No space on island ferries 2/7/14
Sir,
We hear regularly about the lack of capacity on Cal Mac vessels during the summer season and the adverse effect this will have on the tourism industry. “Tourists had to be turned away”, etc.
What about the effects on the resident island population? As someone who has their
home on Coll but who works in Barra, I am familiar with the routes that serve these
islands. In trying to book from Oban to Coll this week, I’ve been told by Cal Mac
that there are no car spaces left from 12th to 21st July -
What are you supposed to do if you need to travel with a car at short notice? In the recent past, people have had to travel out, say for a hospital appointment, earlier and return later than they wished, which can be very expensive. But the situation is now beyond belief.
Cal Mac need to be reminded by local authorities that they receive a subsidy to operate a lifeline service for the people who live on these islands. Unless a way is found to balance tourism with this lifeline service, the people who live on islands will find themselves as second class citizens when it comes to travelling with Cal Mac.
Finally, RET. This may or may not be at the root of increasing tourist traffic but it’s high time somebody argued that RET funding should be used solely for the benefit of island residents. The idea that it had to be extended to tourists to make travel costs affordable for a wider tourist market is farcical. You only have to look around a typical Cal Mac cardeck and check out the expensive vehicles (including campervans), to conclude that the vast bulk of tourists can easily afford to pay more than what they’re paying at the moment.
Whether the political will exists to protect island people or whether Cal Mac is capable to strategic thinking on this growing problem remain to be seen.
Kirsty MacFarlane
c/o “Boreray”
Northbay
Isle of Barra