Red Funnel confirms no change to operations following new rules on 14 September

Red Funnel is updating customers to confirm that will be no change to its service/operation following the government’s announcement about limiting social contact to groups of no more than six from this Monday.

As with all new government guidance, Red Funnel has reviewed all guidelines and conducted a risk assessment.

Red Funnel understands that the new government guidance that groups of more than six are not allowed to meet, enforceable by law from Monday 14 September, do not specifically pertain to public transportation operators. This means that the total number of passengers on board its ferries will continue to be more than six, but groups must not socially mix or form larger groups on board.

It is also the understanding of Red Funnel that the law does not apply to individual households or support bubbles as well as organised team sports. As a result, it anticipates it may still see some larger families and sports teams traveling.

As it will be the responsibility of individuals to abide by government guidance, and the supporting law is only enforceable by the police, Red Funnel will not be asking groups to provide evidence that they are from the same family or social bubble. Such screening is also not within the remit of public transportation operators.

Fran Collins, CEO of Red Funnel, commented: “As with all government guidance we have reviewed the latest information and conducted the appropriate risk assessment. The safety of our customers and staff is always our number one priority and it remains paramount that we continue to operate in line with the latest guidance. We wish to continue to assure our passengers that they are safe to travel with us and we look forward to welcoming them on board.”

More information on the new government guidelines can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coronavirus-covid-19-what-has-changed-9-september.

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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 Charities of the Year, 2020 are The Leaf Foundation (Monkey Haven) and Daily Chains IW.

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