News / New ferry fares petition
A LOCAL businessman has launched a new petition calling for the Scottish Government to honour its promise to cut the cost of ferry fares to and from Shetland.
Ryan Thomson, who owns Tagon Stores in Voe, said the cost of the isles’ lifeline ferry service had increased by a third while the Western Isles had seen big cuts to the cost of travel.
Shetland’s recently re-elected MSP Tavish Scott has been running a petition along the same lines in recent months. It has collected 2,234 signatures to date, but Thomson said he felt a petition with no political party affiliation would be more effective.
The SNP pledged in its manifesto for Shetland to reduce the cost of ferry travel and, despite the nationalists receiving a resounding defeat locally to Scott’s Lib Dems last week, Thomson is intent on holding them to their word.
“Shetland should not be paying more in lifeline ferry fares than anyone else in Scotland,” he said. “We are a part of Scotland and all we ask is to be offered the same level of service as other island groups.
“I understand there is an alternative petition on this subject, however I believe a petition without any connection to a political party would emphasise more the feeling of dissatisfaction within our communities at having unfairly seen our ferry fares increase whilst they are being cut in other parts of Scotland.”
Thomson stressed it was “not designed to be a protest campaign against any political party”. By Monday afternoon the petition had attracted 218 signatures.
On a pre-election visit to Shetland last month, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she wanted to work in partnership with local councils to ensure the £240 million, six-year NorthLink contract – currently in Serco’s hands and up for renewal in 2018 – “meets the need to see fares going down” and to “deal with what some people see as an unfairness”.
Sturgeon said people in the Northern Isles often mentioned the road equivalent tariff (RET) model used on the west coast, but “if you were to introduce RET for Shetland right now the likelihood is it would lead to an increase in ferry fares, which is why we haven’t done that”.
She added: “We are very open to discussions about how we make sure ferry fares are affordable and accessible to people.”
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