Whitehead calls for inquiry into Isle of Wight Ferry costs
22nd February 2007
Alan Whitehead MP has backed a campaign by Isle of Wight commuters for an inquiry into the costs of travelling to and from the Isle of Wight by ferry. The Solent crossing is currently one of the most expensive stretches of water to cross anywhere in the British Isles.
Ferry Passengers for a Fair Deal are calling on the Competition Commission to investigate the costs of travel and carriage to and from the Isle of Wight. Since 2004 the prices for extended return tickets and season tickets have both gone up by between two and three times the rate of inflation.
The group has set up an online petition for people to register their concern about ferry prices at www.competition4iowferries.blogspot.com.
The last time the Competition Commission investigated the cost of travel to and from the island was in 1991. Since then additional services from Southampton and Portsmouth have both been axed.
The Commission’s investigation at that time highlighted cost per kilometre of travel to the island as one of the highest in the UK. The Commission also recommended that because of weak competition between providers, the dominant position of Wightlink “could be open to abuse and there may be a need for a monitoring of its profitability and fares in the future” (Chapter 1 paragraph 1.6)
Dr Whitehead said:
“No transport operator should be allowed to abuse their position of market dominance to arbitrarily increase prices. There are certain factors, like the relative shallowness of the water between Southampton and the Isle of Wight, that do increase the cost of running a ferry service between the two locations. But these factors do not explain the inflation-busting price increases since 2004. It is time the Competition Commission looked again at these costs and asked the question: are residents on both sides of the water really getting a fair deal?”
More information
- UPDATED: you can now download a hard copy of the petition to print out and distribute
- The previous Competition Commission report can be read here
- Increases in season ticket prices on the Red Jet funnel since 2002 are as follows:
2002 £1408.00
2003 £1440.00
2004 £1490.00 +£10 card protection scheme
2005 £1555.00 +£15 card protection scheme
2006 £1670.00 +£15 card protection scheme