The Herald today has:
Decrepit?
From a September 2022, Ernst and Young LLP survey for the Scottish Government’s Transport Scotland department, CalMac ferries were, on average, newer (22) than those in affluent Norway (26), Australia (24) and Canada/Vancouver (35!).
You can add two years to all of those ages but CalMac, funded by the Scottish Government, has still kept its fleet younger than all comparable advanced economy large archipelago fleets.
For further example, Washington State Ferries serving affluent Seattle, don’t publish these data but a quick check of their wikipedia page reveals that 12 of their 21 ferries are over 40 years old while only 2 of CalMac’s 34 vessels are.
High and dry?
CalMac runs more than 500 sailings per day to 50 locations at currently 95.4% reliability. No lifeline service is ever out for more than a day or two and as for the much-mentioned Arran service, 10 crossings a day at 100% reliability for a population of only 5 000, heavily subsidised by the rest of us with any cancellations due to storms or the failure by a Manchester businessman to pay for repairs to the Ardrossan dock..
The Herald?
Readers?
The Herald is published Monday to Saturday in Glasgow and has an audited circulation of 12,928 (as of 2023). It is part of the Newsquest Scotland stable of sites, which have 41m page views a month.
0.24% of the population of 5.4 million.
Down from 118 000, ten times as many, only ten years ago – high and dry.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_State_Ferries
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caledonian_MacBrayne_fleet
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
34 ferries. 6 on order. Two innovative saving fuel costs. £Billions over time. £10,000 to park up in a harbour overnight. 70,000 islanders,
Average 1 ferry service per 2,000 people. Better than some bus services. Subsided costs, subsidised flights. Orkney one of the best places to live in the world. The islands getting a good deal. More ferries, on order, going out to tender. 9+ smaller ferries?
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Is there any way that a group could be brought together to crowdfund. Sue the MSM for the lies that are told. Just lie, after lie. Donate the retribution to charity.
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Most of the Herald column is attempted click bait for the masses. To encourage BLT for advertising revenues. Click bait to claim readership for advertising revenues. Very annoying advertisement puts people off readership. Going round and round in circles. Groundhog Day.
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High and dry is the very definition of an island….
Regurgitating hyperbole must pay Barf Simpson a wage, but who is paying the Herald to create and publish this nonsense in the first place ?
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