This in from Andrew Turner‘s office, in their own words. Ed
Transport Minister Stephen Hammond MP told Andrew Turner that the Government is keeping the case for ‘public service obligations’ (guaranteed levels of service) under review, but at the moment believes there is no case for them.
“Wightlink must stop cutting services simply to make more money”
Mr Turner raised the issue after Wightlink announced on 13th August that they were axing further crossings on their Yarmouth to Lymington route in September. The latest announcement follows deep cuts to the service in January, also without any public consultation. Even after the reduced number of sailings, service reliability on the route has fallen from 95.2% in July last year to 85.1% in July this year according to Wightlink’s own figures.
Mr Turner said :
“Wightlink must stop cutting services simply to make more money. Wightlink Ltd’s latest accounts show their profit exceeded £8m last year – so they can’t claim that overall their services, including those they have now axed, were unprofitable. It’s high time the company took more seriously their obligations to Islanders, many of whom are raising this issue with me.
“The Minister seems to think that cross-Solent ferry services are a properly competitive market. But the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) found competition only works for passengers willing and able to switch between routes; for Islanders in particular that is often impossible. I am writing to him to make that point. I am also exploring with the Council the possibility of a cross-party submission asking the OFT to consider whether Wightlink’s very high levels of debt have influenced their decisions; there is far more information available now than there was in 2009.
“The OFT made clear there is scope to look again at the issues. They also concluded that better information about prices and services would demonstrate the ferry companies were serious that they care about improving services; the complete lack of public consultation by Wightlink speaks volumes.”
Mr Turner welcomed confirmation from Red Funnel that they recognise the value of public consultation on services and have no plans to change their current schedule.
Earlier this year Hovertravel consulted passengers on planned changes to their timetable, after taking the views of their customers into account they scrapped the plans.
Hansard Extract: 19th September
Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight): What assessment he has made of the (a) cost and (b) reduction in service of ferries between the Isle of Wight and the English mainland; and if he will make a statement.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Stephen Hammond): My hon. Friend will remember that I visited the Isle of Wight earlier this year, as did my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. We are of course aware of the fares for the ferry services and of the level and frequency of service provided by the island’s three ferry operators. There has been no formal assessment. This is a competitive market, and it is for the ferry operators to decide the level of fares and services based on market conditions.
Mr Turner: The island’s ferries provide lifeline services and the repeated cuts damage our quality of life. Wightlink has enormous debts, which are paid for out of the island’s economy. I plead with my hon. Friends to enter into dialogue to consider how public service obligations can be introduced so that we have the certainty to build our economy and create more jobs.
Stephen Hammond: My hon. Friend will remember that I met him and a delegation from the island earlier in the year. I promised then to meet Wightlink, and have done so. There are more than 200 sailings to and from the island each day, so there is no apparent market failure. I hear my hon. Friend’s plea to put public service obligations in place and we will continue to keep them under review, but at the moment there is no case to do OFT that the ferry companies
