Transport Minister arrives in Orkney

Minister for Transport and the Islands Humza Yousaf arrived in Orkney this morning, following the announcement that the Northern Isles are to benefit from cheaper ferry fares from next year.

After arriving from Shetland this morning, he met with Orkney Islands Council Leader James Stockan, and is due to meet with Andrew Banks, managing director of Pentland Ferries tomorrow, Thursday.

He earlier met with Stuart Garrett, Serco’s managing director of NorthLink Ferries.

The Minister is also to carry out various other meetings and visits during his time in Orkney over the next two days.

As reported yesterday, Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) is to be introduced on the Pentland Firth routes, whilst a variant of the RET scheme will be brought in on the routes from Aberdeen to Kirkwall and Lerwick.

The Western Isles have benefited from the scheme for a number of years, and it is hoped that Orkney and Shetland could see a boom in tourists visiting the islands, as well as islanders benefiting from cheaper travel costs to the mainland.

Full reaction in The Orcadian on Thursday.