This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65187441
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Dover to stagger coaches to avoid Easter delays | Dover to stagger coaches to avoid Easter delays |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Coaches due to leave Dover on Good Friday will be staggered over three days in a bid to avoid long delays. | Coaches due to leave Dover on Good Friday will be staggered over three days in a bid to avoid long delays. |
| The Port of Dover said it had decided to spread coach traffic across Thursday, Friday and Saturday was made after talks with ferry operators. | |
| It will also put in a temporary marquee to help process coach passengers ahead of crossing the border. | |
| Dover declared a critical incident last Friday, after long queues of traffic trying to board ferries built up. | |
| Some coach passengers ended up waiting for more than 12 hours. | Some coach passengers ended up waiting for more than 12 hours. |
| The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), the trade body for coach and bus companies, welcomed the changes but said ferry firms needed to improve advance information. | |
| It also called for the port to introduce more coach priority measures. | |
| Are you planning to travel through Dover this weekend? Have your plans been affected? Get in touch via: | |
| Email: haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk | |
| WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803 | |
| Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSay | |
| 'Horrible' | 'Horrible' |
| The port said it was "acutely aware that last weekend was a horrible situation for many travellers, including the elderly and schoolchildren". | The port said it was "acutely aware that last weekend was a horrible situation for many travellers, including the elderly and schoolchildren". |
| It said that making sure things were better this weekend was a priority. | It said that making sure things were better this weekend was a priority. |
| Good Friday is expected to be the busiest day of the upcoming Easter weekend with sailings by DFDS, Irish Ferries and P&O Ferries. | Good Friday is expected to be the busiest day of the upcoming Easter weekend with sailings by DFDS, Irish Ferries and P&O Ferries. |
| The port said all three companies had been "working with their coach customers" to spread the volume of traffic. | The port said all three companies had been "working with their coach customers" to spread the volume of traffic. |
| The number of coaches travelling through the port is expected to be a third lower than last weekend. | The number of coaches travelling through the port is expected to be a third lower than last weekend. |
| It advised coach and car drivers not to arrive too early to avoid adding to queues and creating bottlenecks. | |
| The Port of Dover also said the facilities "for processing coach passengers will also be temporarily expanded via a marquee installed in addition to the existing coach hall for departing passengers". | The Port of Dover also said the facilities "for processing coach passengers will also be temporarily expanded via a marquee installed in addition to the existing coach hall for departing passengers". |
| DFDS said it was contacting coach and group operators to "amend bookings where possible". | |
| "We will have additional staff available to assist passengers at the ports and we will have food and water for passengers on standby in case it is needed," it said. | |
| Graham Vidler, chief executive of the CPT, said: "While the traffic this weekend through the port will be smoothed out with no limits on vehicles, coach operators will work with the ferry companies to adjust sailing times where possible." | |
| Related Topics | Related Topics |
| Ferries | Ferries |
| Dover | Dover |