Why are ferry sailing times so 'unfriendly'?

A passenger-friendly timetable would have the current UK departure of 9am switched to Jersey departure of 9am arriving in the UK midday-ish, thus allowing drivers time to complete their road journey in year-round daylight.

A midday-ish departure from the UK to the islands would allow for a drive to Poole of even 100-plus miles to be completed in social hours.

Only politicians who were not up to the job would have agreed to the present passenger-unfriendly timetable which presumably Condor pressed for as it saved them the expense of having to overnight their crew in Jersey.

ROGER BALE,

Rocque Berg,

La Grande Route de la Cote,

St Clement,

Jersey, JE2 6FT.

rogerbale@hotmail.com

Editor's footnote: A spokesman for the former Commerce and Employment Department replies:

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on your reader's letter.

Each year Commerce and Employment is consulted about the planned schedule for the coming year. This has been common practice for a good number of years and ensures that the level of service provided by Condor meets the terms of the memorandum of understanding that Guernsey has with Condor.

The level of service provided by Condor in terms of the planned schedule provided currently exceeds the requirements of the MoU.

The schedule is intended to balance the needs of various users and to maximise connectivity. It also needs to reflect the requirements of the Jersey operating agreement with Condor Ferries. Therefore the final schedules agreed between the islands and Condor will always need to provide an acceptable balance in meeting the specific needs of a range of users in both islands, the UK and the European continent.

It should be noted that the basis of the current schedule has been in place for some time and whilst minor amendments are made from year to year, it would be wrong to conclude that the current schedules are a recent introduction. It is however true to say that there is now less flexibility in the schedule with the reduction in the number of high-speed craft on the northern route from two to one.

The desirability and feasibility of the timetable proposed by your reader is an interesting question. From a desirability point of view, while appealing to some local residents, it might not appeal to all and the same is true for passengers originating from the UK. One consequence of a later departure from the UK would be that day trips to Guernsey would not be possible and this would have a significant effect on visitor numbers. For departing visitors from Guernsey, an early check-in might mean a missed breakfast at the hotel and the loss of a final day in the island before the end of the holiday. So there might be pros and cons.

From a feasibility point of view, it would require a ship to be based in either Guernsey or Jersey and would need provision of a suitable berth overnight and during non-operational times. There are limited berthing facilities in both islands and it also needs to be considered that room needs to be made for the freight vessels which visit twice daily.

The ship would also need availability of suitable crew who are trained and type-rated to their positions. A fast ferry typically requires 30 or more qualified staff who do not live on board. Historically there has not been sufficient qualified staff available in the islands to make this a viable option.

Condor Ferries will shortly be conducting a comprehensive service review and the intention is to consult with local users of the service in order to obtain views on future service levels.

This will provide a useful opportunity for further consideration of scheduling, though for the reasons stated above, there may be good logistical reasons why it may not be possible to amend the current schedule.