Capacity and demand

A majority of respondents – 69% of those answering the question – agreed with the approach set out for dealing with ferry capacity due to increased demand. Organisations were more likely to be in agreement than individuals, at 73% and 67% respectively. 

There were references to the planned approach looking like a good solution, and support for having a better understanding of capacity issues. However, it was also noted that extra capacity has been mooted for a number of years without apparent progress, and that it would not be acceptable to leave things unchanged.

For some respondents, the solution lay in increasing capacity, rather than seeking to manage demand. However, there was an alternative view that the focus should be on optimising current capacity rather than necessarily increasing it.

Community Needs Assessments

In terms of how the Assessments should be framed, suggestions included that enabling community involvement in the design and delivery will be critical to success, and that they should be based on metrics and assessment criteria defined in close partnership with island communities across Scotland.

In relation to the focus of the Assessments, suggestions included that they should include a measure for constrained/unmet demand for each route, so as to fully reflect current and future community needs.

Using existing and planned capacity better

Irrespective of their views on extra capacity being required, many respondents thought there are opportunities to use existing and planned capacity better, with a number of suggestions made. These included that engagement with islanders and communities needs to be meaningful, incentivising hauliers to travel on off-peak sailings and running freight only services.

Existing pinch points

A general point made by a local authority respondent was that pinch points need to be identified across all ferry services which are fully revenue funded by Scottish Government, not just the CHFS and NIFS networks; it was suggested that an ‘Islands Connectivity Plan’ needs to consider this aspect of connectivity for all islands.

In addition to looking at current pinch points, respondents highlighted the importance of looking to the future and, in particular, to economic developments that will require capacity and resilience to be improved. Examples given included a number of major infrastructure schemes, including offshore and onshore wind, along with the whisky and aquaculture sectors.