EDITOR’S COLUMN:SOMETHING MUST CHANGE WITH THE FERRIES AS THE ISLAND IS REALLY FEELING THE PINCH

I don’t write opinion pieces often, but when a subject comes up time and time again that is clearly very emotive to my readers – and is only getting worse – I feel that as a community leader, I must share my thoughts. That subject is, of course, cross-Solent travel… a story that continues to dominate the headlines daily.

This article was written by Darren Toogood of the Island Echo and first appeared here – https://www.islandecho.co.uk/something-must-change-with-the-ferries-as-the-island-is-really-feeling-the-pinch

Last week we reported on how visitor numbers at some of the Island’s top attractions have failed to bounce back after the COVID pandemic, with the likes of Osborne House seeing a 23% fall in visitor numbers between 2019 and 2023. As I wrote the story I couldn’t help but feel that this is just the tip of the iceberg, with more commercial entities keeping their cards very close to their chests.

It seems every time we are hit with another attraction or hotel closing (we’ve just lost Jack Up), or increased costs to day-to-day living, Island Echo readers point the finger at the ferries – and I can’t disagree. The ferry frims have got a firm grip and it feels as though they are squeezing tighter and tighter every year.

Over on X – formerly Twitter – we were recently alerted to an Islander’s shock when looking to book a ferry. As they took to the Red Funnel website to book a break away in August, they were met with a whopping £369 fare for a 7-day return – and tweeted us to say “Red Funnel you should be ashamed at the damage you are doing to us and tourism on the Isle of Wight”. Damning.

How have we ended up with that sort of cost, when not all that long ago you could pick up a day return (which is still 1 outbound trip, 1 inbound trip don’t forget) for a little over £30? Even for those with money, that is a disgustingly high price.

Pricing isn’t the only issue… we’ve seen a massive increase in instances of poor reliability and staff shortages. Wightlink is reliant on 1 ferry that is almost 35 years old to maintain a full Summer timetable, and Red Funnel has 3 ferries that desperately need replacing – but that won’t happen for at least another 4 years. It’s all well and good having snazzy terminals, but if the boats can’t or won’t run then the whole operation falls apart.

Both ferry operators run multiple services that are considered, by Islanders, to be lifeline services. Why do they not have a full skeleton crew to ensure that if someone is unavailable for work, there is someone else to step into their shoes? Wightlink seems unable to source replacement staff even at 2 days’ notice! Hovertravel, on the other hand, has had a fairly good system in place for a number of years with a spare pilot on standby. You may hear of the hover being cancelled for weather or technical reasons, but never because their staff haven’t turned up for work…

The Isle of Wight now has 2 Members of Parliament and both seem keen to sort the ferries. Richard Quigley, representing the West, says regulation is the way forward. Joe Robertson, for the East, agrees that something needs to be done and is keen to work with his Labour counterpart in the interests of all Islanders, although their views on the best way forward differ. They are only a couple of weeks into their tenure, so we need to give them time to find their feet but let’s hope they deliver something to save this Island.

Ultimately, something has to change. The Isle of Wight is really feeling the pinch now and, if we’re not careful, we will lose our tourism trade altogether. We’re mid-July and the Island feels very quiet. The Summer holidays will certainly be a tell-tell sign as to whether holidaymakers have chosen to head to the West Country – or abroad – this year…