If you believe your personal life living on the island, would be effected either positively or detrimentally by a fixed link, please leave your opinions below?
10: Raven Rose Lyness;
June 2016
“I used to commute to Highbury college in Portsmouth for 2 years. I loved having the escape from the island, because with the way that it is with the ferries I find it way too constrictive. However commuting was tough going, because to get in to college for 9am we had to leave the house at 7am-7:15 to catch the 7:45 ferry, that got me in around 8:05 just in time for the 8:20 train from Portsmouth Harbour which got me into Cosham for 8:40. Then had to walk from the station (10 minute walk roughly). Roughly an hour n half there/3 hour round trip. To put that into perspective, that’s the same sort of time driving from Portsmouth to Birmingham. Over 2 years we spent roughly £2500 on ferries and trains between 2008-2010. That was all because the schools on the island were badly affecting me mentally and also because Isle of Wight college didn’t offer the course I needed for my career. But what happens to those who are in that same boat, where they need to go to college but can’t aspire to do what they want with their lives because the courses aren’t available here on the island? It’s denying people a proper education. No wonder our education pass rates are some of the worst in Hampshire, young people on the island have nothing to aspire to.
Also in terms of employment, in my own experience, there isn’t much here to start with and what’s worse, many mainland employers actually discriminate against people from the island. I’m looking to go back to the mainland (I’m sick of this island quite frankly) and the amount of persuasion you need to do with mainland employers for them to even consider you is insane. Naturally it’s because of 2 reasons: 1) the ferries. Not only is it the cost or the times of the ferries, which are contributing factors, but the likeliness of ferries running say in bad weather is a big issue for mainland employers. If there’s a storm and you need to get to Portsmouth for work say and hover travel and wightlink cat have stopped, you have to get yourself from Ryde to Fishbourne then on to the 40 minute long car ferry, if they’re running to schedule. That would be at least an hours delay. How many employers do you honestly know that would put up with that? Not many, not when joe blogs who lives in Southsea could probably walk there quicker.
The second reason is on the island we have very short employment contracts, mostly seasonal or temporary. In my recent job seeking that has hindered me greatly even though I’ve still been working here and there. Employers from the mainland want to see long term continuity. However island employment, where there is some, doesn’t usually offer that.
It’s incredibly frustrating.
Therefore we need that fixed link because if we don’t have the resources here and we don’t have the money to get the correct infrastructure, then we need to find these facilities elsewhere with quick and easy access.”
9: Terry Hicks
On 10 Aug 2015
Hi Carl
Not too sure here whether you’re asking for actual incidents only which have created problems of travel or aspects of restriction of movement? Anyway I thought to keep it brief I’ll list as more of a bullet point presentation:
1) I have a son who is high on the autistic spectrum and is in care in Cornwall. We would love to see him more often than once or twice a year, but ferry costs prevent that. Also restricts him coming here too.
2) We have other children in Hampshire whom we don’t see as often as possible due to ferry costs.
3) My income is affected directly by tourism and what they spend here. Due to ferry costs that have managed to dwindle visitor numbers over the years thus affecting my income.
4) I used to visit the mainland as part of my work as a sales agent, the ferry costs have grown as much as to make this unviable.
5)Due to not only high ferry costs but a poor service, any chance of mainland evening entertainment means either a stopover(unaffordable)or coming back early.
6) Buying things online has also affected us as many companies flag up a default answer that they won’t deliver to the IOW or else they slap on some ridiculous charge.
7) The general aspect of in the 21st century seems to be available to most of the UK apart from the IOW….why?
Carl, I don’t know if any of this is helpful but I hope it is.
I’m also currently waiting for an answer from A.Turnip MP.
I posted on the IOW council suggestions board too in the hope of getting a response.
The Tram man seems to be pushing his infrastructure plans…I noticed he had a pitch at the Chale show.
All the best
Terry Hicks
8: Debbie Simms
On 10 Aug 2015
Dear Carl,
Please could you champion either a fixed link to the mainland or reasonable priced ferry fares.
I had to help my daughter move from one flat to another and needed a day return to do this. Going over at the crack of dawn wasn’t too bad this was 30 something pounds but coming back on the same day in the evening was 81 pounds.
I cannot understand how they can change prices when it suits them.
On the fixed link referendum face book page someone put that they were recently quoted £640 for a period return its ridiculous.
Look at the businesses that have closed down, many of the youngsters have to move of the island for jobs ( my two included) the council moan about the social welfare bill , caring for the elderly etc but what can they expect this place will end up as a retirement island.
Surely with all the consumer laws there must something that can prevent the ferry companies blatantly ripping customers off.
Please try and put something forward to save this lovely island
Debbie Simms
7: Malcolm Alder Smith
On 13 Aug 2015
Dear Carl
Please see below my letter regarding cross Solent transport.
FIXED LINK
My business need for efficient and effective cross Solent transport
Independent Thermomix Demonstrator
UK Commercial Team
I retired from full-time employment in August 2014 at the age of 65. Since that time, I have started up my own part-time business working in conjunction with Thermomix UK, an international global brand of kitchen equipment for the Hospitality Sector.
My business has moved forward positively over the first 12 months and my working week is usually divided on a 70/30 split of mainland/island business. Each trip to the UK mainland requires me to use a car ferry.
I work on a commission basis, so the more units I sell, the more profit I make – it’s as simple as that. Obviously selling more product on the island provides me with a higher percentage of income per sale, however my business could not exist without the higher level of trade which I generate on the mainland, primarily across the South of England.
I usually use Red Funnel whenever I can, as I can benefit from the Special Offers that they appear to run throughout the year, when I can usually cross for around £36.50. The price in 2014 was £33.50, so we were subject to a circa 10% increase in Spring 2015. I usually cross on average around 6 times per month.
I am happy to pay the current fares to cross the Solent with Red Funnel (WightLink are considerably more expensive) and would be happy to pay an equivalent or similar amount to use a Fixed Link Tunnel to cross to the mainland.
I am very concerned about continued increases in fares made by both car ferry operators and can see this potentially having a negative impact on my business in the future. However, what ‘costs’ me most money is the amount of my valuable time it takes to get over and back to and from the mainland, which ever ferry I use. Red Funnel for example is usually 30-45 minutes marshalling and loading time, 60 minutes to cross and 15 -20 minutes to unload in both directions. Rounded up/down this equates to around 4 hours of my time spent on a return crossing to Southampton. Even if I only costed my time at lowly £10 per hour, you can easily see that £240 in my time is totally dead money on the average month. With a Fixed Link option, the cost in my time would be slashed.
Car travellers have to be very cute when booking with either operator. I can usually calculate my return ferry departure time back to the island quite accurately, however on most occasions, I take the precaution of booking on the ‘next’ ferry departure, because as I have found out to my discomfort, missing your ferry due to heavy traffic etc., is no guarantee of getting on the next ferry.
The advantages of a Fixed Link Crossing to my business are obvious. Turn up, pay up and cross; 24/7, 365, no booking, no queuing, no missed ferries, no cancellations due to ‘operational reasons’, no cancellations due to mechanical failures, no exorbitant peak seasonal hikes in ferry fares, no queues up to Osborne House or Binstead or into Central Portsmouth as happened recently. A steady, uninterrupted flow of traffic into (and out of) a well-planned island infrastructure would, I am certain, provide both islanders and mainlanders alike with the opportunity to travel at a time of their choosing without the gross inconvenience that is the status quo.
Time saving would help provide me the opportunity to increase my office time, thus enabling me to generate additional income both here on the island and the mainland. My income is primarily spent on the Isle of Wight. Additional income would enable me and my family to eat out more often and spend more of our hard earned income in local shops to support local island businesses.
Car ferry transport to cross the Solent has become an uncontrollable corporate duopoly. Businesses and the public alike are facing an uncertain future with both ferry companies openly threatening to withdraw or reduce services. The crossing has become unaffordable for many and what has for the duration of my lifetime been a given, is today starting to feel like a threat to all who live on or wish to visit the island for whatever reason.
Regards
6: Gwyn and Greg Wilson
On 10 Aug 2015
Dear Carl
For over 20 years my husband either worked overseas or on the British mainland and throughout that time (and still applies today) the ferry services to and from the Isle of Wight have hindered our travel. He travelled daily for over 10 years to Portsmouth and due to timetables and excessive parking charges had to leave his car in a residential road in Ryde, cycle to the end of the Pier, take his bike across on the Catamaran, cycle to the dockyard, then his return journey would be,cycle from the dockyard to the Portsmouth car ferry, arriving at Fishbourne, having to cycle to Ryde to pick up his car as the Catamaran was no longer running a late service. This antiquated level of service greatly impacted on our home life and his actual time at home was greatly diminished resulting in a poorer quality of life. A fixed link would alleviate this.
We now still find ourselves feeling the impact of the stranglehold the ferry companies have on us due to living on this island. Our daughters work and live in London. They occasionally visit, but frequently state that it is due to the cost and poor levels of service that they do not visit more frequently. We too feel the same about visiting them. We have to constantly look out for the cheapest method of escaping from this island whilst considering the timings of setting off and arriving. A fixed link would alleviate this…..
Kind regards
Gwyn and Greg Wilson
5: Claire Black
On 10 Aug 2015
Hi Carl,
Both my son and my husband have to visit Southampton Hospital on a regular basis.
My son on average is once a month for an injection for his Systemic Arthritis, the company who makes the drug will not allow it to go to St. Mary’s hospital for me to pick up and administer myself (which I am trained to do) because of the cost of the unlicensed drug.
He needs this drug every month as all other drugs that he has used have failed to keep his disease under control so we have no choice but to take him, if he needs to see his consultant or have a scan on his bones or spine then it’s another extra appointment, it’s not unheard of for us to have to go over 3 times in the month.
4: Joe Siggins
On 3 Apr 2015
Dear Carl,
Is there a petition that people can sign to ask the government or the EU to get a fixed link to the Island. I was born on the Island but increasingly have to work on the mainland. I am sick of the extortionate ferry prices for being an Island resident just trying to make a living. I am currently working in Southampton and have to pay £21.60 per day to get to work. When I asked if they do a 5 day weekly ticket I was told they do not do one only a 7 day one? A lot of people work from Monday to Friday and are totally taken for granted by Red Funnel. Wightlink are no better.
A few years ago I got together with some other people that work on the mainland, we asked if a priority lane could be sorted out funded by Island residents that worked on the mainland, after numerous e-mails & telephone calls we were told that if we did not like Wightlink’s service we should not use it!!! Like we had a choice!!!
Sorry to go on a bit but I feel very strongly about this subject.
Kind Regards,
Joe Siggins
3: Mike Ingram
On 10 Aug 2015
Why do i need a Fixed Link.
My situation may be different to many, it is family not business related and ferry travel is almost the worst part of our lives.
My father is 84 and a double amputee (legs), he now suffers from an almost total lack of motor skills and is reliant on my mother, myself and sister for his care. My mother is 78, i am 57 and my sister 54. we also have a 50 year old brother but his health problems mean that he can not help with my fathers care. My wife and i returned from Spain almost 6 years ago so that i could become a part of my fathers care team. We receive no assistance apart from his catheter being changed approx every 6 weeks and maybe the district nurse to check he is not dead once a month for 10 mins. This is the system and we live with it, he is our family and our responsibility.
Boring i know but i feel that some background is required. I have not worked for the time that i have been back in the UK and receive NO government benefits, my wife works in Kent and London as a live in carer so that she can support me financially to allow me to do what i do for my father. We live with the fact that the wife is away from home, 47 weeks last year.
Where then does the ferry affect my life ? well the wife carries her life and equipment with her and she can move job to job every 2 weeks, though we try very hard to make her bookings longer. When she changes jobs i have to go and collect her and take her to her next appointment, her family are also in Rugby, her mother, 2 children and one grandchild, so we try to gap her work so that she can at least have 1/2 a day with them. Obviously my only way to get to the wife is to take a ferry. This is something that we can rarely budget for as there is no pricing structure other than “we will charge what we like”. Yes there can be voucher prices, but they are becoming less useful due to the way that Red Funnel have changed what they offer this year. So while 1 booking may be £36.50 because i can do a day return the next one could be £60.00 or much worse. The side effect has been that the more the prices rise the more that the wife has to stay away. There is also the fact that last year i was told on at least 7 occasions that i would have to pay extra to get on a half empty ferry because i was an hour early due to excellent road and driving conditions and i had done a 350 mile round trip an hour quicker than i expected. that said they offer me No compensation when the regularly sail late or cancel. my crossings are always with red funnel as Wight Links prices are completely out of reach on most occasions.
Last year my wife and i spent less than 20 days together, and 7 of those were on holiday. I have to put too much time aside when travelling because of the Red Funnel timetable as i need to leave home at 06.45 to do what should be a maximum 2 hour journey into Kent. with the use of the ferry i have to put 5 hours aside to do this journey. this puts extra responsibility for my fathers care on other family members.
I have tried to put this in a way that is understandable to all, i am not looking for sympathy just the freedom to travel at prices and times that fit my life.
I hope that this can be of use to our objective of getting a fixed link built. thanks for taking the time to read it.
regards
Mike Ingram.
2: Dawn Mace
On 10 Aug 2015
Hi Carl..
Our Family would love a fixed link / cheaper ferrys for so many reasons..
A lot of our family live on the mainland and always use to visit monthly sadly costs have got stupid and some we only see once a year now ..we lived on mainland years ago and visited monthly but can’t remember being shocked by prices like we are now and we didn’t have that much spare income then.. Give people the choice if they want to stay or leave the island when they want .
Most importantly is the health care on the island we are not getting the service here due to lack of doctors wanting to commute here..
My grand daughter has to go to hospital every week..they cannot afford the cost of this but have no choice..the time they take too for a 10 minute appointment as well as a day off work ..he now has to work 6 days a week to cover this extra cost so his only day off is now spent going to Southampton .. A 1 pm appointment means they have to get 10.30 am ferry to arrive there on time .. 30 min before ferry leaves so they leave home before 9.30am and don’t get home till at the earliest 4 pm this is for just 10 mins in hospital and costs at least £50 each and every week ..MADNESS …
My daughter had meningitis and encephalitis and nearly died because of poor care and she needed to get to mainland hospital..
I have had several rare strokes and a bleed on the brain with on going problems I need to see a neurologist well the Island doesn’t have one so I wait months to see the one that visits from mainland and have to make visits to Southampton at huge cost and time ..
I waited 7 months for a MRI now still waiting over 3 months for another MRI ..
The frustration is unbelievable..
Having a fixed link would give us choice ..time ..and less cost which we cannot afford ..
THE CHOICE TO COME AND GO WOULD GIVE PEOPLE FREEDOM OF CHOICE ……For the future of the Island too..
Dawn Mace ..
1: Joe Bolton
On 13 Aug 2015
Hi I’m emailing in regard to your post to explain how we’ve been effected by ferries or how a fixed link would help.
Being only 26 and living on the island since I was ten, the largest problem I’ve had is work. While I haven’t been out of employment since 17 I have earn significantly less than I would do else where, with the cost of living jot being cheap here its difficult. So I am training in a new field so I can earn more money but doing research I’d struggle to earn money on the island. Which would see me either commute which would cripple me or move which is the most likely.
Also I used to go to the mainland every month at least to see live musicians but with the rising ferry costs, the poor timetables and the risk of canceled ferries. I usually don’t bother now as it’s a lot more hassle.
I love the island and I’ve worked in the tourism industry since I was 15 if seen the decline we’ve had. I put this down to extortionate ferry prices and the councils lack of investment into the island.
On a side not, I was coming back to the island on the midnight wightlink car ferry last week and was talking to a lady who came here to work the season in bembridge coast hotel. She explained this was her first and probably going to be her last season as getting to the island was so difficult. She travelled from Yorkshire by train and had no issues. The only problem occurred when she waited so long for ferries and had to pay for a taxi to get to bembridge as public transport is non existent at night.
I hope some of this goes to help in a way. I do think my fiancee and myself will leave the island within the next 18 months to peruse careers with more opportunities, I’d much rather be here but I don’t think we could live the life we want to here. That being said. If a fixed link came and it was fiesable we would come straight back as we both love the island.
Thanks, Joe
Facebook name Joe Ramsey Bolton – I only join in a few debates because I get so passionate that it gets frustrating.
More Comments
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Ash Webb
I have been working in Southsea commuting from the Island for the past three and a half years, and I find it so out of date and an antiquated form of travel that charges a kings ransom so people living on the Island can earn a better wage over on the mainland ,but have to pay for it with queuing waiting for a boat that might not be running due to high winds, travelling when they state, not when you require it.
It’s about time that the island caught up with 21st Century UK, and brought more work to the place.
Towns such as Sandown are rundown with investment needed, Ventnor has slightly improved but again there could be more done to improve it. We rely on tourism which is dwindling because of the expensive fares, and families going elsewhere. The future generations who are the backbone of the island get up and leave us because of the better job prospects over the water. If things don’t change sooner rather than later we will be left behind, -
Glynis D Fenner
Hello Carl,
we have only lived on the Island for three years and in that short space of time, have seen quite a few business’ close due to lack of sales/customers etc, which I can only assume is due to a drop in the number of visitors the Island is attracting. This year seems particularly quiet, which given the global situations at present, you would think that there would be a higher number of tourists visiting! The costs of the ferries is/can be really expensive especially during peak holiday season. However being tied to timetables and restricted sailings, cancellations, inefficient, uncooperative ferry companies seems to be the main problem.The Island is suffering from lack of professional, qualified staff in various workplaces, (I am not in any way denigrating those staff already employed on the Island, who are in the main doing their very best), however vacancies within the Health Service, Teaching profession etc are going unfilled due to the lack of transport options to and from the Island.
The economy of the Island is undoubtably suffering due to the inability of being able to travel to and from the island as you wish, being free to choose the time that you leave your home and travel to and from at your own will. Island residents have to work on the mainland, perhaps because employment here on the Island has ceased, they then have to pay expensive travel costs as well as adding additional hours, waiting for ferries/fastcats etc, travelling on them, the uncertainty as to whether they could be cancelled/rescheduled, due to ‘harbour movements’, high winds, lack of staff, etc, I really feel for these poor residents having to put up with this outdated form of travel.
Please don’t take this wrongly, we love the Island and whenever we have to travel to the mainland, we do quite enjoy the ferry crossing, when we can get a seat, however we are lucky not being tied to times. BUT we are not blind or stupid and although retired, we can see that this Island is failing and if something positive is not started very soon to provide up to date transport links to the Mainland then this Island will be just that, a lump of rock, with no facilities at all, only poor and failing schools, only poor and failing health care provision, without doubt a high rate of crime as those without, will turn to taking what they require!
For goodness sake IOW council, Andrew Turner and those who have a responsibility to the residents of this beautiful Island, stop burying your heads in the sand and start working on making a fixed link from the Mainland to the Isle of Wight happen. It may not solve all the problems that the Island has but it will go a long way to helping it stay afloat.
Sorry for the long missive but I do feel very strongly that a fixed link is the only way forward.
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Steve Wright
My case for a Fixed Link is as follows, firstly, having been a daily commuter to Southsea for the last 16 years which has cost so far, the best part of £25000. My job is in Musical Instrument retail and more specifically, a Guitar Technician. Whilst it is a skilled job, it is not a high earner by any stretch of the imagination. There is not the work on the island to sustain a living wage each week (and I worked here for the first 10 years of my employment) and due to the extortionate costs of ferry travel, customers from the Mainland will not cross the Solent for repairs. Any repairs that I pick up on the Island, I have to take across to my Workshop in Southsea……not the easiest thing as i have to go over on my Bicycle……it’s just not viable to use the Car Ferry, customers would have to wait too long in order for me to be able to carry enough over in the Car to make it worthwhile. I could really increase my business though, with a Fixed Link. I am also about to take on the ownership of the Music shop where my workshop is located. This raises another issue if something occurs overnight (which has happened on numerous occasions over the years, the owner of the shop though, could be there in 10 minutes), it will potentially, take hours to get to Southsea from Ryde…..a distance of about 5 miles!! With a Fixed Link in the early hours, maybe 20 minutes at that hour of the day?
Secondly, my Wife’s family run a beach Cafe in Shanklin. They have seen a huge decline in visitor numbers over the last 15 years, not helped by the Cliff Lift fiasco and no Bus service until the height of the Summer. Obviously down to lack of Council funding which in turn, can’t be helped by the lack of money coming over from visitors to the island. We need to encourage more day trippers (who would more than likely, return for a short stay, longer if possible) and having spoke to many in Southsea for example, they simply will not pay the ferry fare, and I can’t blame them. To have our beautiful beaches literally on their doorstep but due to the high cost, they go to Bournemouth & such places instead. It’s actually quicker too! Portsmouth to Bournemouth is around an hour and 15 minutes on a good day……a similar distance, I did Ryde to Bournemouth to visit my daughter which without any traffic hold ups, took 3 Hours via Red Funnel!!
That’s another issue for me, most of my side of the family, live all over the country, from Wolverhampton to St Austell in Cornwall. I very rarely get to see any of them as the cost and time of crossing the Solent is just prohibitive.
Just one more thing, although i could go on and on, as a Published Photographer, I, along with a couple of friends, went up to Derwent Water in Derbyshire to photograph the two remaining flying Lancaster Bombers over the Derwent Dam. On our way back, we managed to get from Sheffield to Southampton in a little over 3 hours…….to find we’d just missed the Ferry. Due to the time of the evening, it then took just over three hours to travel the last 15 miles home. With a Fixed Link, this would not be an issue. I’ve had enough of waiting in soul destroying ferry car parks, it really is time to bring the Isle of Wight into the 21st Century to bring more prosperity to the area. It is most certainly time to build the much needed Fixed Link.Many Thanks
Steve Wright
Sean
October 29, 2016 at 8:07 pm Edit
Stop moaning!!! I live on the Island and have my own business, doing regular trips to the mainland in a large van. I only use Red Funnel as Wightlink take the p#ss with the prices. I’m more than happy with the way things are. The crime rate here is very low compared to the majority of the mainland…that will change with a fixed link. The roads here are relatively light as far as traffic is concerned…that will change with a fixed link. Many people who come to the Island for a holiday enjoy the ferry ride as its part of the holiday. One thing that attracts people to the Island is the fact that’s it’s years behind the mainland.This is not about choice, it’s about greed. You want a highly paid job on the mainland!!! Then go and live there…simple
Sally Sears
October 12, 2016 at 7:09 am Edit
I can’t find work on the Island that I’d like to do and have been unemployed now for 2 years.I would love to see a fixed link as I could have a better chance of finding the employment I want on the mainland and not have to give most of my wages to Wight link in ferry costs and I could stay living here, “I love living here it is a beautiful place to be”.
REPLY
Mark
October 5, 2016 at 4:20 pm Edit
I really don’t understand why anyone would be against this. It would dramatically improve the economy by encouraging more visitors and businesses to the island. Maybe a petition and independent report on the benefits are the way to get this on the agenda.REPLY
Eidur Gudjohnsen
September 29, 2016 at 12:06 am Edit
Excellent Web-site, Continue the useful job. Regards!.REPLY
Hilary Morris
August 15, 2016 at 10:19 pm Edit
Having returned home from the island today, on a ferry that was not only late leaving East Cowes but also very expensive it is easy to see why the island is suffering economicly. Because the ferry was late we became caught up in traffic problems which meant we took a good hour and a half longer to get home.Regrettably the cost and the fact that we are dependent on ferries means that we are not keen to visit the island too often even though we have family living there. I was speaking to someone on Saturday nighg about living on the island and they said that apart for a few weeks each year the island is becoming dead as people are refusing to pay exorbitant prices and not to be able to get ferries that will get them back to the main land
REPLY
Andy Phillips
August 5, 2016 at 10:51 pm Edit
Watching Summer Countryfile on BBC 1 yesterday (Aug 4th) and a Cornish (Padstow) fisherman was questioned as to his opinion on second home owners in the area – whether they had a negative effect.
“Years ago we had a six week season and few jobs. Now we have a virtual all year round season and everyone has a job”. Why? Simple. Good transport links. No big secret, nothing really clever. Just the ability to come and go as you please.
We don’t need campaigns telling us we have six months to Save The Island. Nor throwing millions away to overpriced consultants telling us what we know already. What we need is a fixed link.
Or someone to switch off the lights on a very short while….REPLY
Oliver
October 13, 2016 at 7:54 pm Edit
Doesn’t take into account that none of those people can actually afford to live in the place they workREPLY
Karen Jemson
June 28, 2016 at 1:14 pm Edit
I know the prices of the ferries are outrageous, all my children live on the mainland so i go over a lot at least once a month so i can see my two young Grandchildren grow up, so i spend a lot of money on the ferries and the service can be quite unreliable at times, also the weather can make the boats very unpredictable also not very enjoyable, my family don’t come over often as the prices are so high, especially times like bank holidays and the summer, my daughter was charged £80 + at the May bank holiday she got the train it was much cheaper then borrowed our car, not ideal! I personally would love to have a fixed link.REPLY
Richard
June 22, 2016 at 10:49 am Edit
Ferries have monopoly on this? which surely is against a law?
You cant take a vehicle over for less than £37.50 and its not the choice of destination IE i want Portsmouth but have to settle going to bloody Southampton as Wight rip off want another £20! it takes the ****!!Its time we acted and get a link to the island and the ferries can do what they like i wont use them if this came about and sod the BS about making the island part of the mainland as its to restrictive for us residents here as prices keep going up with no real residential discounts now being offered, making life very difficult to get work with a decent wage which only really exists on the mainland as employers here also take the **** on wages.
Our so called MP is a useless old fart who basically does **** all to help us on the island, until he goes we are going to struggle to get this link IMO.
REPLY
Susan Williams
June 21, 2016 at 4:28 pm Edit
My daughter was charged £85 to come over on Wightlink on Father’s Day , in a little mini.
I fully support a fixed link to the mainland. Preferably a tunnel. Bliss!
You have NO idea! The reason the Isle of Wight is such an amazing place is because the cost to get here keeps many, many undesirables off the Island. It was like moving back in time, when I moved here from the midlands (a supposed nice part of the midlands). A fixed link will destroy the tranquillity and nasty people will come over in the night and cars will disappear etc. Yes I am fully aware of the Ferry ransom issue, but surely we want to keep the Island as a desirable destination, why not get into some real discussions with the ferry companies to give Island residents some proper discount. That way you won’t DESTROY the Island.
Will the FL be built and operated with State funding or PFI funding? The Pro-Link people do not seem willing to advance an opinion, restricting themselves to a mealy-mouthed “to be decided”. I would support a state funded FL but not a PFI-funded one as the cost of crossing the Solent would remain as high as today, if not even higher.