The nightmare of crossing to Gozo

I read with incredulity the Gozo Channel chairman’s statement that in order “to deal with increased passenger demand Gozo Channel is embarking on an ambitious project to install hoistable decks on MV Ta’ Pinu’”.

So is this the solution being offered for the shoddy, shabby and rude service that is currently on offer? Cram in even more unsuspecting passengers onto a hoistable deck so that the rest of the passengers have to wait even longer for their departure and so that the Gozo Channel monopoly can continue to dictate the service completely?

The problem with the Gozo Channel service is clear – it is a monopoly. There are two fully functional docks on either side of the channel which are highly underutilised, with trips running only every 45 minutes each side. The trip itself runs at an interminably slow pace, taking 25 minutes to cross a distance of under five kilometres.

With this amount of docks and with speedier ships, trips could be offered every 10 minutes in peak periods and having to stick to Gozo Channel’s set timetables should be a thing of the past. Eight passenger ferries should be on offer in peak periods with one in each dock at any one time, with passengers disembarking and embarking, and four other ferries midway in the channel. This number can be halved in non-peak periods with trips every 20 minutes, allowing for the unused ships to undergo maintenance and upgrading.

This scenario would give the opportunity to another company or companies to invest in other passenger ferries of their own and offer some respite to the service begrudgingly offered by Gozo Channel.

An internet-based ticket booking system is also another basic need, the unavailability of which is inexplicable and inexcusable.

It is no wonder that busy surgeons like Franco Mercieca get frustrated at the service on offer. I do not agree with his point that he should be given a “special pass”. It should not be anyone’s need to have a special pass as this smacks of accepting the notion that as the service stands – one that is, to say the least, inefficient – then some “important” people need to be exempt from the nightmarish experience that the rest of us have to be subjected to on a regular basis.

Apart from the inevitable wait that the lack of scheduled trips gives rise to, you are then greeted by a Gozo Channel car loader who often decides to allocate you to the last exiting space available (on the hoistable deck or in the corner row) despite you having been towards the front of the queue. (There is one female loader who particularly specialises in this). Any sign of protest is immediately greeted with foul language and abuse from the car ushers of whom there are far too many and at least half of whom can be transferred to the new company/companies I have suggested (after a briefing on customer service relations). It is also a shame that the ports are controlled by Gozo Channel themselves, giving them the full liberty to do whatever they like. The ports should be controlled by independent port control with Gozo Channel simply being one of two (or possibly more) companies that make use of its services for channel crossings.

Shame on the transport and Gozo ministries for getting away with preserving and encouraging this monopoly more than seven years after we have joined the EU. Come on – give us some service that accommodates the passenger not the company.