Action on ferry demanded by president of La Gomera

There has been total silence surrounding the promised re-establishment of the 'interior line' ferry which covered the connection between the three La Gomera ports of Valle Gran Rey, Playa de Santiago, San Sebastian de La Gomera and then continued on to Los Cristianos on Tenerife. Now La Gomera's president C. Curbelo has called on the president of the government of the Canary Islands Paulino Rivero to make sure that his promise of a re-introduction of the service before the end of this year not just ''remains good intentions, but to redouble all efforts to make sure it becomes a reality in the shortest time possible'', reminding him that that the year is ending very soon. 

Curbelo also said that this ferry line is a basic necessity for La Gomera's citizens and stressed its social and economic importance as well as its significance for visitors to the island.

We'll see if this appeal will have any effect, but a least the silence is broken and the ferry hasn't been totally forgotten yet. I can see from my blog statistics that all articles concerning this ferry are amongst the most read, and the first question I'm always asked when talking about La Gomera is ''Any news about the small ferry ?''

President confirms subsidies for La Gomera ferry

The president of the Canary Islands Paulino Rivero has announced during a speech in the Canary Islands' parliament yesterday that his government will subsidise travel on the so-called 'interior ferry line' of La Gomera. Residents would receive a 75% subsidy for tickets and this should make the ferry line viable and very attractive for the prospective operator of the service. Politicians from all parties have welcomed the statement, and the mayors of the towns on La Gomera which the service is hopefully going to connect once again soon have expressed their support for the decision. It is hoped that the subsidies will make it more attractive for ferry operators to apply for the contract to supply the service. Persistent rumours circulate that 'more than one' company has been waiting for this decision before finalising their proposals and that on of them is the former Garajonay Express company.
The passenger ferry operated on and off over a number of years, attracting more than 150.000 passengers per year before ceasing operations in late 2012. It was a rapid and comfortable service cutting journey times between the towns serviced . It also helped to reduce the amount of traffic in the mountains and through the national park.
We're still keeping the fingers crossed...

La Gomera's institutions close ranks on ferry issue

Several politicians and representatives from La Gomera, among them the island's president C. Curbelo and the mayors of Alajero and Valle Gran Rey, held a meeting on Tenerife on Monday to discuss ways to reinstate the ferry service between the ports of Valle Gran Rey, Playa de Santiago and San Sebastian on La Gomera and Los Cristianos on Tenerife. This so-called 'interior line' ceased operations just a year ago despite having been declared an 'obligatory public service' by the Canarian government some years previously.

The ferry route had been operated by three different companies over the years and attracted 150.000 passengers per year on average. The meeting discussed several options and proposals and even an increase of subsidies for residents was suggested to make the service more viable and competitive. 

A few days before this meeting La Gomera's president had demanded that any new company covering the badly missed service should be exempt from paying harbour dues for the initial phase of operating the connection. Apparently  there is one company in particular very interested in serving the route with complete applications submitted already.

It is worth remembering that by ferry  it just takes about 30 minutes to travel from Valle Gran Rey to the capital San Sebastian, while the public bus needs about 110 minutes to get there. The route by sea would also reduce the amount of traffic that has to pass through the centre of the national park now.
UPDATE: The director of the department of transport of the Canarian government has since stated on radio that the department is actively 'looking for a solution which will facilitate companies wishing to operate the route by reducing the costs for same'.

Let's hope they are successful    Photo: ©gomeranoticias.com

Urgent meeting demanded to discuss ferry service

 The mayors of Alajero (which includes Playa Santiago) and Valle Gran Rey have called for an urgent meeting with the representative of the Canarian government responsible for public transport to discuss and analyse the proposal by 'one ferry company' to reinstate the ferry connection between the three ports of La Gomera and Los Cristianos on Tenerife. The two mayors both have stated that the meeting should be held on La Gomera and should involve all authorities concerned as well as the government of La Gomera 'as soon as the Christmas festivities are over'.

It is understood that the proposal is by Garajonay Express, the company which successfully operated this ferry service up to a few years ago. We're keeping the fingers crossed...

News: Garajonay Express proposes ferry connection

Garajonay Express arriving in Valle Gran Rey in the good ol' days. 

Great news just in: The ferry line Garajonay Express which up to a few years ago covered the connection between the three La Gomera ports of Valle Gran Rey, Playa de Santiago, San Sebastian de La Gomera and then continued on to Los Cristianos on Tenerife wants to re-establish the same connection. This was announced today by the mayor of Valle Gran Rey, Miguel Angel Hernandez, who said that he has received a solid proposal by the same company which aims to sail the route twice daily seven days a week with a 250-passengers fast ferry.The company, according to well informed sources now with changes in shareholding, proposes a price for the journey from Valle Gran Rey to Los Cristianos of 33 Euros and from VGR to San Sebastian of just 12 Euros. These are presumably maximum prices without subsidies. No news as yet as to WHEN the service might begin - ALL here say: 'The sooner the better'. Keeping the fingers crossed I'll keep you posted...
+Update 30-10-13: 
The latest 'well informed rumours' say that a fast ferry boat for Garajonay Express is already on its way from Italy. 
+Update 31-10-13: 
The mayor of Valle Gran Rey has once again confirmed the proposal and has stated that all the company wants is the Canarian government's honouring of the 50% subsidy of prices for passengers resident in the Canaries and no harbour dues for the first three years of re-introducing  the service. He also said that the governments of La Gomera and of the Canary Islands should be up to date on the offer and that the Italian director of Garajonay Express had a meeting with officials of both authorities at the end of September already. 
Let's just hope this doesn't become a political football. The competing larger companies carry a lot of clout, too, and will undoubtedly lose some business if 'our' ferry runs again.

UPDATE 05-01-14:
The only news since my last update was that the company Garajonay Express have submitted their proposal for covering the service to the authorities together with a viability study. They have their (reasonable) pricing included and they have estimated that they would be employing 34 people. However the company is demanding that they'd be exempt from any harbour dues in the ports of Playa de Santiago and Valle Gran Rey for at least the first year of service. One of the shareholders in the  company, Hector Cabrera, was quoted as saying 'We have one ferry already available and can supply another' and once given the green light by the authorities it would only take a month to begin sailings. 
It appears that it all depends on the Canarian government now...

UPDATE March 27th, 2014:
President confirms subsidies for La Gomera ferry

UPDATE Dec. 17th, 2014:

• Action on ferry demanded by president of La Gomera...