Transport / Wishart demands better ferry travel for islanders in lengthy letter to government
Shared cabins, seasonal fares and a lack of cabins are among the issues raised
SCRAPPING seasonal fares, saving cabin spaces for islanders and bringing back shared cabins.
These are some of the demands made by Beatrice Wishart MSP in a lengthy letter to the Scottish Government, in response to the ongoing Northern Isles Ferry Service (NIFS) consultation.
Wishart has demanded improvements to the next ferry contract for Shetlanders in a 3,500 word missive to government officials.
In it, she has called for no cancellation fees, more spaces for people to lie flat on overnight crossings and for a rolling booking system – that does not close at the end of the year – to be introduced.
The Liberal Democrat MSP, who is standing down from her role at the next Scottish elections in May, said constituents had told her they found the questions in the consultation “leading”.
The questions seemed to be “designed to result in certain conclusions, which may be what Transport Scotland want to hear”, she said, but are “not necessarily what islanders want.”
It comes with the NIFS consultation – which will shape the future ferry contract from 2028 onwards – ending on Monday 13 October.
Wishart has called for priority to be given to islanders on the Northern Isles ferries.
She has advocated for a “small number of cabins” to be held back on each journey for any islander requiring accommodation at the last minute.
And she has pushed for the current low-medium-peak fare structure to be removed for islanders.
“The NorthLink service is not a cruise line for people living in the Northern Isles,” Wishart said.
“It is not fair, reasonable or rational to expect islanders to pay additional costs for peak season travel simply to go about their everyday lives, which the lifeline service is there to enable.
“Seasonal fares must be reviewed with a view to exempting island residents.”
Wishart strongly criticised the removal of shared cabins, calling for their immediate return.
She said the reasons for their removal on safety grounds “bear little scrutiny”, and were done without speaking to the community first.
“The fact that shared cabins were removed after the pandemic during the same service contract that they previously were offered under, without any consultation with the community, when all indications are that it remains a popular option for many islanders, is a troubling indictment of the lack of consideration for and understanding of the needs of those who rely on this service,” Wishart added.
With some passengers organising their own ‘shared’ cabins aboard the ferries via social media, which NorthLink has previously said it would not stop, Wishart questioned the logic.
“Passengers should not need to have a social media account to book their preferred options on a lifeline service,” she said.
Among her other calls are for the “maximum ability for passengers to sleep horizontally”, such as with “Japanese-style ‘couchette’ bunks”, and for greater freight capacity.
And she has said passengers should not be charged a fee for cancelling travel at the last minute.
Wishart also suggested her repeated calls for occasional additional sailings “during known pinch points” – such as the start of the school summer holidays – had gone unanswered.
“The Northern Isles Ferry Service could provide two sailings in a day at these peak demand periods to ease passenger and freight capacity constraints,” she said.
“This would require greater logistical planning to ensure that staffing levels are correct with appropriately rested crew.
“This has occurred infrequently in the past to ensure that passengers can travel when weather disruption has been forecast.”
Commenting on her submission to Scottish Government, Wishart said it had been a “mammoth effort” to try bring all of the points raised together.
“Problems with the booking system, a lack of capacity and islanders paying seasonal fares are not new issues,” she said. “Over the past few years, I have raised issues with the ferry services with the Scottish Government countless times.
“Responses from the Scottish Government on these important services have been intransigent and are often kicked down the road, with the explanation that a review of some kind will resolve the issue. Reviews have come and gone with little to no change. “Now the Scottish Government must listen to the outcome of this consultation process and finally make changes.
“A fresh contract is a good time to set out a new understanding with islanders’ needs at the heart of the service.”
Her letter comes in the same weekend that the SNP conference, which is being held in Aberdeen, is set to hear a motion from local political candidate Hannah Mary Goodlad regarding ferry cabins.
Goodlad has called for cabin and vehicle spaces to be set aside for islanders during the current peak season from May to September.
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