28 September 2007
Renfrew ferry feasibility study to go ahead
SPT decides it's time to look at future options
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) is to carry out a feasibility study which will look at future options for the Renfrew-Yoker ferry service.
The study will investigate the costs and benefits of providing an opening pedestrian bridge as an alternative option for the link between Renfrew and Yoker.
At a meeting today (Friday 28 September) SPT members agreed to part-fund the three-month study at a cost of £30,000. Scottish Enterprise (Renfrewshire) will provide the remaining £30,000.
It is estimated that the two ferries which currently operate the Renfrew-Yoker service will need to be replaced within two years. Because of their age, they have become increasingly costly and difficult to maintain, and neither ferry is compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). The estimated cost to replace both ferries and make them DDA compliant is around £2million.
Given these costs, the feasibility study will investigate the costs and benefits of providing a footbridge for pedestrians and cyclists as an alternative option for the link between Renfrew and Yoker. The findings of this study will then be compared to the costs and effectiveness of continuing the ferry service with new or refurbished vessels.
SPT Assistant Chief Executive, Gordon Maclennan said: "This is not a recommendation to close the Renfrew-Yoker ferry.
"Given that the current vessels will be beyond repair in just two years, we feel it is the perfect time to look at all our options and decide which will be most cost-effective and which will most improve the customer experience.
"We're asking the question, would a pedestrian footbridge be a viable and practical option? But similarly, we're investigating the option of continuing the existing service."
Renfrewshire Council Leader Derek Mackay said: "A link between Renfrew and Yoker is vital for Renfrewshire and the West of Scotland and it's important that we look at all the social, transport, economic and environmental issues involved in maintaining and improving this connection."
The Renfrew-Yoker Ferry carries around 150,000 passengers a year. Single crossings cost £1 per adult. However, the subsidy for this is around £400,000 a year which means that each journey is subsidised by the tax payer by around £2.70.
ends