‘Kids go free’ trial

SERCO NorthLink is to introduce a new “kids go free” offer in some circumstances for families who book a car and cabin on its ferries between Shetland and the Scottish mainland.

The offer will be trialled in 2015 and will apply to direct sailings between Lerwick and Aberdeen where there is plenty of capacity for passengers.

Serco NorthLink managing director Stuart Garrett said he hoped the move would offer an incentive for those travelling on indirect sailings – those stopping off at Kirkwall – at times of high demand to transfer to direct sailings.

He said it was one of “few” ways to address concerns about the difficulty of getting a cabin at busy times of the year. Garrett estimated that the offer could save families between 9-12 per cent on applicable bookings.

“It’s being trialled to give us the opportunity to see whether or not this offer [will be attractive to] those people who aren’t ‘time sensitive’. We hope it may open up capacity on the indirect sailings,” Garrett said.

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At Wednesday’s meeting of Shetland’s external transport forum, Garrett also announced a new “landbridge” scheme would be trialled next year.

The idea is to allow Shetlanders travelling to areas north of Inverness to take the ferry to Kirkwall and then drive to Stromness before catching the following morning’s ferry to Scrabster, near Thurso.

Garrett said that would be offered at a similar price to the journey between Lerwick and Aberdeen.

Standing in for the forum’s usual chairman Michael Stout, SIC councillor Steven Coutts said it was “encouraging that you’ve taken the views of the forum on board, and I hope that continues in the future”.