Research – Isle of Wight ferry users 18 times madder than CalMac ferry users

As of today, 12 039 people have signed the petition Isle of Wight Ferries – ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!1 The population of the Isle of Wight is 141 000 so a whopping 8.5% have signed.

In March 2023, 674 people living in Scotland signed PE1872: Improve the reliability of island ferry services2 calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to urgently ensure that all Islanders have access to reliable ferry services. The population of the Western Isles and Argyll (we’ll leave some the Clyde ferry-users out) is around 100 000 so 0.6% signed.

The latter petition was referred to the Scottish Parliament’s Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee.

Sources:

https://www.change.org/p/isle-of-wight-ferries-enough-is-enough

https://petitions.parliament.scot/petitions/PE1872

12 thoughts on “Research – Isle of Wight ferry users 18 times madder than CalMac ferry users”

  1. Scottish ferry fares are based on the Road Equivalent Tariff so that islanders are not exploited by ferry owners seeking to ‘maximise shareholder return’, also known as using a monopoly to extort as much as you can from passengers so that shareholders can get huge dividends.

    What about investment to maintain and improve the ferries? “Don’t be fucking stupid,” say the shareholders. “We need to ‘drive down costs’ so that profitability is increased. And we need to have ‘red tape slashed’ – .i e. weaken employee conditions of service, pay as low wages as we can, cut down staffing levels, remove health and safety requirements, defer repairs as long as possible and then do the minimum. It is because of this ‘ruthless’ paring of costs that we are able to make such a good living in Jersey or the Isle of Man.

    Alasdair Macdonald

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  3. I must admit I signed that petition and I live in Aberdeenshire… but only so I could add a comment comparing their local ferry service to CalMac:-)

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  4. Since the Isle of Weight County Press is also owned by the Heralds owners Newsquest, maybe Newsquest could lend / relocate Martin Williams to the good people down south to sort out their ferry fiasco.

    Lets face it, with Martin’s maritime knowledge, he is just wasted up here 🙂

    Liked by 4 people

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  7. O/T

    BBC website Home page.

    Currently fifth , not top, story and article is just out today.

    “Energy prices forecast to rise by 9% in October”

    Craig Lowrey, principal consultant at the forecaster, said “While we don’t expect a return to the extreme prices of recent years, it’s unlikely that bills will return to what was once considered normal. Without significant intervention, this may well be the new normal“

    “Charity National Energy Action said any increases in prices, alongside less support from the government, could stretch some households’ finances “beyond breaking point”.

    So is it just me or does anyone else recall Labour before the GE being most vocal at the Tory UK government in them , Tories, not intervening and acting on bringing high energy prices down for consumers. Then also during Labour’s GE campaign they promised to bring energy bills down for consumers.

    Story is also the fifth story on their UK page.

    Story is not on their UK Politics page but they do have room for a story on that same politics page about the SNP removing the whip from John Mason ( eighth story –one day old and sourced via the Scottish Politics page) and also on their UK Politics page is the Tory leadership contest in Scotland (in their Features & Analysis section of the UK politics page – eleven days old and also sourced via the Scottish Politics page).

    Seems though this “energy price forecast rise” is not to be made a UK political story by the BBC on their website ,which is incredible considering it, high energy bills, was a major feature of the Labour party’s attacks upon the Tory UK government when they, the Tories, were in power.

    Also incredible considering the pledge made by Keir Starmer was that he promised that if Labour won the GE then energy bills would decrease under them, as the new UK government, same Labour party who are a UK political party but the BBC fail to make this a political story on their UK politics page on their website.

    This blatant omission by the BBC , in them failing to highlight this situation is a clear example of Labour not fulfilling that which they promised they would fulfil, would be considered, as a similar BBC omission, a miracle if the BBC also did it for the SNP.

    Unfortunately that, as a situation, will never happen.

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    1. Upon writing the above comment I checked again and the energy price rise story is now sixth on their home page. So it is falling down in significance in their Home page and also falling down as a really important and currently relevant story too (but it is still, as for now, the fifth story on their UK page and still nothing noted about it on their UK Politics page).

      I think eventually, as a story, it will disappear off their pages on their website which is, as a situation, not one they, the BBC, ever grant for the SNP as a BBC action in any and all stories linked to them the SNP.

      In fact the opposite is the case with the BBC on their website. Where we often see multiple stories of the exact same story at the same time.

      Regurgitated stories on the same subject which are often resurrected by those who are either in opposition to the SNP or those individuals who are against the SNP as a party based purely on their constitutional position.

      Remember this energy price story was only added today on their website yet already it has gone down ,as a story , on their Home page !

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  8. Pingback: ‘More misery for car ferry customers as cancellations continue’ in English ‘scandal’ ferry system – Talking-up Scotland

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