Gozo ferry saga

Discussions have been held, reports have been handed in and letters have been sent to various stakeholders with regard to the problems we tourist guides face when ferrying tourists to and from Gozo. Yet nothing has been done. One salient thing has happened - fares have gone up! The increase is in now way reflected in the quality of the service offered by Gozo Channel.

A laissez-faire attitude prevails and problems escalate to the determent of commuters. It is indeed shameful that a company that monopolises the carriage of people between the two islands is allowed to treat customers the way it does.

In this letter we intend to highlight the plight of groups of tourists travelling to and from Gozo. Having failed to bring around change through other communication channels we have decided to go public in the hope of resolving this never-ending saga.

Gozo Channel officially operates three vessels. They are currently only using half their capacity. At this time of the year, when business starts to pick up, Gozo Channel has decided to service the vessels. This means that one of the vessels is temporarily out of order. One of the ferryboats takes up to 900 passengers. The third vessel is currently being operated with a reduced workforce. Hence according to EU regulations, it can only take up to 500 passengers.

Work is now starting to pick up and consequently groups are being left behind. The Cirkewwa terminal and the Mgarr terminal are in a disastrous state. Commuters are left to wait at the mercy of the elements. Cirkewwa offers no shelter from the rain or sun whatsoever, while the 'tent' in Mgarr is highly inadequate. To add insult to injury no toilets are available.

One can immediately foresee the chaos that will build up over Easter when the increasing number of tourists will have to wrestle with the traditional Maltese holidaymakers to make their way to our sister island.

The ferries leave a lot to be desired. Departures are rarely on time, restrooms stink, passengers share the same alighting bay with cars and trucks, and a general air of negligence prevails.

Tourist guides are the ambassadors of the country. It is however difficult to portray a positive image when nobody cares! Let us hope that these complaints will not fall on deaf ears.