Bob Seely MP has welcomed news that Wightlink is to trial through-the-night FastCat sailings over weekends during the summer as ‘a step in the right direction’.
Mr Seely has long been urging the ferry operators to improve the level of service provided to cross-Solent travellers.
This week Wightlink has announced that between 31st May and the end of September it will introduce 4 round-trip sailings between Ryde Pier head and Portsmouth Harbour on Friday nights/Saturday morning and Saturday nights/Sunday morning. It means that combined with sailings on the Fishbourne to Portsmouth car ferry route, Wightlink will be running hourly services for foot passengers to and from the Island during the trial period.
Bob said:
“Whist there is still issue between the ferry operators and Islanders, there have been improvements and when they take place we should welcome and encourage them. Part of the credit for this should also go to the Transport Infrastructure Board, which has attempted to work with the ferry firms to suggest ways in which they can offer a better service to Islanders.”
Summer 2019 – FastCat overnight sailing times
Friday nights/Saturday mornings and Saturday nighst/Sunday mornings
| From Portsmouth Harbour | From Ryde Pier Head |
| 00:15 | 00:47 |
| 02:15 | 02:47 |
| 04:15 | 04:47 |
| 05:15 | 05:47 |
the transport infrastructure board – made up of people who will be sound asleep when these ferries operate. The only passengers on these services will be drunks coming back from Portsmouth – this is why they were stopped in the first place, after unions got involved.
Perhaps the MP and other bone idle armchair dictators should go and staff the fastcat themselves and deal with drunken fools being abusive and arrogant.
I have been on the late night car ferries listening to those idiots, drunkenly falling around, with little or no security staff employed to deal with them. Why should the ferry employees have to put up with this during their working hours. – There won’t be a wightlink director anywhere to be seen, especially as it will have been them who sanctioned this move.
As all these services will operate at a loss, financially, expect the cost to be spread across everyone else’s ticket prices – and when you complain, they will state – well, you wanted late night ferries and they cost more than they make.