RENFREW ROSE at the Yoker slip

Sadness as historic Renfrew ferry axed
SPT axe falls on River Clyde ferry service...

A ferry service between Renfrew and Yoker will be withdrawn after a series of cost saving measures were approved by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT).

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 in a move that will save SPT about £430,000 a year.

Passenger numbers on the service have been in steady decline for many years. Each boat can carry up to 50 passengers, but there are usually less than 10 people on board for each trip.

Figures show that for every £1.20 fare paid by a passenger for a single trip, SPT pays almost £3 from the public purse to subsidise their journey.

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 (DDA) would cost in excess of £2 million.

SPT Chairman Alistair Watson said the decision to end the Ferry service had been made with great regret.

He said: "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.

"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.

"SPT is making a substantial loss to keep the ferry running and that is simply unsustainable."