Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said the Audit Scotland report underlines the Scottish Government’s “commitment to our ferry networks and the vital services they perform for our remote and island communities.”
Over £1 billion has been invested in ferry services since 2007 with new routes, new vessels and the roll out of cheaper fares.
Mr Yousaf said: “All of our investment is subject to strict financial control and management, and we will continue to support our ferry networks and the communities that depend on them.
“As the report points out, the operators providing our ferry services are performing well.
“In 2016, 5.7 million people and 1.4 million cars were carried on 158,000 sailings.
“99.7% of those services operated and 99.6% were on time.
“It is also very pleasing to see that ferry users are generally happy with their services.
Building a new £42 million ferry for Lewis plus harbour upgrades at Stornoway and Ullapool is being followed by followed by a new ferry for the Skye triangle route as well as substantial infrastructure redevelopments at the three ports.
The Scottish Government maintains that the procurement of the Western Isles and west coast ferry routes contract was a success, leading to a winning bid from CalMac that contains 350 commitments to improve services.
He added: “Our ferry services are iconic transport links that make a significant contribution to the social, cultural and economic wellbeing of our islands and Scotland as a whole.
“Making sure they continue to support the communities they serve, as well as delivering best value for taxpayer’s money, will always remain at the heart of our ferry operations.”
The full costs of rolling out Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) fares for the Northern Isles ferry services from Spring 2018 has been fully assessed for a number of scenarios.
Current estimates put the costs at between £4.5m to £6.5m, reflecting the likely range of increased traffic generated from the planned substantial reductions in fares.
New services include the Lochboisdale -
Scottish Government “committed to support and improve” ferry networks
19 Oct 2017
