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"If We Don't Take Action, We Put Ourselves In Jeopardy" - Wightlink CEO Defends FastCat Suspension

The CEO of Wightlink has defended the firm's decision to suspend its FastCat service for the foreseeable future, calling claims the route is as busy as ever "not true".

Speaking exclusively to Isle of Wight Radio, Keith Greenfield denied talk of the foot passenger service halting permanently.

He says the reason for its second temporary suspension is to ensure the company is in "a better position for whenever this [the pandemic] ends."

As Isle of Wight Radio first revealed, the cross-Solent operator has announced major changes in light of the second nationwide coronavirus lockdown.

Not only do they include the cancellation of all FastCat sailings from Saturday, but they also involve a reduction in crossings on its Lymington to Yarmouth car ferry.

Mr Greenfield says the ferry firm has been left with no choice due to falling foot passenger numbers. He said:

"With this second lockdown we have seen a considerable reduction in demand for our services to the point where Portsmouth to Ryde is just not viable. We've seen an 80% reduction there.

"We've had a great loss of revenue this year. We lost £20 million in revenue in the first part of the crisis and this number is rising again. But taking this kind of action to prevent further losses, puts us in a better position for when this crisis ends."

The FastCat service was also suspended back in April following the first nationwide lockdown.

It led to Islanders experiencing earlier mornings, longer travel and "exhausting" days as they were forced to use alternative routes.

News of a second FastCat suspension - and the reasons given to justify the move - have provoked outrage on social media. Some Islanders claim the service is still packed, especially during peak times.

Wightlink's FastCat Suspended For Foreseeable Furture

EXCLUSIVE: Why not just run the FastCat at peak times? Is this the last time the route will set sail? And what would you say to those who use the foot passenger service and no longer can? Following confirmation that Wightlink's FastCat service will be suspended from Saturday (14), we speak to CEO Keith Greenfield.

Posted by Isle of Wight Radio on Tuesday, November 10, 2020

 

However, Mr Greenfield says this is not true - and ruled out running services during busier times only. He said:

"I'm afraid that that's just not correct. We record exactly how many passengers are on each service and we certainly don't have any packed services at the moment. We've had services on the FastCat where we've had less passengers than crew.

"Unfortunately the agreements we have with our work force don't allow us to bring people in for a few hours and then send them home again. We have to provide a full shift and we're not able to switch services on and off [for peak times only]. I think it would quite confusing to do that."

Mr Greenfield confirmed that Wightlink had received some financial help from the Government during the first lockdown, but he could not say how much the firm was given.

He said no money has been granted this time around, however. 

There is no specified return date for the FastCat service, although Mr Greenfield hopes it will be "sooner rather than later".

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