‘We are tired of your rip-off prices and we are tired of funding your ballooning bank debt’ – those are the words of East Wight MP Joe Robertson who earlier this afternoon (Wednesday) presented a bill to Parliament on ferry regulation.
The Ferry Services (Integration and Regulation) Bill would set up a framework to regulate routes throughout the country. If passed, the proposed new law would hopefully regulate and integrate ferry services across the UK.
MP Robertson said MPs from 5 different political parties, including Isle of Wight West MP Richard Quigley, are in support of the bill.
Addressing the House, after patiently sitting in the commons, MP Robertson said:
“Our great nation is a nation of Island’s and rail, roads and ferries ensure that in every corner of the United Kingdom, there is a place that someone calls home.
“Those who provide public transport do so with conditions, something that has stood regardless of which party is in power.
“My constituents are faced with huge costs. Those who visit the Island pay as much as £400 to take a car back and forth on a 5-mile journey because private equity groups operate on the Isle of Wight in an entirely unregulated market. There is no new competition because the barrier to entry is too high.
“In too many places, ferry services are getting worse and we have no objective way of telling if they provide a good service or not. We need to end the carve-out that they have enjoyed for far too long.
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“We are tired of your methods, we are tired of your rip off prices and we are tired of funding your huge ballooning bank debt interest. You haven’t done us a favour and you aren’t doing us a favour.
“If they (ferry operators) truly believed in a quality service they would embrace regulations.”
A second reading in the commons will take place on the 28th November.
UPDATE – In response to today’s Bill presentation, Fran Collins, CEO of Red Funnel, has said:
“For nearly 165 years, Red Funnel has proudly provided cross-Solent travel for Isle of Wight residents, and we challenge the assertions being made.
“We continue to operate a consistently high-frequency service. Red Funnel operates 365 days a year, 7 days a week, with an average of 39 crossings per day each way in summer and over 34 each way per day in winter. The service frequency is upheld even during periods of very low demand. This consistency is a core part of our commitment to delivering a year-round lifeline is for the Island community, along with our support for local businesses, schools, sports teams and events.
“We also want to clarify recent commentary around resident pricing. Each year, we provide Island residents with our Big Book of Savings; a comprehensive and widely used discount programme. So far in 2025, over 140,000 discounted journeys have been booked, including 30 separate round-trip offers at £49-£59, which are shareable with friends and family. There have also been 20 foot passenger offers, with rates starting at £12 for return travel on both our vehicle ferry service and the Red Jet. These discounts are complemented by frequent traveller schemes, season tickets and many other lifeline travel discounts, details of which can be found on our website.
“There is clearly a large percentage of residents that take advantage of the significant discounts available to them, but as highlighted in recent remarks, we know there’s more to do to ensure all Island residents understand our pricing and savings.
“This is a clear demonstration of our commitment to affordability and accessibility. We remain dedicated to delivering a First-Class service and welcome constructive dialogue on how best to support and strengthen this essential transport link for the future.”
Katy Taylor, CEO of Wightlink, has said:
“We welcome open debate and remain committed to continued engagement with MPs, Councillors, the DfT and other stakeholders on cross-Solent transport.
“In 2025, we’ve added sailings, engaged with Islanders including our Meet the Team events and meetings with the STUG, introduced saver fares such as our Sunset Flyer and midweek offers, and launched free travel for college students, all while maintaining strong performance.
“We’ll continue to support efforts to improve transport for Island communities.”
We are all fed up dreadful service and extortionate fares..
Don’t use it then
What do you suggest for people who have to regularly cross the most expensive stretch of water in the world, Gee Gee? Buy a boat, swim… or move? Love you keyboard clever dickies who think they can solve a complex problem with a couple of words.
If you have to then you have to – whatever the price is. And if the price is a problem then make complaints, lobby people in the right positions.
And where is quigley in all this?
you know,i will sort the ferries out in 100 days quigley,he is doing a seeley impression,seldom seen!
Where was the MP for IW West? Not in the house to show support for the bill.
Time for a bridge or tunnel to be built.
The charges to use the bridge or tunnel
would soon pay for the bridge or Tunnel.
“For nearly 165 years, Red Funnel has proudly provided cross-Solent travel for Isle of Wight residents, and we challenge the assertions being made.”
Guess what, your increasing debts, higher prices and poor excuses are nothing to be proud of.
nothing will change unless the govt is willing to put money into the ferry services under a public service order. Until then, the businesses are privately owned, for profit enterprises and the state has no right whatsoever to tell a private business how much it can charge for its services.
day return foot passenger is about £20 for a an adult. No one is bothered about spending that in the pub on about 3 pints or on one pack of cigarettes.
annual season tickets, payable by direct debit work out at about £5 each way, over the course of the year.
the portsmouth to london train route is under the nationalised, govt run south west railway – the annual season ticket is just under £7000. There won’t be any changes to the ferrys.
If you want to enjoy the big buck jobs in London then live closer to London.
you can’t expect to have it both ways that’s just being greedy. I’m fed up with commuters whining about travel costs
It’s only in the last 18 months or so that i’ve started to use Wightlink for my commute as i was a Hovercraft passenger. Unfortunately with the Hovercraft they have become too unreliable so i let my season pass run down and i use the fast cat. Touch wood no real issues although i’m only travelling 2 days a week now. Wightlink have a smashing little bar in the terminal of which i love to grab a beer before the wife picks me up on s Friday night. The fella who runs it (can’t remember his name) is a real gent and an old school publican and one of the friendliest accommodating gents you could meet, and it’s something i really look forward to when returning to the Island. So saying as i find. Bill. Perowne Way Sandown.
so really you just need to satisfy that alcohol need then bill.
i note wighlink say 98.5% reliability for september. Hovertravels website shows 93.49% overall and 99.32% excluding weather.
as Wightlink is far less affected by weather and Hovertravel provides a free fastcat ticket when its services are cancelled, it would seem that Hover has a better reliability without weather than the wighlink