Ferry boss defends discount ticketing scheme

A ferry boss has defended its discount scheme for Isle of Wight residents, following criticism about the number of spaces available on board.

Katy Taylor, chief executive of Wightlink, which connects the Isle of Wight with Portsmouth and Lymington, took calls from listeners on BBC Radio Solent's Hot Seat feature.

Callers complained about not being able to use tickets bought through the company's Multilink scheme which allows islanders to buy lower-priced tickets in bulk.

Ms Taylor said at least 15% of spaces were designated for Multilink travellers and the ferry operator did all it could to "allow family and friends to connect".

The Multilink scheme gives anyone who lives on the island the opportunity to buy a book of discounted tickets in bulk.

A standard return journey for a foot passenger could cost about £30 while car tickets are close to £90.

A book of 60 tickets under the Multilink scheme costs £1,710 - working out as £28.50 per sailing.

Among callers to the programme, Mark in Bembridge said he used the ferry a lot and paid a £680 up-front payment for 10 return car ferry journeys via the Multilink offer.

"The primary frustration is when you go on to your website and book Multilink and it says nothing is available.

"You're then forced to book and buy a standard fare, then when you go on to the ferry it's not in any way full," Mark said.

He added: "A lot of us feel like second class citizens when it comes to the use of Multilink."

Ms Taylor said the operator worked hard to balance costs and needed to charge more for standard tickets in order to be able to offer discounted tickets for islanders.

She continued: "We have to be realistic that on those really busy times of year, when customers are paying those higher fares, we do need them to be able to book on to those ferries.

"Essentially they're subsidising those much cheaper fares."

A minimum of 15% of seats are guaranteed to Multilink travellers, but this could often be more if there is space nearer to the journey, Ms Taylor said.

Ms Taylor also addressed issues of reliability, including the delays of about 90 minutes on the vehicle ferry service between Fishbourne and Portsmouth since Sunday evening.

She said this had been caused by "unusually low" spring tides which meant the vessel could not berth at Fishbourne.

Ms Taylor, who took up her post last year, admitted "there is more we could do" to communicate with passengers.

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