⛴️
The KittyCat: Brisbane's 50¢ Cross-River Ferry
The closest thing Brisbane has to a free river cruise.
16 June 2026 · 5 min read
Brisbane's best-kept transport secret used to be the free CityHopper. In January 2025 it was reborn as the KittyCat — the little ferries that dart back and forth across the river — and while it's no longer free, it's now a flat 50 cents, which is about as close as it gets. For the price of half a coin you get a cross-river shortcut and a front-row skyline view rolled into one.
Here's how the KittyCat works, where it'll drop you, what's worth getting off for, and how often it runs. When you're ready, the trip planner gives you live times for your exact crossing.
What the KittyCat actually is
KittyCats are the small, nimble ferries — a fleet of five — that run Brisbane's four Cross River routes, zipping straight across the water rather than up and down it like the bigger blue CityCats. They replaced the old free CityHopper when the inner-city ferry network was reconfigured in early 2025, and the change more than doubled how often they run.
Because every fare on the network is now a flat 50 cents (see our 50¢ fares explainer), a KittyCat hop costs the same fifty cents as any other trip. A tap of your go card, phone or card, and across you go — no separate ferry fare to think about.
The cool bit: a 50¢ mini-cruise
Here's the local trick. The KittyCat isn't just a way to cross the river — it's the cheapest river experience in the city. Grab a seat on the open deck, glide past the Story Bridge, the Kangaroo Point cliffs and the CBD skyline, and you've had a tiny harbour cruise for fifty cents. Ride there and back and it's still only a dollar.
It's also the smart way to skip the long way round. Two precincts that face each other across the water — say Kangaroo Point and the CBD — can be a 25-minute walk around, or a quick KittyCat dart straight across. The ferry wins every time.
The four routes and what's at each end
There are four Cross River routes, each linking two of Brisbane's best riverside pockets:
- F21 Bulimba ↔ Teneriffe — Oxford Street's cafes and restaurants on one side, Gasworks and the James Street precinct on the other.
- F22 Sydney Street ↔ Dockside — New Farm Park and the Brisbane Powerhouse across to Kangaroo Point.
- F23 Riverside ↔ Holman Street — Eagle Street dining and Howard Smith Wharves across to the Kangaroo Point cliffs and the new pedestrian bridge.
- F24 QUT Gardens Point ↔ Maritime Museum — the City Botanic Gardens and QUT across to South Bank, Streets Beach and GOMA.
How often it runs
The Cross River KittyCats run a regular all-day service — roughly every 15 minutes on the inner-city routes — from early morning until around midnight, seven days a week. They're frequent enough that you rarely need to plan around a timetable.
Still, the trip planner shows live times so you can see exactly when the next one's pulling in, and stitch the ferry together with a bus or train if your trip needs it.
KittyCat or CityCat?
If you want the full-length version of the cruise, that's the CityCat — the big blue catamarans that run the long scenic route all the way from the University of Queensland at St Lucia down to Northshore Hamilton, across 22 stops. The KittyCats are the short cross-river hops.
It's all the same 50¢ fare and the same go card, so mix and match freely: a CityCat down the river, a KittyCat back across. Just remember the flat fare has its limits — our guide to where the 50¢ fare stops covers the edges of the network.
Ready to go?
Plan your Brisbane trip
Compare trains, buses, ferries and walking — and pick the dry route when it's pouring.
Plan your trip →Common questions
Is the KittyCat ferry free?
Not any more. The free CityHopper it replaced ended in January 2025. The KittyCat is now a flat 50 cents like every other fare on the network — about as close to free as it gets.
What's the difference between a KittyCat and a CityCat?
CityCats are the big blue catamarans that run the long route up and down the river, from UQ St Lucia to Northshore Hamilton across 22 stops. KittyCats are the smaller ferries that dart straight across the river on the four Cross River routes.
How often do the KittyCats run?
Roughly every 15 minutes across the day on the inner-city Cross River routes, from early morning until around midnight, seven days a week. Check the trip planner for live times.
How much does the KittyCat cost?
Fifty cents, flat — the same as any trip on the network. Tap your go card, phone or card on and off.
What can I see or reach from the KittyCat?
Plenty: the Kangaroo Point cliffs and the new pedestrian bridge, New Farm Park and the Powerhouse, Eagle Street dining and Howard Smith Wharves, South Bank, Streets Beach and GOMA, and the Bulimba and Teneriffe cafe strips — all a short hop apart.