Wightlink’s ‘exorbitant dynamic pricing’ has been criticised at a parish council meeting for ‘hurting residents’ and ‘impacting local businesses’.
Freshwater Parish Council (FPC) this week passed Councillor Warren Whyte’s motion requesting an update from Wightlink on the steps it is taking to end the pricing strategy and make the Yarmouth/Lymington crossing ‘more affordable’.
Dynamic pricing involves quickly and often adjusting prices in response to demand, according to the government’s Competition and Markets Authority.
Wightlink has, in response, said it would be more than happy to meet with FPC to discuss feedback from local residents.
Parish councillors also agreed to write to Wightlink to ‘raise concerns’ about the ‘lack of advertising’ of its public meetings. Cllr Whyte told members the company had not let FPC know of a Yarmouth ‘community’ event it held in the Spring.
His motion stated:
“Freshwater Parish Council write to Wightlink to raise concerns about the lack of advertising of their public meetings and to request that Freshwater Parish Council is notified of future events.
“Wightlink is also requested to update the parish council on what steps it is taking to make the Yarmouth/Lymington crossing more affordable and end the exorbitant “dynamic pricing” that is hurting residents and impacting our local businesses – particularly tourism and those needing specialist materials or labour from the mainland.”
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A Wightlink spokesperson has said:
“We haven’t yet received any communication from FPC but we are more than happy to meet with them to discuss feedback from local residents.
“We welcome engagement with the community and already work closely with many individuals, groups and organisations including the Solent Transport User Group (STUG), Isle of Wight MPs and other partners such as NHS groups, the IW Youth Trust and local education partners and have made changes as a direct result of their feedback.
“We host Meet the Team events every three months across the Island and dates are always published on our website, sent out in our regular emails to Island residents who are subscribed and promoted on our social media channels.
“Though these have been well-attended, we appreciate the feedback and will do even more to promote these events in the future.”
Solent Transport Users Group (STUG), a campaigning organisation that advocates for ‘improved cross-Solent ferry services’, said FPC has its ‘full support’.
A spokesperson said:
“FPC’s first responsibility is to its parishioners, and clearly one of the greatest impacts on them is the frequency, reliability and cost of the ferry service.
“It is vital that Wightlink engage fully with the community they are serving to understand the challenges caused by their dislocation from the mainland.
“STUG has consistently opposed the practice of dynamic pricing on all our lifeline ferry services and has led the way in campaigning against it.
“The ‘Islanders’ Charter’ published in December 2024 and signed up to by the leader of the council, and both our MPs has also clearly opposed it.”
Dynamic pricing should be outlawed completely. Hopefully as the Transport Secretary has taken up the issue of the ferries, this is one thing they can look at.
Laws of supply and demand – you want cheap prices, then don’t travel when demand exceeds supply
Let’s be clear, local people on the island don’t matter in their business plans. These ferry companies are in business to maximise profit & the needs of islanders are of no importance to them. The only way they will react is when they don’t get tourist numbers because of over pricing
Wry well said. Anyone expecting much altruism of a profit driven private company is always going to disappointed.
Just got back from the mainland re an emergency veterinary appointment in Winchester. Wightlink were very accomodating in getting us on the first available ferry to Portsmouth, however £189.00 for a day return named as an economy ticket is damn right disgusting. Also got the oldest ferry, the St faith.
Friends of ours got the hydrofoil ferry from Poole to cherbourg the other day £37.00 with comfortable reclining seats not run down old ones.
As an islander the prices of our ferries are a rip off compared to others in the UK and around the world.
I used to use this route frequently, nowdays it’s much cheaper
to use Red Funnel and drive round to Lymington.
Or train from Southampton. Much quicker too.
Moan moan moan. You don’t like too many people coming over, but you want cheap fares to get off.
If you don’t like the prices, don’t live on the IOW.
‘Dynamic’. Adj, noun. ‘Constantly changing, forceful.’
IOW colloquial slang. ‘Obscene greed of shareholders over and above any acceptable profit margin’
dynamic pricing is designed to prevent the overcrowding seen – if you hike the prices at the pinch points, people adjust their travel plans and travel on the less popular services – staff are not put into stressful situations by entitled customers and the customers get a better travel experience.