Ostend Ferry Campain

Could it be that this company is teetering on the brink of collapse due to its unimaginative and unsustainable policy?

While I don't know the details of the policy, I consider it vanishingly unlikely that banning cycle users would have had a significant impact on their business.

There must be lots of factors, including the fact that the Cologne-Ostend train, which used to be the default train to take when going to Britain, no longer runs except at night owing to Eurostar. The Eurotunnel has obviously had an impact on many ferry companies.

Also, it seems from the web-site that they don't accommodate foot passengers, either? That's undoubtedly also a factor. When I've taken ferries from Ostend and Dover, there were usually quite a few foot passengers.

Transeuopa have always blamed the port of Ramsgate for this inadequacy, the port authority presumably hasn't got over the 94' disaster, but pressure could be put on both parties.

Hm, interesting. Transeuropa Ferries says it started in 1998. I didn't even know about their service; I'd assumed that ferry travel from Ramsgate had ceased, even though I actually used to visit a friend who used to live in Ramsgate! I last used the Ostend-Ramsgate ferry in 1994 and didn't hear about the disaster:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/ferry-walkway-disaster-blamed-on-inept-design-1284771.html

What I remember is just how isolated Ramsgate now seems. It used to be connected to London about equally as well as Dover, but I think that has changed in the last twenty years, as connections through South Kent have improved a lot.

Am I all alone with this nerdy obsession?

Well, integrated transport is very important, and while access to ferries is perhaps not as important as carriage on trains, it is still important.

Do you know what reasons the company give for their refusal to carry cycles or people on foot. Insurance? Particular aspects of their ships? The ports at either end? If not, I'd recommend finding out. There's usually a mix of reasonable and unreasonable constraints.