Scottish government calls for modernization of ferry service
Ferry Online Travel News 14/07/2008
Scottish MPs are calling for urgent action to improve ferry services through a more modern and efficient network.
The Transport Committee at Holyrood has said that the government-owned ferry company Caledonian MacBrayne should extends its hours of service to better meet commuter needs.
A recent report it released has also called for better co-ordination between the scheduled arrivals of ferries with bus and train service.
The Scottish Government has called these findings a welcome addition to the material it has available for its forthcoming transport review.
The report entitled Ferry Services in Scotland noted that a long-term, comprehensive strategy was needed: "The committee believes that a situation where a train departs as ferry passengers walk down a station platform to get onboard is completely unacceptable."
The Scottish MPs commented that flexibility is needed in contractual agreements between the government and First Scotrail and CalMac that would allow for better service coordination and for "common sense to prevail."
Ministers were asked to require that CalMac, the operator of the Hebridean and ferry routes, look into “innovative” practices that would improve timetables.
"The committee believes that it would be possible for CalMac Ferries to adjust some timetables to a limited extent to meet more effectively local needs and to provide some additional services, within the current restrictions imposed by crew working hours and other factors," the report noted.
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