PAY ONBOARD
Can I pay onboard?
You can pay by credit/debit card, one of our crew members will come round and collect your fare.
to assist our collectors please have your payment method ready before they arrive.
CONCESSION CARDS
What is a ‘concession card?’
A multiple-journey ticket which allows frequent users to cross the River at discounted rates.
What are the changes to the Concession Card?
You are now able to manage and top up your Concession Card online.
To do this simply register online and then add the unique ID from your physical card to your online account.
Do concession cards have an expiry date?
A card will be disabled after 12 months of no activity, the account will then be closed after 24 months.
I have a ticket for the Lower Ferry; can it be used on the Higher Ferry?
No. The ferries are owned and operated separately; tickets are not interchangeable.
What if I no longer need to use my ticket and I have journeys in credit?
Unused journeys on the tag cannot be refunded.
What should I do if I can’t register my card?
If you try and register your card and get the message: “card is already registered or not valid” then please:
1) Check the serial number on the card vs the one entered and make sure all of the leading zeros are also included.
2) If it still fails, please take the card to the ferry crew to check that it has been activated.
Can I buy a card first, and then create an online account after?
Yes
Where can I buy credit for my Concession Card?
There are two ways you can buy credit for your Concession Card:
1) Online (recommended):
We strongly recommend that you create an online account to which you register your Concession Card/s.
2) Onboard
You can still pay the ferry crew onboard to top up your Concession Card.
What if my card is lost or stolen?
If one of the cards registered to your account is lost or stolen you have two options.
1: Disable (temporary)
First you need to go online and log into your ‘My Account‘page, here you will see a list of cards registered to your account (here is an example). Find the card that has been lost or stolen and select
If you select the ‘disable’ option the card will be disabled, but not deleted. Once disabled no one can use the card to travel, but if you find the card you can simply go back online and ‘enable’ it again.
Use this option if: You think the card might turn up again one day.
2: Block (permanent)
To do this you need to contact the ferry office here.
Use this option if: You are confident the card will not be found again or it is damaged and not working.
Note 1: To help you keep track of all your cards you can give each one a name by clicking the ‘edit’ option. For example, you could name a card after the family or staff member that holds the card or, in future when the cards are valid on vehicles, you can give a card the name of the car or van it is located in.
Note 2: If the card that you have lost or had stolen has credit stored on it then we are afraid that we are not able to issue a refund. We encourage you to add credit to your online account – not individual cards – to avoid this happening.
Can I check how much credit I have?
Yes.
If you want to find out how much credit is stored on your card you have two options:
1: Ask a staff member on the floating bridge when they scan your card.
2: Go online and look on the ‘My Account’ page of your online account
Note: Your ‘My Account’ page will show you three credit amounts:
> Your total credit: The credit of your central online account plus any credit stored on physical cards linked to your account.
> Online credit: Credit in your online account.
> Card credit: Credit stored on your card/s.
ONLINE ACCOUNTS
Explainer Video – How to set up your online account:
What does my online account allow me to do?
Once you have set up your online account you can:
> Add and remove cards
> De-activate a card if you think it has been lost or stolen
> Get email alerts when your credit is running low
> See a record of your usage
> Create an invoice or report if you are claiming expenses
How many cards can I register to my account?
As many as you want.
Cards can only be used for people in the same family/household/organisation.
Why was my credit/debit card “declined”?
When attempting to top up online, it is possible to see a “card declined” error.
This can happen even though there may be sufficient funds, that the card works on other websites, or even if the card has been used to top-up in the past.
In such cases, the card issuer has usually chosen not to approve this particular transaction based on their own fraud protection / security policies.
Unfortunately, we have no control over whether cards are declined or not. And often, once a credit/debit card has been declined, the issuer will continue to block it’s use.
In such cases, the only course of action (that will allow your card to be used on the Floating Bridge website) will be to get in touch with your card issuer and ask them to unblock/allow your top-up requests. It’s often helpful to have the date and time and amount that you attempted to top-up with.
Otherwise, you can try an alternative debit/credit card. Or, you can use the quayside ticket machines to purchase a top-up voucher – which can be presented with your card when you next travel to add the credit to your card/account.
How can I set a low balance alert on my account?
ONLY APPLIES TO FLEET PASSES
If you are worried your account will run out of credit without you noticing, you can set up an email alert that notifies you when your account drops below a certain point.
Te set up your email alert follow these steps:
1) Log into your online account
2) Click the ‘EMAIL PREFERENCES’ link at the top of the page
3) Scroll to the bottom of the page and under the ‘Notifications’ heading tick the box and enter the amount that you want to trigger the email. For example if you enter £10, you will receive an email alert each time your account credit drops below £10.
4) Click the update preferences button.
USING THE FERRY
Are dogs permitted on the Ferry?
Yes
Is there a weight limit?
Yes, it is 18T maximum authorized mass.
The term maximum authorised mass (MAM) is the maximum weight of a vehicle including the maximum load that can be carried safely while used on the road.
Is there a height limit?
The ferry has been designed to take a double decker bus. High sided vehicles should use either of the two middle lanes, please follow the directions of the ferry staff when boarding.
Can triple-axle coaches use the Ferry?
No, these vehicles are usually overweight and experience has shown that damage can occur to the rear of the vehicle during loading and unloading.
I am carrying a dangerous load, is this a problem?
The higher ferry will not carry fuel tankers or Calor/Propane tankers.
The carrying of Calor/Propane cylinders is allowed provided that these cylinders are both SECURE AND UPRIGHT. Vehicles carrying l;oose cylinders will not be allowed on the ferry.
Can I bring my caravan or boat and trailer?
Yes. The approaches and slipway should allow a large caravan to board without ‘bottoming out’ caravans and trailers are treated as an additional vehicle when charging for the crossing.
Why do cars often leave the Ferry in a different sequence to how they boarded?
This is necessary to allow vehicles to embark and disembark simultaneously – which is more efficient and greatly enhances turn-around times. The loading of the Ferry also takes into account that large vehicles can only be accommodated in the two centre lanes.
Are any vehicles allowed priority boarding
Only vehicles belonging to the Emergency Services are given priority.
I noticed that an ambulance with a flashing blue light drove on to the Ferry recently, yet the Ferry did not leave immediately.
Behind the scenes, there is a very efficient system of communications between the ferry crew and the Emergency Services. Once a ‘blue light’ vehicle boards the Ferry, it will leave immediately if the situation warrants it.
Why do the traffic lights in Coombe Road sometimes revert to ‘red’ when vehicles are in the process of boarding.
The sequencing of the traffic signals is determined by the highway authority (Devon County Council). However, traffic waiting to board the Ferry is monitored by CCTV – and the Ferry will wait until all vehicles are loaded before leaving