It’s another day of travel turmoil in the islands – this time not due to weather.
The ferry Hebrides is still broken and remains in Tarbert where engineers are trying to fix it. It’s turned into a big job, though. Now traffic and passengers have been sent to Stornoway where the relief vessel, the Isle of Arran, will take them from Stornoway to Uig.
Any overspill of traffic from Tarbert will be taken from Stornoway to Ullapool on the lunchtime 1.50pm sailing of the ferry Isle of Lewis. CalMac advises all intending passengers to contact their port of departure before setting off.
Am I the only one who’s tired of the poor service? The Hebrides and the Isle of Lewis are getting on. I’d love to see a good vessel on one, at least, of the routes when they’re replaced. In fact, as a frequent user, I’d rate reliability of service higher than frequency, and I’d be happy to pay a bit more for that. I’m sure most of us have had some uncomfortable crossings on the Minch, but these waters are hardly the roughest in the world. Just better design and engineering needed the next time round.
What a load of rubbish! everything breaks down from time to time,and it is a very rare for the hebrides in particular,as for other delays mainly due to bad weather ,regardless of what vessel is available the safety of the customers and crew is paramount,yes plenty vessels could venture out in heavy seas but passengers and crew alike would still be tossed around like rag dolls.we should be grateful for the service we have got otherwise use the plane which still represents tremendous value given the time saved on journeys.
That, of course, goes without saying, and it’s a service of which some other communities can only dream, but good forward planning is still desirable.
This obviously without contradiction and obviously without any contrary revocation is something Angus and I will need to look into sometime when we get a chance if we do we will let you know
Indeed .
Whilst not having time to consult Alasdair Allan on this ,indeed we are truely independent and think for ourselves when Uncle Alex allows,this is very important so give me a call at the office and make sure it’s Kenny you talk to preferably before the referndum becoz we needs the votes.
Bliadhna Mhath Ur
Aonghas
P.s.
Just because Aladair’s always in the paipear don’t forget me
Kenny will get me in Barra,Fort William, Inverness, Glasgow ,London or one of the other Dance Studios I’ll be in – to practice for
“I’m an MP Get me Out of Here !”
Dear!! Dear!!! The idiot has lost the plot again. Iain X are you happy to have the above comments on your blog where someone is impersonating the elected members ?
Dè? Is it because I’m not a political animal, or is it because I’ve over-indulged in something, or not indulged sufficiently in something? Whichever way, tha mi air chall. Just imagine a wee ‘wave’ emoticon! Bliadhna Mhath Ùr Dhuibh Uile.
I think the service is as reliable as it can be, given the present ferries. But it could be improved dramatically with better designed ferries and it’s really important to get it right with the next ferry as this is a lifeline service and vital to the viability of the islands. I was really disappointed to read a report that the next ferry is only likely to take about 15 minutes off the Ullapool/ Stornoway travel time; surely it’s possible to do better than that with modern engineering? If the journey time could be brought nearer to 2 hours and the timetable set up to support weekly commuting, that would be a huge step forward in attracting families to move to, or return to, the isles.