Removal of eight coach parking bays outside Eastern Docks in Dover is part of an ongoing redevelopment of that facility “to increase space and maintain traffic fluidity in the future,” the Port of Dover has said.
The bays will no longer be available from 1 March, with coach operators being notified of the change as late as 19 February by P&O Ferries, and not the Port itself. Such a move means that driver changes will no longer be able to take place easily at Eastern Docks.
In a brief statement, a spokesperson notes that the bays “are not an official part of the processing journey for coaches as they travel through the Port,” and that operators will need to utilise alternative locations for driver breaks or changes. Nearby service stations on the approach to Dover can be used for that, they add.
However, a coach operator who was in receipt of the notification from P&O on 19 February says that the nearest suitable location to swap drivers when ‘feeder’ staff are used on a continental tour is the Stop 24 service station, around 15 miles away near Folkestone.
They have questioned the impact that may have on drivers’ hours, and the ability to board passengers in Dover who may have travelled there by train. “We do not have to carry out feeder driver changes in Dover, and there are alternatives in both Folkestone and Maidstone, but closer to the port is always better,” the operator adds.
While the individual concerned accepts that change to road layouts at Dover could well be necessary, they have questioned why the Port has not consulted with coach operators or informed them directly of the amendment, particularly given its short notice.
The email from P&O Ferries on 19 February underlines that the carrier is “unable to accept driver changes on the [Eastern Docks] forecourt from [1 March].” P&O accepts that the shift “may reduce valuable driver time,” but it stresses that any crew switches must take place at alternative locations from then onwards.
In its statement, the Port of Dover notes that “all other elements of coach processing at the Port of Dover [will] remain the same” after 1 March.
It has not commented on whether the need for more space is tied to potential changes at the gateway to accommodate the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) for Schengen area countries. That is expected to be introduced in October and has raised fears among the coach sector and stakeholders that it will lead to difficulties at Dover’s juxtaposed border controls.
In a written evidence submission to the European Scrutiny Committee on 11 January, the Port of Dover in conjunction with three ferry carriers noted that EES in its currently planned form will present “huge challenges for French border operations” within the facility, and that the system as it stands will not be able to process existing volumes of coach traffic.
