Holders of the Staff Travel Cards, Rail Staff Leisure Cards or RST Online Leisure Cards can benefit from discounted travel on Red Funnel Ferries between Southampton and Cowes.
Status Passes are not valid for use on Red Funnel Ferry services.
Discounts available
Foot passengers receive a 75% discount on the public standard individual foot passenger fare. To benefit from this, present a card at the Booking Office at Southampton Quay. This cannot be prebooked
Vehicles are carried at 50% discount on the public standard individual vehicle fare. If an employee and dependent are taking two separate cars, two discount codes will be provided.
Please note that these discounts cannot be combined with any other promotion or special offer.
Travel maybe undertaken at any time except for 1 restricted date in each direction each year. For 2026 the barred dates are 18 June from Southampton, and 22 June from Cowes.
As with all ferry services, each vessel has limits on the numbers of passengers and vehicles which can be carried.
Booking tickets on the day of travel
For foot passengers, tickets can be purchased on the day at the port on presentation of the Staff Travel Card, Rail Staff Leisure Card or RST Online Leisure Card for each person travelling.
Booking tickets in advance
Where tickets for a vehicle are required, these must be booked in advance. An authorisation code must be applied for from Rail Staff Travel.
You can apply for a code using the Red Funnel Ferries Booking Code Request XX48 form on the RST website.
Applications must be made at least 3 weeks before your outward travel date.
Please allow at least 10 business days for your application for a code to be processed.
Booking is possible on the Red Funnel Ferries website once you have and authorisation code. Alternatively, the contact details for Red Funnel Ferries to book tickets in advance are on the contact page of their website.
Bus connection from Southampton Central station
The Quay Connect Bus service takes 10 minutes and operates from Southampton Central station to Southampton Quay.
Passengers holding pre-booked Red Funnel tickets will be granted free travel on the connecting bus.
Foot passengers are unable to prebook however they can show their Staff Travel Card, Rail Staff Leisure Card or RST Online Leisure Card to the drivers of the Quay Connect Bus (they work for Bluestar) to obtain free travel on the bus.
