high speed ferry torbay

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dean1973

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rant - the council of torbay are looking with stage coach to bring two 37m long high speed cat to run from torquay to brixham in the summer and winter puting 8 boats out of buisness who have run summer ferrys for the past 40 -50 years . my own view this is all wrong
 
[ QUOTE ]
Can't imagine many people being in a hurry to get to Brixham

[/ QUOTE ] I expect they will run the other way as well to get people quickly to Torquay. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Re: Now what

at 30 knotts they will burn more fuel than the other 8 boats less staff -people out of work .cost to us who nows but never cheep look at the buses only plus the skipper may be paid better
 
I would agree with that, money into fewer pockets, less jobs, higher running costs. Sounds crap to me. I assume the small boats are all low speed types, and do they really need high speed ferries?
 
all the boats our slow yes there trying to have it to keep people off the road out of cars a quicker ferry 16 notts may by better but crossing the bay in a easterly gale force 4 up in the middle of winter could be hard work for none boaters
 
Hey Dean, as you will have seen, the exiting local boat services are clubbing together to give a regular 8a.m. to 6 p.m daily service rather than just a grockle service in the summer.
Plus those fast boats may be able to do 30 knots in un-congested areas, but with all the jetski idiots and wind surfers, plus of course the raggies in the summer they will all bring the average speed down.
And you are right to point out, as we have had this weekend, no way would I want to be on a ferry across the bay in the Easterlies 5 to 7 we have had this week (beam sea). Only the trawlers are out scratching a living.
 
If these things are going to be anything like the Condor cross channel ferries I would be more worried abut the hugh wash that they generate.
 
The longer it takes to get to Torquay the better! The big attraction of Brixham is the nature of the port with fishing and conventional boats.

Stagecoach should stick to busses.
 
Oh gawd! Not more congestion in the Bay. If its a year round service, it may cut journey times out of season, but how many people commute between Torbay and Brixham? Daft, expensive, and ill thought out. Just like the mass wind turbine idea. I hope it isn't a case of the Green Juggernaut crushing all before it?

/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Who commutes from Brixham to Torquay?????

Something sucks about this one, council getting into bed with the big company, which councillors are gonna be getting the payoff ????

As has been pointed out, Id love to see them running in a big easterly.....

What is it with the bloody councils in this country, you contribute your UBR, your staff the council tax, and then the same council goes out of their way to screw the local small businesses....

We use to have a nice high street with local businesses etc, then M&S moved in, council put up the rates, forced all the small business out, and now its cafe nero and pizza express.

Very sorry to hear the news about this, always enjoyed taking the old MGB's across when we had our boat at Brixham.

/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
The local council could always put a dictionary on board, might improve things or a spell checker on this forum. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
It's not a river. It's quicker by car and cheaper by bus. This is money grabbing by the council. The current ferries operators are providing an enjoyment to tourists as well as a living for themselves
 
Where did they get the mandate to compete with private enterprise? Could the clue be that the existing services were not providing a regular service but mearly a summer tourist attraction. If so trips across the bay would still be an attraction.
There will be no financial benifit to the consumer, or if there is it will be a first.
I don't know the area but if it is designed to keep cars off the road it implies a lot of people just need to go from one town to the next and that they will walk or be prepared to wait for a bus when they get there - Not a usual senario.
 
Fight any change! Let's stay in the dark ages! Come on, all of you!

Let the market place decide.

If it's a bad idea, consumers won't use the service, it'll lose money, and go out of business.

If it's a good idea, the consumers will use the service, it'll perhaps create new trade, it'll make money. Meanwhile existing slow boats may lose some trade - unless they improve their services to better compete.

To see the effects of competition being resisted you only have to compare the remaining appallingly scruffy Thames excursion boats (with their once closed licencing scheme) with the modern Amsterdam and Paris excursion vessels.

Keep competition away, I say! We may have to change the way we do things - even improve a little. Let's form a union!

Rant over.
 
Canadian Fast ferries.......wouldnt be these by any chance would it? You are welcome to them, come and pick'em up.

Perhaps its a different set you are talking about........

British Columbia's controversial fast ferries are going to be auctioned off.

B.C. Ferries will sell its three catamarans at an unreserved auction, meaning there is no minimum price.

The PacifiCats were built by the former NDP government at a cost of $450 million. Critics say they are unlikely to bring in little more than the price of scrap. But it will finally mean an end to the "fast ferries fiasco."

The PacifiCats, built in the late 1990s, were put out of commission after it was discovered they had a number of mechanical problems and weren't much faster than regular ferries.

Doug Allen, the head of B.C. Ferries, says there's been some interest, but no solid offers. "We've been looking to sell these for a long time. Two-and-a-half years is a long time."


The catamarans can only operate in relatively calm conditions, making them more suitable for parts of the Mediterranean, Asia and Brixham.
 
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