Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely says he wants to see through-tickets introduced at Isle of Wight ferry terminals to make onward travel easier for commuters.
Mr Seely said following calls from several Islanders who wanted to see a combined ferry and rail ticket available at Wightlink terminals, he contacted Wightlink’s Chief Executive Officer, Keith Greenfield asking him to consider installing new ticket machines to enable seamless journeys for ferry and rail passengers.
Wightlink welcomed the suggestion and agreed to allocate capital funds to pay for the machines at their Ryde and Yarmouth terminals.
However, plans hit a wall due to apparent red tape at the Department for Transport preventing the ferry operator from installing the new machines which has led to both Wightlink’s CEO and the Island’s MP escalating the issue further within the Department for Transport.
Mr Seely said: “I am aware that Islanders are keen to be able to purchase through-tickets at ferry terminals for onward rail journeys. As a regular commuter myself, I understand the desire for this.
“I raised the issue with Wightlink’s Chief Executive, Keith Greenfield, who said he was keen to provide ticket machines at Ryde and Yarmouth terminals to enable this.
“Unfortunately, there apparently is red tape within the DfT preventing this from happening, which is very frustrating.
“I have raised the issue with the Secretary of State, Grant Shapps, to see what can be done.”
Mr Greenfield said: “Wightlink will continue to push for rail ticket machines at Ryde and Yarmouth as soon as possible”.
