Lessons should be learned from ferry problems

Orkney MSP Liam McArthur used a debate on ferries in the Scottish Parliament yesterday to criticise the Scottish Government’s approach to Road Equivalent Tariff, and highlighted the need for lessons to be learned from the recent problems on the Stromness-Scrabster route.

Commenting during the debate, Mr McArthur urged Serco to take the opportunity re-build confidence by looking again at its decision to cut sailings on the Pentland Firth route.

He said: “I would call on Serco to look again at re-instating some of the middle of the day sailings so as to better align its summer timetable with that of the tourist season in Orkney. The scale of the cut in sailings, sanctioned by the government’s contract, works against the efforts of the tourism sector to extend the ‘shoulders’ of the season.

“Similarly, I would urge Serco to reconsider the decision to reduce discounts available to elderly, disabled and students passengers and recognise that this goes against the spirit of providing a lifeline service between Orkney and the Mainland.”

On RET he said: “By deciding to focus the pilot phase of the cheap ferry fares scheme solely on the Western Isles, Ministers made it clear their priority was shoring up support in a key SNP constituency.

“Even when it came to rolling out the scheme more widely, Ministers only felt inclined to include routes on the west coast.”