Ostend Ferry Campain

I've been waiting and waiting for transeuropa ferries to reverse their policy of discriminating against cyclists who are eccentric enough to want to travel either way between Belgium and Kent.

Eight years later nothing has changed.

However I notice now there are fewer sailings on the route, no useful night crossing now, last sailing 18:30hrs, no Saturday service.

I also notice that one of their websites has recently been reported by Google as infectious.

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

Could this be a good time for us to help them to understand that not everyone who wishes to cross the channel wishes to carry a tonne of iron.

They do allow motorbikes, I did think of taking the license plate off my Honda and tying it to the back of my pushy, but I think I would be taken more seriously if a few friends could join in the fun.

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.
The Kent press might be diverted as long as such a rouse didn't coincide with any newsworthy event.

Am I all alone with this nerdy obsession?

Use Dover to Calais and ride further.

Use Dover to Calais and ride further.

We have you aboard to ride to Bonn on the first weekend in September then Clive?

Looking at their website today, they won't take wheelchair users and children aren't really welcome either so I think this company is best avoided.

We have you aboard to ride to Bonn on the first weekend in September then Clive?

Hmmmm.... you may have me along for the first leg to Dover (no work from next Friday & might actually have the energy for a long ride for once!)

We have you aboard to ride to Bonn on the first weekend in September then Clive?

I would love to but for inconveniences like work. Have a great ride.

Looking at their website today, they won't take wheelchair users and children aren't really welcome either so I think this company is best avoided.

Personally I like the idea of no kids.

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.

Ah, apparently Transeuropa's business is mainly freight:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Ramsgate

ive caught this ferry and yes it is a freight route and there is nowhere to store a bicycle other than in a vehicle. there are no foot passenger entry points to even get on the ferry and the only way to get from your car to the horrendous "cabin area" is a steep staircase unsuitable for wheelchairs or people carrying bikes. everyone aboard other than me and a mate and one family looked like the top 100 most wanted by interpol

but then this is why it only costs 70 euros for a whole car full of people to travel over to belgium for a weekend of awesome cycling on fantastic roads

Yes you're right they do carry mainly freight, and getting on to the boat might be a challenge, but what is cycle touring all about? They would lose money on the infrastructure or bus services required to carry foot passengers, but if they can carry motorbikes I don't see what more, apart from a little imagination, would be needed.

My in-laws are in east germany so I travel through Aachen regularly, I prefer to take slow routes where I can stop of and enjoy a bit of life on the way. Fast trains are obviously the only real solution for mass transport over long distances, so I can see that I may have a slightly selfish minority interest here.
I do own a motorbike but I don't understand why "on safety grounds" I should have to use petrol.

I have in the past pointed out to the Port of Ramsgate that cycling there could not be worse than cycling through Dover Eastern Docks, (which I find quite fun).

Hello, I would like to travel from Ramsgate to Oostende sometime in September or October, but like others on this forum, have found myself frustrated by the ferry company's anti-cyclist policy. I asked the woman at the booking agent what difference it would make if I disguised my bicycle as a motorbike (perhaps attach a lawnmower motor or hairdryer to it?), but this did not help. One idea I have had is to simply hang around at the port and ask van / lorry drivers if they would be willing to take me with my bike in the back. Does anyone know if this is possible? Has anyone tried it? Feedback would be greatly appreciated.

I've hitched off lorries coming OFF a ferry. It's illegal but I managed to get to Morocco doing so. You might have to ask around. It probably helped my cause that I was with two young female students.

I tried this a couple of years ago but made the mistake of trying the night crossing. It almost certainly don't work in the dark! Also people who prebook are asked to state how many passengers and may stress about changing this. I'm sure on a busy crossing someone would take you on, but October???? As it hapens I've just come back from Ostend, I thought about chancing my luck but didn't want to risk getting stuck so I took the tram to Adinkerck/DePanne on the French border, then cycled to Dunkerque, but got horibly lost among the oil refineries!
Good luck.

Hitching and sea crossings, got to be good!!!