HeraldPrivate firms bid to operate Renfrew FerryPublished on 22 Jan 2010
The ferries are set to be sold and staff are being offered alternative jobs within SPT.Four private operators are in talks about providing a replacement service for the Renfrew Ferry, which will sail for the last time on March 31 after almost six centuries.
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, which operates the ferry, yesterday decided to scrap the service, saving £400,000 a year. The transport authority has to make savings of £2.5 million in the year from April.
At present, it is subsiding each £1.20 fare by almost £3, which SPT officials say is not good value for money. The two ferries will be sold and SPT is in discussions with the eight staff about the possibility of them transferring to other SPT operations like the Glasgow Subway.
However, Mr Watson said he was in discussion with four companies interested in setting up a new service.
He said: “There has been significant interest from the private sector with four offers from firms which want to look at our Renfrew/Yoker operation and we are prepared to sit down with them almost immediately.”
But Ms Alexander said: “This short-sighted decision is a slap in the face to everyone who campaigned to keep the ferry link.