Wightlink has been awarded £276,800 to help improve travel to and from the Isle of Wight for disabled customers, which will see fully accessible toilets for disabled adults and children built in both Portsmouth and Ryde, and improved ticket machines at accessible height for people using wheelchairs installed at all ports.
The money has been awarded to the cross-Solent ferry operator by the Government as part of the Maritime Accessibility Fund, which has seen a total of £1million allocated to ferry services, as previously reported by Island Echo.
As well as the new toilets and ticket machines, there will be new intercom systems at Ryde Pier and Portsmouth Harbour to help foot passengers with disabilities to seek assistance. Furthermore, there will be more powered wheelchairs to assist Wightlink staff to aid customers boarding ferries and catamarans.
Wightlink says that the 2 Changing Places accessible toilets, equipped with hoists, will give disabled people the confidence to embark on ferry travel knowing their needs can be met during the journey. The mainland facilities at Wightlink’s car ferry terminal in Gunwharf Road, Portsmouth will also include a shower and be available 24 hours a day. The dryroom toilet at Wightlink’s terminal at Ryde Pier Head will be open while the FastCats are in service.
The facilities will also support people with invisible disabilities that may need a quiet room to wait, together with autistic children and adults.
Chief Executive Keith Greenfield says:
“We are grateful to the Government for this grant, which will help us to make a difference for disabled travellers who want to cross the Solent.
“While Wightlink complies with all accessibility regulations and our staff always do all they can to support disabled travellers, more can always be done to make their journeys easier and more enjoyable. The Changing Places toilets were at the heart of Wightlink’s bid for Government funding.”
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Red Funnel has received just over £296,000 to make important upgrades to the accessibility of its services including
- The creation of more designated accessible seating
- Upgrades to emergency signage on board and improvements to each vessel’s PA system
- The installation of push button, self-closing, automatic sliding doors across its vehicle ferries, to give easier access for all passengers
- Upgrades to all vehicle ferry terminal toilets
The upgrades will place during each vessel’s regular scheduled annual maintenance throughout 2022.
Fran Collins, Chief Executive at Red Funnel, has said:
“Our service is depended on by both Island residents and mainland visitors, all of whom travel for many different reasons and with different needs, so we continuously look at ways to improve our facilities and meet the requirements of all those who travel with us. The Maritime Accessibility Fund grant will help us focus on upgrades to our services to improve the experience for passengers with disabilities or accessibility needs, and further enhance similar tasks already planned for this year.”
Hovertravel has also received funding and will be installing a Changing Places toilet at Southsea, an enhanced exit to the pad at Southsea, assistive technology for the company’s website and a lift at the Ryde terminal.
Hearing loops are also being upgraded, as are the handrails on each of the Flyer hovercraft.
Neil Chapman, Managing Director of Hovertravel, has said:
“We are delighted to have received this funding from the Government and their support at all levels for supporting our accessibility initiative is greatly appreciated. I must also extend my personal gratitude to Isle Access and the members of the HUG who contributed enormously to our successful submission.
“As with all our HoverCare initiatives we will continue to be as open as possible about our accessibility approach, including ways to share best practice with other organisations, opportunities to spread awareness of the issues involved and how to showcase the lessons learnt. “
Shouldn’t they have to pay for it themselves???
To quote Mr Greenfield…
“While Wightlink complies with all accessibility regulations and our staff always do all they can to support disabled travellers, more can always be done to make their journeys easier and more enjoyable. The Changing Places toilets were at the heart of Wightlink’s bid for Government funding.”
How can you say such a thing sir, currently there are no facilities at all to support disabled travel at Portsmouth Harbour!
On three recent journeys to & from the Island, I travelled on the £30 million hydro-ship. I am shocked at how filthy the toilets are on Wightlink vessels. In the dirt & grime, I wrote, “clean me” On my return journey, I noticed ‘clean me’ was still there. When I approached staff about the dirtiness of their toilets, I was informed, “we don’t have enough staff or time to clean them”.
I also travelled on two of Wightlink’s older ships. On my, the stench of ingrained filth hits you as you walk into the toilets. Two of the urinals had buckets underneath, catching stale urine.
Wightlink ought to be ashamed.
I fail to understand (or agree with) why they should receive taxpayers money (yes, that is where government grants come from) to complete these legally required works when they have made significant profits. The shareholders and Directors must be beside themselves with laughter at how incongruous this is. Disgusting.
Be far better to get Government funding to buy out the ferry companies.
The money would be better spent in training more of the ‘essential staff’ that keep causing cancellations when one of these ‘essential’ people are off.
Likely some pathetic reason that they are classed as essential, like have done a 30min course on car fires, or allegry treatment, or stress councilling etc.
When in reality anyone with common sense could address the issues but H &S will insist one person is trained, ie a internet click test.
Train all staff IF that is the reason, and money well wasted but at least the ferries could run more consistantly
do a bit of research on legal requirements to be crew/officer/captain before making comments gerald – you haven’t got the first clue.
Do enlighten the readers Iow’er, IF you know then?
Rude
Legal requirements are totally irrelevant to this conversation. Of course the Company has no legal obligation to Island travellers. That’s bleeding obvious. I have no time for idiots who quote the bleeding obvious. This conversation is about what is right.
So, what are you saying IW’er.
No body is allowed an opinion ?
Except YOU.
I think that you have got a God complex.
Funds should be used to improve focus on reliability, which has become catastrophically inadequate
Use the money to employ more people, so that the timetable is adhered to and cancellations are only made if the weather is so bad they cannot run.