A Bristol ferry owner has said it would be unfair of operators to pass on the proposed massive cost increases in the harbour to ferry users. He described the increases which were approved by Bristol City Council earlier this week and to be implemented in April as the harbour “being mismanaged on a grand scale”.
The Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees has defended the proposed increases saying the council fees being charged in the harbour had not been sufficiently increased for years and were being brought into line with other harbours in the UK. His comments that boat dwellers in the harbour were “the privileged few” living cheaply in the city centre caused outrage this week among the boating community with the mayor issuing an apology over his remarks.
Ferry owner Richard Rankin, who has eight members of staff who run his ferries in the harbour, said his commercial rates are set to double which will be in addition to mooring fees and the additional 20p surcharge per passenger. He said : “But in an economic context, the public are suffering more now than in the last 40 years, people are going to foodbanks. How can I pass on these expenses to the public?”
