The Isle of Wight Bus and Rail Users’ Group (IWBRUG) has issued a call for Wightlink’s Ryde to Portsmouth catamaran service to be restored immediately and for there to be a minimum service level requirement in the future.
Wightlink has announced an increase to its car ferry service on the Fishbourne – Portsmouth route and Hovertravel are now running an increased service, but no date has been given for the resumption of the Ryde – Portsmouth Fastcat.
The catamaran service is an important link for foot passengers as it is a direct link between Ryde Pier Head station and the mainline station at Portsmouth Harbour. The connection can boast a completely step-free access between train and catamaran on both sides of the Solent, making it by far the most convenient and easiest route for foot passengers.
Stuart George, Chairman of IWBRUG, has said:
“During lockdown we accepted ferry operators working together in the best interests of Islanders, but now with the restrictions being relaxed, it is no longer acceptable for the catamaran service to be suspended indefinitely.
“This link has been missing for 3 months now and needs to be restored immediately. There are full train services on both sides of the Solent and to still have this gap is a nonsense.
“The hovercraft is not an acceptable alternative.”
No other foot passenger service can provide such convenience and also run in most weather conditions, including high winds.
Stuart has added:
“We also believe that, in the longer term, there should be guaranteed connections with rail services at both ends and that this could best be achieved by the government or another regulator specifying a minimum service level for the catamaran, similar to the franchise requirement for rail services”.
IWBRUG welcomes the views of bus and rail passengers via email – [email protected].
Councillor Wayne Whittle has criticised Wightlink’s slow response to resuming the Fastcat service, as previously reported by Island Echo.
The hovercraft is not an acceptable alternative.
What a stupid comment – I have been commuting on the Hover instead of the fastcat for 3 months now. I have a guaranteed seat, it is ten minutes, their bus is waiting outside the terminal at southsea and I am at Portsmouth Harbour 20 minutes after leaving Ryde and parking my car in the public car park at their Ryde terminal.
Sure, if the weather is really awful, I would have to go to fishbourne, but it isn’t every day.
stop whining.