Ferry disruption communication in the spotlight
HOW inter-island ferry disruption is communicated to the public came under scrutiny in the council chamber this morning (Tuesday).
A meeting of the environment and transport committee heard there is no written protocol for communication.
It comes amid continued disruption on the Yell Sound route, with the Dagalien’s return to service from dry dock delayed.
There has been criticism levelled against the council for not just the ongoing disruption but the also the communication.
This has included informing the public on Facebook that some bookings had been cancelled.
There is a regularly updated voicebank service for ferry services, while updates – generally for disruption in advance – are also posted on Facebook too.
There is also an SMS and e-mail alert system people can sign up to via this link, while information on travel disruption is also displayed on the Transportation Notification portal on the Shetland News website.
The Dagalien had been due back in service on 19 June but as a result of crew availability issues she is now only set to return on 25 June.
In the meantime Yell Sound, which also is used for onward travel to Unst and Fetlar, has been running with a single vessel.
One local resident, Alan Skinner, said in a letter to media this week that the “ferry fiasco is destroying my business” – a gallery in Yell – through limiting tourist travel to the island.
But he said it was “impossible” to book a ferry to get to the Shetland mainland for a hospital appointment on Friday.
The issue of communication was raised at Tuesday’s meeting by committee chair Moraig Lyall.
While noting the variety of reasons why disruption can happen, she asked ferry operations manager Andrew Inkster if there was a written protocol for communicating disruption.
Inkster said there is not one at the moment, with the challenge being that disruption can happen immediately and that things can be a “complicated moving picture”.
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He said if it is a relatively short period of disruption, “we may act in a different way”.
Inkster also said when it issues relating to crew availability sometimes this is last-minute – such as a staff member not turning up to work.
He said the “overarching aim is to provide the best possible service that we can with bookings if possible”.
Inkster told councillors that the team could look at writing a procedure on communication, but it may need a number of caveats and presumptions to cover the variable nature of ferry disruption.
He said the topic ties in with a proposed new ferry booking system, which will open up “new opportunities”.
“I think as we review how we’re going to operate with the new booking system in place that will allow us to formalise some of those arrangements that you’re talking [about].
“I think we can draw those two together and come up with a process which will help. It won’t answer all of the questions, but I think it would be a help.”
But North Isles member Robert Thomson encouraged everyone involved with the new booking system project to “move things at the fastest possible pace to get this over the line”.
“It’s becoming a major problem not having this,” he said, “and the sooner we get this in place the better.”
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