The Times, the Scotsman and many others are going with a ‘summer of chaos‘ narrative for Scotland’s ferries because of delays with two new boats and extended maintenance for the MV Caledonian Isles but surely those are current problems for the ferry service, affecting current performance?

By Professor John Robertson, Talking-up Scotland’s International Ferries Correspondent

Gee, I wonder how we could find out how reliable CalMac is? I know, unlike any other ferry service in the world, they have to publish daily figures.

Let’s have a look.

Yesterday – 502 sailings and 99% of them on time

The day before? Same

23rd April 2024? 99.6%!

22nd? 99.4%

21st? 99.7%

20th? 100%

19th? 100%

Wait!!! 6th April 2024 – Only a shocking 45.6% Gotcha!?

Well no. In the Sun that day:

Storm Kathleen brought ferries to a halt across the west coast as a yellow Met Office warning for severe weather suggested a “danger to life” on seafronts impacted by high waves and flying debris.

CalMac have never had a ferry sink or any passenger loss of life.

The seasonal average? 95.4% on time.

So, if they can do that now without the 2 new ferries and the one in dock, why a ‘summer of chaos?’ Because its just a big fn fib to attack the SNP with.

Isn’t that service just what you’d expect from any provider anywhere in the world?

Well, no other ferry in the world, to my knowledge, publishes daily figures but in affluent Washington State (USA) and British Columbia (Canada), the media do get hold of them at times.

Washington State, USA, population 7.7 million, GDP $725 billion or £573 billion.

Scotland, population 5.5 million, GDP £212 billion.

Washington State’s GDP, adjusted for population is around twice that of Scotland.

Yet:

In 2023, (Washington State Ferries) had 1,560 annual crew cancellations while scheduling only 70% of its regular service.

In the same year, CalMac, in a country with only half the level of wealth and in more northerly, colder and stormier seas managed 95.4%.

What about cost?

The Scottish Government subsidy to make prices affordable to all, at £29.80 per journey is nearly twice that of BC at £16,36.

For WSF, subsidy data per journey is not available but a 15 minute crossing from Vashon Island to Seattle costs $27 or £22 while a comparable crossing from Largs to Cumbrae is £13.90.

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Most striking is the level of subsidy per passenger. In Scotland, it averages £29.80 per passenger journey. In Canada (BC), it is only just over half at £16.36 and in Australia, only just over one-tenth at £3.86. https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/strategic-framework-of-options-for-the-chfs-network-project-neptune/benchmarking/

And when you see this:

A freeze on ferry fares for some of the country’s island communities has been extended, the Scottish government has announced. Ticket prices on the Northern Isles, Clyde and Hebrides ferry networks will be held at current levels from October until March 2024.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-66039376

Or this:

SNP Government more than doubles spending on ferry services for islanders in just ten yearshttps://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2023/06/26/under-reported-ferry-tales-snp-government-more-than-doubles-spending-on-ferry-services-for-islanders-in-just-ten-years/

Most reliable, safest and cheapest, thus best, ferry service in the world.