There was a large turnout at the first Wightlink User Group public meeting held at the Depozitory in Ryde last Friday (29th September).
Campaigners from the group were joined by a large number of Islanders as various speakers outlined the purpose of the group, the successes they have so far achieved and their aims for the future.
Bronwyn Hamilton-Brown, the group’s founder, began the meeting by detailing their progress since being formed in November last year.
Since then, the number of supporters has skyrocketed to 5,000 as momentum has gathered following 4 meetings with Wightlink, 3 meetings with Island MP Bob Seely, 3 demonstrations as well as numerous appearances in the media.
The meeting heard that there had been ‘small steps’ in improving the service such as Wightlink confirming that late-night Fast Cats would continue to run in 2024 and, the day before the meeting, Wightlink also announced a £70 price cap for passengers travelling to the mainland for NHS appointments.
It was said that this showed that Wightlink were listening but that there was still a long way to go, with the objectives of the group summarised in 3 key aims:
• Improved affordability
• Better NHS support
• A better service
Nigel Talbot then spoke about the history of Wightlink and some of the eye-watering financial figures involved since Sealink was privatised in 1984.
It was suggested that, given the vast scale of profits, management salaries and shareholder dividends in the years that have followed, one might expect to see a better service. The full report can be found on WUG’s website.
Jenni Guthri – author of WUG’s report into people’s lived experiences of ferry services – subsequently spoke about some of the financial, health and social impacts of the current service.
Between April and September of this year, 86 respondents raised a wide spectrum of issues raised by the current service with some people ‘questioning their ability to remain living on the Island’ as a result. The full report can also be read on the WUG website.
Former GP Dr Mark Rogers then spoke specifically in relation to NHS patients and their carers who have to travel to the mainland for treatment and WUG have now compiled another report, detailing some of these experiences.
Stark comparisons were also highlighted between Isle of Wight patients and those from other UK Islands such as the Isles of Scilly where patients pay no more than £5 to access the mainland for an NHS appointment.
It was then time to hear from 3 politicians with Vix Lowthian of the Green Party describing it as a key issue and a crisis situation.
Richard Quigley of Labour, meanwhile, suggested that the solution may lie in regulation and nationalisation.
Michael Lilley of the Liberal Democrats said that it was an issue of inequality and that NHS patients were being discriminated against because of living on the Island.
The Isle of Wight’s MP Bob Seely also provided a statement regarding the issue.
In it, he said:
“I recently met with Isle of Wight Council leader Phil Jordan to discuss our plans to publish a joint statement on improving ferry services. The statement will outline a common position on ferry services and will set an agenda for a collaborative approach between myself and the Isle of Wight Council. The statement is nearly complete, and I look forward to publishing it soon.”
“I remain concerned by the current business model employed by Red Funnel and Wightlink, which has been normalised by successive leveraged buyouts by private equity investors. I am working to build a fuller picture of the functioning of the cross-Solent market and the current financial status of ferry operators, with a view of inviting further investigation by the Government.
“It has been over 10 years since the last formal market investigation of cross-Solent ferry services. That investigation was undertaken by the Office for Fair Trading. I believe the Government should now re-examine whether the cross-Solent ferry market is functioning effectively. I will write to the Government to set out these concerns.
“I am working to organise an opportunity for WUG members to meet officials from the Department for Transport. This will allow the Department for Transport to explain their current position on service provision.
“WUG members will be able to share their experiences of using cross-Solent ferry services. Officials will collect this data and ensure that it informs the Department for Transport’s policy approach.
“In summation, I want ferry firms to be more accountable to Islanders and I am working to secure a better regulatory framework for cross-Solent travel.”
A number of delegates from various political parties will be attending next weekend’s Islands Forum where the topic is ‘connectivity’ and where it is hoped that the issue of the Island’s ferry services will be discussed.
It is understood that WUG will be holding a further public meeting in the West Wight in the coming weeks.
I bet they went deaf,when complaints were made !!.
Build a Bridge, that would solve the problem.
£70 for a day return for a potentially lifesaving hospital appointment/treatment. That must be a joke, as £70 is extortionate. Red Funnel have day returns for around £40. Hospital appointments should be free, as imagine the response if you told anyone from the mainland that they would have to pay £70 to visit a hospital. It’s disgusting!
Wightlink should take a leaf out of Red Funnels book and issue
Island residents booklets with discounts.
Red Funnel are better value.
Let’s face it, Wightlink CEO is a Royal Mail reject!, says it all.
Come on MP Bob stand by your constituents and get Ferry Fares
down.
Soon it will be cheaper to buy our own Boat or get a Dinghy
across the solent.
Lol
Seely can’t do anything, even if he wanted to. Wightlink (and Red Funnel, for that matter) is a private “for profit” enterprise. Their entire reason for existing is to make money for their shareholders.
The fact that they make that money by shipping people across the Solent is irrelevant. Their goal is to make as much profit off the smallest outlay.
That isn’t ever going to change, no matter how much people complain and stamp their feet.
If you want a service that puts Islanders first, then it has to be publicly owned. That has to be a 3rd operator or a fixed link.
It is never, ever going to be Wightlink or Red Funnel.
Get used to it.
Much better value and their boats travel twice as far.How can Wightlink explain this?
Why would anyone listen to Bob Seely? He’s not going to do anything.
He is probably attending a Barbeque in Seaview.
Lol
Or have a high tea with that bloke who appeared on the telly, poncing around with his speedboat, to pick up a few bottles of plonk for this lardy-da friends.
Incidentally, during those meetings, has anyone raised health concerns due to the filthy, unclean toilets on Wightlinks ferries?
Wightlinks ‘flagship’ ferry was removed from service for refurbishment only to be reentered back into service with the same skid marks in the toilets. The toilets are black. As for their older ships, even after sending numerous emails to their CEO, they still haven’t fixed the U-bends on the urinals; piss is still leaking onto the floor.
Wightlink staff have told me they don’t have enough time between sailings to clean their vessels.
Pirates of the Solent robbing every user
The Solent Pirates !
A well meaning group, but really, when nature calls facing the wind isn’t always the best position.
Somebody with a double barrel surname who spends a lot of time overseas on holiday should not be leading a group that is aimed at cutting ferry costs for poorer island residents.
It should be run by somebody like {an example} John Smith from Spanners Close, who has been on benefits his entire life and he needs to travel to the mainland every Saturday to see his kids.
This is somebody with a personally felt passion who has to scrape and save to make ends meet. They may not have the best education but they’ll fight harder for fairer ferry fares for residents in a similar situation.
a collection of whiny losers, that don’t mind spending £30 a day on booze, cigs/vapes, takeaways and other non essential crap, but start crying if they are expected to pay to use a private ferry service.
losers should pay up or move to the mainland where housing is more expensive than the island.
I don’t do any of the stuff you write and i have my own business
Just reading what you right makes me think you are a very boaring person
Live and let live.
These people are fighting for a reason
Leave them to have a go
spelling isn’t your strong point then pops.
Ironically he got the spelling spot on in your case.
Boaring.
Perfectly describes a big fat old porker.
Fairer fares??, i.e., lower fares? No chance. They’ll put them up. Wightlink, along with Red Funnel, is a rip-off ferry company, ruthlessly rip-off. We should have had a bridge decades ago. That idea is too late for my lifetime unfortunately and probably too late for the next couple of generations. It’ll take a thousand years just to get planning permission. Then it’ll cost ten trillion to build. Then it’ll be cancelled..
It’s good to see Island negativity is still strong. For those of us who take a stand, if there is no change it won’t be us to blame!
We want the ferry fares high – keeping them reassuringly expensive, keeps out the dross
You only have to see the number of old porkers retiring here to know the “dross” don’t care about ferry fares.
It’s not the dross that come to visit, they come to stay.
The dross are Caulkheads
So let’s complain get Wightlink to call in receivers etc mass redundancy….build a bridge complain about paying tolls the loss of housing and trade from tourists for Cowes week round the island races etc as bridge of that size would not allow passage of ships etc or we could build a tunnel like to france … Oh wait a minute that costs more than a ferry now may be not .
Let’s get facts right 50% discount for NHS appointments …. If you choose to live on an island accept the downsides or move back to mainland … this was an island before you moved here or were born or even use red jet … just stop whinging
£70 price cap for a person having to travel for life saving treatment is absolutely outrageous. If treatment can’t be given on the Island, then the NHS should foot the bill.