Isle of Wight East MP Joe Robertson has said that the Government must intervene on cross-Solent ferries, echoing a call by Lord Fairfax in the House of Lords this week.
It was on Monday evening that Lord Nicholas Fairfax of Cameron, who resides on the Island, spoke in Westminster about the challenges facing Islanders and tourists alike.
He said:
“The new government says one of its key priorities is to have a much better, integrated transport system and there has been much talk in this debate of putting the passenger first. But so far only rail and buses are included in the government’s plans, so I ask why not ferries too?
“…I suggest the government should intervene to ensure minimum service levels with price caps and subsidies, where necessary.
“Buses and trains are currently subsided, so why should Isle of Wight residents and visitors to the Island have to pay sometimes exorbitant, unsubsidised fares?
I do hope the government, when considering what to do with the passenger railways, will also take a close look at the ferry companies serving our islands for the sake of the passengers”.
Joe Robertson MP has also called for Government intervention:
“I am grateful to Lord Fairfax for his excellent speech about ferries in the House of Lords. He made some powerful points and the central question needs answering: why does the Government’s own integrated transport plans for the UK not include ferries?
“Train and bus travel is subsidised throughout the UK but Isle of Wight residents have to stump up the full cost of their travel plus a profit premium to debt laden, foreign owned companies.
“The Government must intervene which it is already doing with bus and rail.”
Aren’t we supposed to have an MP for the West Wight too?
Lord Whatshisface can say what he wants, it won’t make any difference. Sh!telink are the best ferry company that ever existed according to some dopey award scheme. Why change?
I think we’d all like cheaper ferry fares, but, personally, I’d be more in favour of heavily discounted fares just for Island residents.
There’s around 2.5 million tourists each year to the Island, and that’s quite a lot. In fact, it’s probably more than enough unless we want to be swamped in the summer months, and they’re all presumably quite happy to pay the going rate to get here.
In respect of that, the first few lines of a Google search on tourist numbers includes this:
‘The Isle of Wight receives around 2.6 million visitors each year. The island’s popularity is due to several factors, including:
Accessibility: There are cost-effective ways to get to the island.’
So, the general perception, if you don’t live here, is that the ferries are a cost-effective way of getting to your holiday destination, considering the whole cost of a holiday these days.
But, for us, getting over to the mainland and back, perhaps for a day to visit family, is quite prohibitive cost-wise, hence, I think, the need for big discounts for Island residents.
I don’t care how much they charge the tourists, it’s when you have to pay the exorbitant ferry costs when it’s a necessity as a resident which is the problem.