Wishart submits 3,500-word ferry consultation response

After ongoing and extensive engagement with constituents, Scottish Liberal Democrat and Shetland MSP, Beatrice Wishart, has submitted a 3,500-word response to the Scottish Government’s Northern Isles Ferry Services 4 (NIFS4) contract consultation, demanding improvements to benefit local residents.

Ms Wishart highlighted the issues raised with her by constituents and passengers travelling on the NorthLink ferry service including:

• Changing the booking system to allow rolling bookings with no cut-offs, as is currently the situation
• The return of shared cabins and the reinstatement of concession voucher value for use of a berth in a cabin
• Removal of seasonal fares for islanders and retained cabin spaces for last-minute islander travel
• More spaces to lie flat on the overnight crossing in contrast to pods and pod lounges
• Defining a lifeline service so that operators, businesses and passengers have a shared understanding of the provision of services

The NorthLink service is periodically put out to contract for operators to bid to run the service on behalf of Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government using the government-owned vessels. The current contract, operated by Serco, began on 30^th June 2020 and is set to run to 30^th June 2028.

In 2023 Ms Wishart launched a ferries survey asking isles residents and passengers to outline their experience of the service. Around 1,000 respondents gave their views, which Ms Wishart subsequently raised with the Scottish Government.

Commenting on her submission Ms Wishart said:

"It is a continual source of frustration that under this SNP government, passengers feel like they are fighting for scraps.

“It has been a mammoth effort to try to bring together all of the points and issues that passengers and businesses have raised with me. While acknowledging the co-operation of staff at NorthLink, there are plenty of changes they would like to see for the new contract.

“Problems with the booking system, a lack of capacity and islanders paying seasonal fares are not new issues. They are things that my party and I have been raising with for years and ones that Transport Scotland and the SNP government have chosen to ignore.

“Over the past few years I have raised issues with the ferry services with the Scottish Government countless times. Responses from the Scottish Government on these important services have been intransigent and are often kicked down the road, with the explanation that a review of some kind will resolve the issue. Reviews have come and gone with little to no change.

"Now the Scottish Government must listen to the outcome of this consultation process and finally make changes. A fresh contract is a good time to set out a new understanding with islanders’ needs at the heart of the service.”

Ms Wishart’s full submission can be found here.