Tag: travel

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BBC Scotland go to Cornwall to suggest an energy powerhouse like Scotland is subject to global events like every other country

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As the energy companies announce a 10% hike, BBC Scotland went to visit locals who will struggle, then tried to explain it all way as due to ‘global events’ that cannot be avoided, using in a surreal manner, a woman from Cornwall Insight for evidence. You can be sure that Norwegian news broadcasters are not telling their viewers that Norway is helpless in the face of global events. Why? Because they have the oil, gas and wind power to be able to protect their population from exploitation. Is Norway unique? Well, I know a country with the same population (c5 … Continue reading BBC Scotland go to Cornwall to suggest an energy powerhouse like Scotland is subject to global events like every other country

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Rail fares are lower in Scotland

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The Herald is headlining: ScotRail customers face huge price hike as peak fare scheme comes to an end after an experimental, pilot, scheme, cancelled on 20 August 2024, came to an end today. The experiment was unsuccessful: A government trial which scrapped peak-time rail prices ends on Friday after almost a year. The Scottish government previously concluded the costs did not justify continuing the trial as it had not achieved its aim of persuading people to swap car journeys for rail travel. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9vpgzv4x34o Neither the Herald nor BBC Scotland want you to know this: Fares and fares increases remain, on … Continue reading Rail fares are lower in Scotland

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Good news as CalMac has the capacity to replace one Arran ferry and maintain a service still cheap as chips

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The Ardrossan Herald is keen to dramatize the simple smooth replacement of a replacement ferry by another as a ‘double whammy‘ and to characterise the replacement as ‘ageing.’ There will still be two ferries serving the 5 000 population of Arran, massively subsidised to offer the lowest prices in the western world, by the rest of us, linked to either Ardrossan or Troon, both perfectly convenient for Glasgow. As we move off-season, the vessels will be commonly less than half full. In a year, CalMac makes around 4 000 sailings (not inc cancellations) between Ardrossan and Brodick.1 In 2022, they carried 692 … Continue reading Good news as CalMac has the capacity to replace one Arran ferry and maintain a service still cheap as chips

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UK Labour Transport Secretary does not even mention Isle of Wight’s ferry fiasco

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From Island Echo, yesterday: Isle of Wight East MP Joe Robertson says that Islanders should be ‘deeply concerned’ that no mention was given to ferries in a keynote speech by Transport Secretary Louise Haigh this week. At the Labour Party Conference on Monday, Louise talked about ‘ripping up the roots of Thatcherism’ across UK transport but made no reference at all to ferries. The Secretary of State for Transport spoke extensively about trains and buses and mentioned flying, cycling and walking. But the lack of any mention of ferries – including cross-Solent ferries – has raised questions as to whether … Continue reading UK Labour Transport Secretary does not even mention Isle of Wight’s ferry fiasco

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Fourth New Zealand ferry drifts out of control or runs aground in less than two years

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In New Zealand’s Cook Straits, two ferry operators have large elderly vessels with recurring safety problems. Today from Radio New Zealand: The Bluebridge ferry Connemara has arrived back in Wellington, about five and a-half hours after it lost power and started drifting in Cook Strait. Wellington Harbourmaster Grant Nalder says it blacked out around 10.30pm, not long into its freight sailing bound for Picton, near Sinclair Head. By 2am Friday, the tug boat Tapuhi was towing Connemara back to Wellington, and a second tug, Tiaki, was providing steerage. By 6am it was towed to Pipitea Wharf but all people remained on board. … Continue reading Fourth New Zealand ferry drifts out of control or runs aground in less than two years

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Ferry ‘cross the Mersey? No thanks, I can’t swim!

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stewartb In so many different places, ferry services seem to be ‘problematic’. in some way. Below gives an insight into Mersey Ferries: The current fleet consists of two vessels, the Royal Iris of the Mersey and Snowdrop. They entered service in the early 1960s on the Mersey – under different names – after being being launched in 1959 and received refits as long ago as 2002 and 2004, (according to Wikipedia) The Mersey Ferries company website confirmed (in 2023) a plan to build “the first new Mersey Ferry for more than 60 years’’. The plan has a longish history though. Back in … Continue reading Ferry ‘cross the Mersey? No thanks, I can’t swim!

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Struggling Canadian ferry service, average vessel age 13 years older than CalMac to replace seven by 2037

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From a September 2022, Ernst and Young LLP survey for the Scottish Government’s Transport Scotland department, CalMac ferries are, on average, newer (22) than those in Norway (26), Australia (24) and British Columbia, Canada (35!). https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/strategic-framework-of-options-for-the-chfs-network-project-neptune/benchmarking From the Tyee in October 2023: The Crisis at BC Ferries – Why no reservations frequently means long waits on the main routes. https://thetyee.ca/News/2023/10/23/Crisis-BC-Ferries/ So, time to get on with so new ferry-building eh? From Marine Link, today: Canadian ferry operator BC Ferries announced it is moving forward with a program to build a series of new vessels for its busiest routes. The company said on … Continue reading Struggling Canadian ferry service, average vessel age 13 years older than CalMac to replace seven by 2037

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The Herald’s so-obvious Cartunionist has another lazy dig at the best ferry service in the world

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The Herald’s third-best cartoonist, Steven Camley, like one of those drunk ‘wits’ in a bar, tries to turn the news of whale-spotting made easy by Scotland’s ferries into one of those ‘Aye, aye, very good, I’m sure but my pal in Brodick wiz late for a medical appointment because that Sturgeon messed up the ferries’ moments. It’s his regular, lazy, thick trope. See these: It’s a sad state of affairs that the above pub-level banality passes for political satire at the Herald. To waste more time on his output considered, see: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=Camley On ferries, here’s why his infantile pokes are not … Continue reading The Herald’s so-obvious Cartunionist has another lazy dig at the best ferry service in the world

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8% of the population but 25% of the top universities and all of the safest campuses*

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From the Guardian’s The best UK universities 2025 list – rankings, published today, pro rata, per head, Scotland might be expected to have 2 of the top 20 universities in the UK but has 5. In 2019*, we had: Scotland’s university cities the safest in the UK by a very long way From the Complete University Guide 2019, we can see that the overall fall in crime in Scotland in the last ten, or so, years is reflected in the relative safety of university campuses. Of particular interest is the level of crime (incidents per 1 000 residents) reported in Glasgow, … Continue reading 8% of the population but 25% of the top universities and all of the safest campuses*

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Prison population – back-to-front thinking from BBC Scotland to hide Scottish Government competence in maintaining 234 times more spare places

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From BBC Scotland, two days ago: Scotland’s prison population is now higher than it was before hundreds of prisoners were released early in a bid to ease overcrowding. A total of 477 prisoners were let out early in June and July under an emergency scheme introduced by the Scottish government in response to a sharp rise in the number of people in jail. In the week before the programme began in late June, the prison population sat at 8,232. It has now reached 8,241 – raising questions about whether further releases will be needed. See, stupid, that’s why they released … Continue reading Prison population – back-to-front thinking from BBC Scotland to hide Scottish Government competence in maintaining 234 times more spare places