Transport Minister Derrick Burgess will meet with Rockaway Ferry commuters on Monday, to discuss the cancellation of the 7.55am ferry to Hamilton.

This after a letter carrying 250 signatures by commuters opposed to the move was delivered to transport officials earlier this month.

When contacted by

The Royal Gazette yesterday, Mr Burgess said he only received word of the letter on Friday. “I have asked the acting permanent secretary Francis Richardson to arrange a meeting with them for Monday at 9am.”

But the minister reiterated that it is no secret that we are in a recession and that every ministry had to reduce costs. Mr Burgess announced that Rockaway services were being cut down from eight trips to five in the latest Budget.

“These five trips historically see the largest number of passengers so the reduction in trips should have very little impact. Our ridership surveys have indicated that the majority of schoolchildren use the earlier 7.20am ferry service.”

Westenders Lynn Hall, Maria MacPherson and Alexa Roberts organised the appeal after hearing the announcement. When contacted by

The Royal Gazette yesterday, Ms MacPherson said: “We received an e-mail this afternoon that said the decision has been made to discontinue the 7.55am service, and we’re disappointed with the response.

“But we are welcoming the meeting and we plan to go to TCD for that meeting.”

At the Rockaway Ferry stop yesterday, Ms Roberts said she empathised with the reality of budget cuts. All three women insisted “there has got to be some other way.”

Ms MacPherson noted: “The whole point of this route was to cut down on rush hour traffic. It takes a whole hour to drive from the West End into Hamilton on weekday mornings.”

The ferry reductions coincide with the end of a minibus service that shuttles West End residents to the Rockaway stop.

The minibus service comes to an end on April 1, the 7.55am ferry will cease to run on Monday, April 16.