Several Isle of Wight councillors are calling for foot passenger charges on the replacement Cowes floating bridge service to be scrapped until all the current issues have been resolved.
The floating bridge saga has been dragging on for many months now (read the background), with residents and businesses severely affected by the inconsistent or lack of service.
Two motions have been submitted to the Full Council meeting that takes place on Wednesday 19th September.
Suspend all foot passenger charges
The first is by Cllrs Julie Jones-Evans and Karl Love and reads,
That the Isle of Wight Council suspends, in light of the ongoing issues of the floating bridge, foot passenger charges for the foreseeable future and until such time that all the current issues have been fully resolved.
“This should be reviewed again after the recommendations of the public enquiry are submitted for reflection and discussion at full council.
Free travel for parents taking children to school
In addition, Cllr Julia Baker-Smith is calling for free travel for parents escorting their children to school via the passenger launch.
Her motion reads,
Charging pedestrians on the floating bridge has had a significant impact upon many user groups but a particularly unfair impact on parents with children choosing healthy routes to school who are now being charged up to £6 per day in order to walk their children to school.
“This presents a potential and unnecessary barrier to low income families to maintaining school attendance. This Council resolves to ask the executive to provide free travel for parents escorting their children to school where they live on the opposite side of the river to the school their child attends.
Source Hannah Bewley – BBC
Image: © With kind permission of Allan Marsh
