Red Funnel encourages passengers to assess their travel needs and plan ahead before using ferry services

Red Funnel continues to encourage the public to heed the government’s latest advice to consider their options before using public transport, and to self-asses before using its services at this time. This includes:

• Working from home where possible
• Shopping locally, and less often
• Considering other forms of transport before using public services
• Avoiding peak travel times and routes, as these are the busiest
   

These recommendations are in line with the latest government guidelines for safer travel. More details, including up to date guidance on face coverings, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-travel-guidance-for-passengers#public-transport

Fran Collins, CEO, Red Funnel commented: “We know that in many instances, especially when it comes to meeting up with friends and family, Islanders and those living on the mainland alike frequently need to cross the Solent.  In these instances, we trust that our customers have used their best judgement in assessing their travel requirements, and we continue to encourage them to follow guidelines for maintaining good hygiene practices and social distancing whilst on board and at our terminals. We also remind all passengers about the requirement to wear a face covering on our services as mandated by the government.”

Red Funnel continues to monitor the latest government advice and is ensuring it adapts its operations and travel guidance to give customers the best possible service. The company has recently released a new video which highlights the full range of safety and wellbeing measures it has taken to help passengers stay safe and feel at ease while travelling. 

Said Fran Collins: “I’d like to assure our customers that it is safe to travel with Red Funnel. We’ve gone to great lengths to implement enhanced safety and social distancing measures across every area of our business and our entire team is adamant that safety remains our very highest priority. We also recognise that some customers who haven’t used our ferries recently may feel a degree of anxiety about coming back on board, so we’re doing all we can to ensure our customers know they’re in safe hands with Red Funnel, and that they can relax and feel at ease when sailing with us. Our new Sail Safe video was created with this in mind, and I hope everyone due to travel with us soon takes a moment to check it out and see what we’ve put in place to protect our customers, our staff and the Isle of Wight.”

Ends

For further information regarding Red Funnel, please contact:

Enya Lumley or Mel Piercy at McKenna Townsend

T: 01425 472330
E: [email protected]

Editor’s note

About Red Funnel

Red Funnel is the original Isle of Wight ferry company with roots tracing back to 1820. Based in the UK port of Southampton, Red Funnel carries 2.3m passengers and over 800,000 vehicles on its ferry route between the UK port of Southampton and East Cowes and 1.1m passengers between Southampton and West Cowes on its Red Jet Hi-Speed service.  In addition to ferry travel, Red Funnel is the only cross-Solent operator to offer ferry inclusive bonded holiday accommodation, attraction tickets, festival and event tickets and activity packages. Sub-brands include ‘Red Jet’ (the Hi-Speed passenger only ferry service serving West Cowes) and two food & beverage brands, ‘Steam Coffee Company’ and ‘ReFuel’.  The Company is a founder member of Visit Isle of Wight Ltd, the Island’s not for profit destination management organisation and Red Funnel sponsors or supports most of the Island’s premier events including the IW Festival, Cowes Week, Rhythm Tree, The Great Wonderfest, Wight Proms, Cowes Classics, and Walk the Wight as well as a range of community and niche interest events. Red Funnel’s Charity of the Year, 2020 is Isle of Wight Independent Lifeboats.

For more information visit: www.redfunnel.co.uk