A consultation on the future of a ferry service ends this week.
Kent County Council and Thurrock Council have financially supported the Gravesend to Tilbury link since 2000. But financial pressures on both authorities have led them to review their spending.
The service, which runs six days a week between 5.40am and 7pm, carries out more than 100,000 passenger journeys a year.
The consultation was launched at the start of the year and closes on Ferbuary 4. It can be viewed here.
Oluwabori Olusola uses the ferry to get to work. She said: “The transport is very easy and very quick, it gets me to work very fast.
“If it stops running I’ll get to work very late.
Abigael Olukoya who lives in Essex, uses the ferry to get to university.
The University of Kent student says she would have to drive if they got rid of the service.
The 19-year-old said: “My journey now is about an hour and a half, it would be a lot longer if they got rid of it.”
Cllr Danny Nicklen started a petition in a bid to save the service.
He said: “I was approached by many constituents about the prospect of the ferry service ending when the consultation was announced.
“So I started the petition because of how much of an important and vital service it is to people in the local area.”
He says around 107,000 people used the service last year – which is an average of 350 a day.
He said: “It will impact people using the service to come and use the local shops in Gravesend, family members providing childcare, people coming for medical appointments, commuters. It’s a vital service that means so much to people.”
As part of negotiations with the operator around a recent contract extension, Thurrock Council, which is in special financial measures, has advised KCC it has concerns about its ability to fund the service in the longer term. Currently, the subsidy is being funded exclusively by KCC.
Based on current costs, KCC’s budget allows for a subsidy of £55,000 per annum to support the ferry but without further external funding, and accounting for the likely cost of a new contract, KCC would likely have to allocate over £200,000 a year to sustain the service.
Passenger revenue alone is insufficient to cover the costs of the boat crossings.
Cllr Nicklen said: “I totally understand that Kent County Council are carrying the financial commitment for this crossing in light of the problems faced by Thurrock Council and Kent taxpayers shouldn’t be expected to stump up the entire amount.
“However, the impact that the ferry has on people’s lives, what I’m asking for is for KCC to continue with the subsidy, come together with partners like Gravesham, Dartford and Thurrock, and private companies, and see what we can do together to find a solution to the long term survival of the service.
“There’s been a ferry service running here since 1855. It’s part of our heritage.”
