'Fight not over' as ferry axed after 500 years

TRANSPORT leaders have voted to close a ferry service that has crossed the Clyde for 500 years.

Councillors in Renfrewshire last night vowed to fight the move by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, saying it will disrupt the lives of thousands of people and is "economically, socially and environmentally unjustified".

The ferry carries around 140,000 each year across the 200-metre stretch between Renfrew and Yoker. SPT said the service was not financially viable.

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SNP council leader Derek Mackay said: "I am outraged at the decision by SPT. It will have a huge impact on people. These are people getting to work each and every day. This was a vital link and it has been running for 500 years. This will mean a vital link will be lost."

He said SPT, which last week denied the ferry was to be closed, had "railroaded" the decision without proper consultation and without looking at possible alternatives.

"We fund the SPT to the tune of 3 million a year and they have not kept us informed and have not been listening. The fight is not yet over," he said.

Mr Mackay said he planned to take the matter up with Cabinet secretary John Swinney to try to force the SPT to rescind the decision.

"I have serious concerns about the running of the SPT," he said. "They have treated local authorities abysmally."

Councillor Marie McGurk, who represented the council at yesterday's meeting where the decision was taken to close the ferry service, said SPT had not provided enough details on the economic case for closure.

She said: "SPT ignored Renfrewshire's proposal to have an urgent review on how the Renfrew ferry service can be maintained for the short term and then secured for the long term. We believe there are a range of funding and transport options which can be quickly worked up and considered.

"There was no need for SPT to rush through this decision with little or no justification, let alone consultation. I can assure the tens of thousands of people who use the Renfrew ferry that Renfrewshire Council will do all we can to reverse this decision by bringing forward practical proposals for a renewed and effective service

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"It's a great pity that the public transport body charged with that responsibility didn't bother to do that before axing the service"

SPT chairman Alistair Watson, said the decision to shut down the service had been made "with regret" due to "exceptional economic circumstances."

"The decision to close the Renfrew ferry was not an easy one, and we recognise that it has served communities across the Clyde very well for a long time," he said. "The sad reality is that we are living in an exceptional financial climate. Like all local councils, we have had to make extremely difficult choices on where to cut public spending."

Mr Watson said the SPT had been making a loss of 430,000 a year by keeping the ferry running.

"Currently, for every 1.20 fare paid by the passenger, SPT has to provide a further 3. That is simply unsustainable."

Partnership members voted 14 to 5 in favour of approving budget proposals for 2010-11 at a special meeting held in Glasgow.

The ferry will cease operation at the end of March, saving SPT about 430,000 a year.

Passenger numbers on the service have been in steady decline for many years.

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Each boat can carry up to 50 passengers, but there are usually fewer than ten people on board each trip.

The current vessels, the Renfrew Rose and the Yoker Swan, are reaching the end of their working lives and do not comply with accessibility laws. To bring them both in line with the Disability Discrimination Act would cost more than 2m.

In 2008, a bridge between Renfrew and Yoker was ruled out after a study found that it would cost up to 15m.

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