Renfrew Ferry

The Renfrew Ferry is a ferry service in Scotland linking the North and South banks of the River Clyde between the area of Yoker in Glasgow and the town of Renfrew in Renfrewshire. It is the last Clyde Crossing this far upsteam to remain operational, and is the closest to the City Centre of Glasgow.

It has served its current location for the last 200 years, and is operated by Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT), using 2 passenger only boats- the appropriately named Renfrew Rose and Yoker Swan.

The distance of the crossing is only 200 metres from the graded slipways on both sides, and as thus does not operate to a timetable as crews can observe passengers waiting and provide a service when necessary. As a result it operates on demand between 0630 to 2130 Mon-Sat and 1000-1830 on Sundays. Fares are £1.10 per crossing for adults and 55p for children. Holders of SPT tickets- ZoneCard with zones R3 or G3 and G8, and Scottish concession card holders can travel free. Bicycles can be transported on the ferry free of charge.

History

Originally the service operated from King's Inch, further downstream on land which is now the site of the Braehead Shopping Centre, but moved around 200 years ago to better serve the town of Renfrew. The service was passenger only however during the car boom years of the 1950's and 1960's it became a car ferry service. However with the opening of the Clyde Tunnel just 2 miles up stream which allowed faster crossings the car service was deemed surplus to requirements and ceased in the mid 80's. Due to expanding car use, the tunnel and surrounding routes are themselves now frequently congested. The car ferry is now moored in the city centre of Glasgow where it is the popular entertainment and nightspot also called the Renfrew Ferry.

In the 1960's there were many other crossings operating close to the Renfrew Ferry, mainly serving the dominant shipyards of the Clyde. The Erskine, Whiteinch, Partick, Govan and Finnieston ferries have all stopped providing the services as bridges and tunnels replaced them, but the Renfrew Ferry being at a point where both tunneling and bridging is difficult has survived.

Future

With the opening of the nearby Braehead Shopping Centre, and the current residential development of Ferry Village and the new ski and Cinema centre Xscape ski centre being built nearby it is expected that the Renfrew Ferry will see a resurgence in popularity. The ferry currently carries around 200,000 passengers a year. It has also been mooted that a ferry could service the Braehead centre on a timetable either every 30 or 60 minutes. This, however has yet to be started.

In 2007, a study was started to see the feasibility in replacing the ferry with a bridge, which would allow 24 hour crossings. It would be necessary for the bridge to have a large clearance or be opening due to ship building and other river navigation upstream on the River Clyde. The study however found that a replacement bridge would cost around 15 million pounds and it looks likely that the ferry service will be retained. [cite news
title = Final Voyage for Renfrew Ferry?
url = http://icrenfrewshire.icnetwork.co.uk/pde/news/tm_headline=final-voyage-for-renfrew-ferry&method=full&objectid=19888512&siteid=63858-name_page.html
publisher = Paisley Daily Express
date = 2002-10-03
accessdate = 2007-10-23]

Onward Transport

The Renfrew Ferry was a dedicated bus terminus on the southern side. In recent years, the opening of Braehead Shopping Centre, has seen most services divert via Ferry Village to Braehead Bus Station, and few services now stop at the ferry slipway most stopping at bus stops some 200m away. Services from First Group, and Arriva,are operated to Paisley, Govan, Renfrew, Glasgow, and Glasgow Airport

The northern side, is located near Dumbarton Road, which is a major bus artery with numerous services. These are operated to destinations such as Helensburgh, Clydebank, Anniesland, Partick and Balloch.

The large volume of onward transport available highlights that it serves a much larger area than just the immediate population around the ferry, and is an important public transport link in the west of the Greater Glasgow Conurbation.

Passenger Enquiries and Links

For enquires the telephone number for the ferry is- 0141 885 2123

[http://www.spt.co.uk/ferry/index.html SPT Ferry Site]