When the winter ferry crossings to the far shore were reduced from six sailings a day to four, the case was straightforward: fewer passengers in the cold months, so fewer boats. On the face of it, that is exactly the sort of sensible economy a stretched budget should make.
Look a little closer, though, and the saving starts to wobble. The two dropped sailings were the early morning and late evening runs, which happen to be the ones that make it possible to hold a job, or attend a class, on the other side of the water.
The costs that do not show up in the ledger
A timetable is not just a schedule; it is a set of decisions about who gets to participate in the life of the wider bay. Cut the wrong two sailings and you quietly redraw the map of what is possible from Havenroad.
- The lost runs were the ones used by commuters and evening students.
- Households without a car are the most affected by the change.
- Trade that depended on evening foot traffic from the far shore has thinned.
None of this means the ferry should run empty boats through the dark for the sake of it. It means the saving should be measured against what it takes away, and so far that second column of the ledger has not been filled in.
Related: Local News · school budget squeeze
Further reading: Ferry
