Friday, July 25, 2008
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FERRY COMPANIES NOT MAKING FRIENDS

Friday, May 16, 2008
LETTERS
From Patrick Seely, Dunsbury Farm, Brook:
IT is time we say no to Wightlink and it is time Wightlink begins to answer some difficult questions:
Why should we pay a fuel surcharge? When oil prices fell to $10 per barrel, we never received a fuel rebate. When interest rates fell below four per cent, we never received an interest rate rebate.
Why is it that Wightlink’s returns on capital increased significantly during the 1990s and early 2000s, while its cost of capital shrunk so dramatically? The Islanders saw none of that benefit.
While everybody else is being cautious about investment, with inflation taking off and universal fears of recession, Wightlink is proudly investing £50 million. How can it afford to do so? Is this investment really needed, particularly at this time? Who is really going to pay for the investment — Wightlink or us Islanders through increased fares?
Why have Wightlink and Red Funnel recently been sold for approximately five and six-and-a-half times revenues respectively? I stress multiples of revenues not profits. Not many companies trade at five times revenues, not even Oracle or Microsoft in today’s market.
Why is it that reputable City of London financiers see an investment in Wightlink as a one-way bet linked to inflation? As we have all discovered not even houses are a guaranteed one-way investment bet.
Wightlink is probably the IW’s most profitable company. It is also a lifeline service.
It would gain much more respect if it absorbed the fuel increases. The rest of us can’t just pass on inflationary increases so easily. We live in competitive markets.

From J. M. and C. M. Bowett, The Glympse, Undercliff Gardens, Ventnor:
No returns: IN the wake of the news of the Wightlink fuel surcharge (CP, 09-05-08), we have another story about the cost of Solent travel.
Each year friends visit us with the car, plus four people, day-return offer.
This week we discovered the day return is now for a car plus two and as the funeral we wish to attend is 11am on a weekday, we cannot take advantage of the two-for-one passenger fare until after 9.25am.
The cost of this unhappy trip is therefore £63 plus, with the rising cost of fuel, around £20 or more in the tank.
Of course, there is the willing expenditure on flowers/donations and even some refreshments on the way home.
Is this not a complete rip off? There will not be too many of our senior friends visiting us this year for the day.
I do hope Andrew Turner reads this.

From Ian Hampton, 109 Sandcroft Avenue, Ryde:
Pain not pleasure: I HAVE not had the pleasure of travelling on Red Funnel for several months and last weekend this pleasure was to be exercised again.
I came to East Cowes on my motorbike and went to the ticket office and asked for the usual motorcycle period return.
The one chap behind the counter proceeded to punch buttons and other various tasks for what seemed like an eternity. I actually timed it and it was six minutes. So, in theory, if ten of my friends on bikes turned up at that time and wanted the same as me, we would wait 60 minutes to get tickets.
This could result in missing the ferry as I arrived 15 minutes before departure. I suppose it would not all be in vain as the 60 minutes passed to get tickets means we would be in time to get the next ferry.
As I painfully waited for this new-design ticket, I mentioned this fact to him and his reply was: “Oh, if there’s a queue we abandon the computer and do it manually”. This is good. The perfect solution to speeding up the system. Just don’t use it.
Once I finally got my ticket, I was presented with this A4-size document with another A4 attachment describing regulations and other unnecessary information. It’s nice to know this system is not only faster and more efficient but also saves on paper as well.