Capacity and demand

Issue

The consultation report captured views that the ICP does not sufficiently seek to increase vehicle-deck capacity of ferry services and instead focuses too much on utilising the existing capacity, including by using fares and by encouraging reduced usage of personal cars for part or all of the journey. Increasing vehicle-deck capacity was seen by some respondents as important as, or more important than, the reliability and resilience of ferry services. This is in line with feedback received to the recent new Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract consultation.

Response

We will confirm Reliability and Resilience as first priority of ICP. Delivering more reliable and resilient ferry services will automatically increase available capacity on some key routes. With the introduction of larger vessels and increased services, vehicle deck capacity has already increased and planned vessel deployment and service enhancements will bring further increases during the current decade. Community needs assessments and ongoing collaboration with partners and communities will improve understanding of local community priorities and allow a more targeted appraisal of options to meet those.

CalMac’s Enhancement and Change Plan includes commitments to reviewing the current deck space reservation pilot for Mull, Coll and Tiree and, if this has delivered the intended benefit, engage with other communities on potential roll-out opportunities. CalMac also plan a pilot creating dedicated vehicle-deck space for healthcare workers travelling to and from Arran and Cumbrae.

Currently, for many, but not all, islands, the only or dominant transport connection is provided by a ferry carrying passengers, vehicles and freight together. In many of those cases this will be more efficient than separating traffic into different services. However, for some communities, there is already the option of using freight-only sailings and passenger-only services by air or ferry which supplement and complement “combined” ferry services.