Also in the news / Fares review, Cope extension plans, cheque presentation
SCOTTISH Liberal Democrats have asked how many transport ministers it take to carry a review of public transport fares, announced almost two years ago.
“Since the fare fair reviews was announced there have been four transport ministers, two rail fare hikes by government-owned ScotRail and bus companies have hiked their fares as much as 15 per cent,” Shetland MSP Beatrice Wishart said.
She added: “If we want to convince people to rely on public transport, we need a system that is cheap, effective and well joined up.”
Among priorities set put by the party for new transport minister Fiona Hyslop are:
- Establish a reliable ferry service for island communities across Scotland.
- Open up bookings on the Serco NorthLink ferry, which serves the Northern Isles, for dates beyond 7 January 2024, and avoid future cut-off dates by establishing a rolling booking system open a year in advance.
- Extend under-22s bus pass to inter-island ferries.
- A Scotland wide smart card system for all forms of transport.
SOCIAL enterprise Cope has submitted plans that would see their exisiting Shetland Home Co reuse centre at Port Business Park double in size.
A planning application shows how the existing building, locally known as the scrap store, is set to be extended into the sorting yard at the back of the premises.
The extension will give the company much needed additional retail and workshop space.
In May, Cope was successful in securing almost £700,000 of island deal money from the Scottish Government.
FOUR charities have received cheques of just over £1,000 each following a successful gospel concert organised by local insurance broker TL Dallas.
More than £2,000 were raised during the concert in May, an amount that was then match by the insurance company.
The four charities benefiting from the donations are Cancer Research, Mind Your Head, Alzheimer’s and Teenage Cancer Trust.
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