from the operations of the others. The paper adopted a qualitative method approach, utilizing content analysis to assess the impact of Ro-Ro services on the local economy and society. This paper shows the economic benefits of Ro-Ro services, such as the facilitation of trade and tourism, job creation, and income generation. While social impact includes the social inclusion, community development, and the environment. The strong correlation between the community engagement levels of the RO-RO service and profitability may be linked to community focused efficiencies, or trade growth encouraged by a community centred service. All services have a captive customer base and have shown some level of involvement with the communities they serve. As has been well understood for many years, this research paper also revealed the excellent capability of the private sector in delivering quality essential services. Private sector RO-RO services tend to operate more efficiently due to a stronger focus on productivity and longevity of their service. The findings of this paper will be valuable for stakeholders, policymakers, and service providers, providing insights to help improve the effectiveness and sustainability of Ro-Ro services to Tasmania's regional islands. Additionally, the study will contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the role of Ro-Ro services in remote and regional areas and inform future research in this area.