Great Western Coffee Shop

From the Man at Seat 61 ( https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/london-to-paris-by-ferry.htm updated)

Longer trips aside, it's surprising that the day trip market has dwindled to the point that it's no longer attractive to make provision.

I see that one of the operators is still prepared to carry people accompanying bicycles, now wondering how long that will last. Given that Eurostar currently do not...

Mark

I think the problem is twofold.
1. The ferry companies have to make separate arrangements for foot passengers to board.
2. There is probably a limit on the total number of passengers carried and they'd rather carry someone with a car who they can charge more for.
Presumably car users have to declare the number of people in the car when booking the trip so an intending foot passenger can't just wait by the vehicle entrance and cadge a lift from a friendly car driver.  Perhaps the remaining loophole for now at least is to get hold of a cheap bike which you leave at the far side to use similarly on your return; from memory of my last bike by ferry trip you have to wheel it on anyway rather than ride it so it doesn't matter if it's unrideable! 

There is also the challenge and cost of providing UK Boarder Force, French Police Aux Frontières and Customs checks for relatively small numbers of foot passengers

My understanding is that you can still travel on the ferries without private transport using Eurolines and perhaps other coaches who say that some services use the tunnel and some use ferries.  I'm not sure in what proportion or what the future holds there.

Perhaps the nub of the problem is that (as I understand it) International travel from (and to) the UK is private operated, with no contract / subsidy provided to operators which require them / pay them to take any particular type of traffic and, yes, foot traffic has reduced to the extent it is not commercially viable.  P and O Ferries have not gained themselves a positive reputation for looking at social needs.

To add, yes, international travel from and to the UK has become a much more complex with border controls and security much more expensive to provide in recent years.

The ferry companies have to pay for the provision of Border Force Officers. Obviously, their bread and butter is vehicular traffic and such provision is required. However the further shifts to provide cover for pedestrians must be quite pricey for minimal revenue. This oncost, I understand, is also the reason that Eurostar are not stopping at Ebbsfleet or Ashford for the foreseeable future (if ever again).

At the risk of upsetting Brexiteers - it's another "benefit" of Brexit!

I believe the Torpoint ferry still takes foot passengers?