Discounted travel on Red Funnel Ferries

From 1 May 2026, discounted travel is available on Red Funnel Ferries services from Southampton to Cowes on the Isle of Wight. The benefit can be obtained through a Staff Travel Card, Rail Staff Leisure Card or RST Online Leisure Card. Please note it is not possible to use other TOC specific passes or Status Passes to obtain this benefit.

Foot passengers receive a 75% discount on the public standard individual foot passenger fare. To benefit from this, they need to present their 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 2 vehicles, then both can benefit from the discount.

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. 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. Where tickets for a vehicle are required to be booked in advance, an authorisation code must be applied for from Rail Staff Travel. You can apply (from 1 May 2026) for a code using the Red Funnel Ferries Booking Code Request XX48 form on the RST website. Please allow at least 10 business days for your application for a code to be processed.

The contact details for Red Funnel Ferries to book tickets in advance are on the contact page of their website.

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 pre-book 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 (who work for Bluestar) to obtain free travel on the bus.