Operators carried 3.12 million passengers overall in October, a rise of 5.7% from October 2014
By
Rebecca Gibson |
UK ferry operators carried 3.12 million passengers overall in October, a rise of 5.7% from the same month last year, according to ferry industry body Discover Ferries.
UK domestic ferry routes carried 1,290,000 passengers in October – a rise of 6.1%, while ferries to Ireland carried 383,000 passengers, an increase of 6.1% and 6.9% respectively. Routes to mainland Europe saw a growth of 4.9% with 1,451,000 passengers using the services in October.
October also saw a 7% rise in the overall number of cars carried by UK ferries. Around 311,000 of the total 688,000 cars were carried on domestic ferry routes – a 10% growth from October 2014. Meanwhile, cars ferried to mainland Europe were up 3.7%, while 7.6% more were transported to Ireland.
Coach numbers also rose by 6.8% to 12,920 this October. Around 9% coaches were carried to mainland Europe (8,760), while 4.3% more were transported to Ireland (1,730) and 2,430 coaches were carried on UK domestic ferry routes. This figure was down 0.9%.
This is in contrast to a 1.7% decline in traffic on the UK-France routes between July and September, which was caused by issues with migrants and industrial action related to the closure of MyFerryLink.
“After the summer disruptions on the short-sea Channel ferry routes, this positive rebound in October is very encouraging, especially when you consider there were some 8.6% fewer Continental sailings over the past three months,” said Bill Gibbons, director of Discover Ferries, which represents the 12 UK-based ferry operators. “Autumn breaks by ferry, in either car or coach, have offered exceptional value, and the October sunshine including the half-term break, as well as a strong pound and lower pump prices for car petrol have also all helped.”