Red Funnel Tickets - Member Discount

Join >> Red Funnel Tickets


The Learning Zone (LZ) has negotiated a discounted rate with Red Funnel for members going on trips with an educational purpose.   This page has information on how to book tickets, a link to the terms and conditions which apply to this, and some FAQs.  Please ask if anything is unclear.


Red Funnel update their prices so please check before sending us any money.


Red Funnel terms and conditions


How to book


Send an email to iwlearningzonetrustees@outlook.com.


This must include the following information:


We will hold your information for the purposes only of the booking, in accordance with our Privacy Policy. We will pass this on to Red Funnel but not any other third parties.


You will need to pay first to the LZ account (details on request) and we will then buy the ticket at the discounted rate.


Note: we are a charity and everyone has other responsibilities.  Please give lots of time for bookings (at least a week).  Also, just like with normal ferry bookings we can't guarantee that trips won't sell out so give us as much time as possible.  Similarly, if there are changes you need to make, you need to give us as much notice as possible otherwise we may not be able to update the bookings.


Why has the LZ  done this?


The LZ exists to help home educators access education.  With the reduction in access to GCSEs on the Island, and the high costs of ferries (making it harder to access educational opportunities on the mainland) we're looking at lots of ways we can support your home ed journey.


Why Red Funnel and not Wightlink?


Now we have this facility, we're going to approach Wightlink, since we know access to Portsmouth is important for Faregos and exams.  We will update if we get anywhere with this.


How much are tickets?

£59 for a day return

£79 for a period return

66.66% reduction on priority boarding


Prices will go up in January (as the normal ferry prices do), each year.  You may want to consider trips you are planning next year.

This was the best price we could negotiate.  It's a lot better than full price (especially during holidays!), but if you are on certain benefits which give you reduced rates you are likely to be better off with that.  You may also want to check whether you can get a better rate from the Red Funnel booklet.


Membership


The facility is governed by Red Funnel's terms and conditions. To adhere to these, we are only able to offer this to members of the Learning Zone.  You can join via this website.  There are lots of other reasons to be members of the LZ and you can see all of this on the website.


Educational trips


This is offered as part of the LZ, an educational charity.  We will therefore have a set format for requests for tickets that will include confirmation that the trip has an educational purpose.  This is home ed, so education is more than just maths and history, and we won't be checking up on you.  Sometimes it's obvious what is education, other times it's more tricky.  Feel free to ask if you are unclear.


Foot passengers


If there is sufficient demand, Red Funnel have agreed that the LZ can purchase books of tickets and then sell the individual tickets to members at cost price for foot passage.  We need to investigate the practicalities of this and whether there is demand (before spending the money).  Any feedback on this and whether it would be welcomed would be great!  It's not a discount per se, it just allows us to take advantage of economies of scale.


Fair use


We are pleased to offer this and are happy to help you (that's why we became trustees).  However, we do reserve the right to not book tickets for people at our discretion (obviously returning any money paid), for example, if we are concerned that the facility is being abused or if there is excessive demand.


What if there are issues with the ferries?


We will need to see how this works in practice, but it should be the same as with a company sending over a driver.  Please note that we're just doing the booking, we don't operate the ferries (much as some of us like sailing) so we can't take responsibility if things go wrong.  However, if you do experience issues, we will help as much as we can.


Cancellations


Have a look at the Red Funnel terms and conditions for details of how cancellations are made.  As long as its more than 7 days before, there is usually no fee.  Within 7 days there is a £15 cost (and at Peak Times, for which see the website, once we have updated it, the ticket is not refunded).