Fuel Prices and Public Transport

[Colin]

I see from the Shetland News web site that the SIC are facing a £1m increase in fuel costs for the inter island ferries.

 

Any (eventual) decision is going to be contentious and seeing as our elected representatives appear unwilling to make a decision (preferring instead to spend £500,000 approx in additional costs whilst a report is produced), how would YOU address the problem?

 

A few suggestions to get you started..

 

An immediate increase in fares (including the ridiculous £3 fare to Fair Isle/Foula/Skerries/Papa Stour) ?

 

An immediate reinstatement of fares on the Yell to Unst, Yell to Fetlar and Unst to Fetlar services.

 

A reduction in services including;

 

No Sunday Services. After all, bus users can get by without one.

 

No services after 6pm. It seems to work for the buses so, why not try it?

 

Asbestos underwear on, lets hear it..

[Ghostrider]

I would suggest increasing the charges levied on the oil industry at Sullom Voe an equivalent amount. They're part of the global cartel that's put the price of oil where it is, let them foot the bill.

[fairislefaerie]

I see from the Shetland News web site that the SIC are facing a £1m increase in fuel costs for the inter island ferries.

 

Any (eventual) decision is going to be contentious and seeing as our elected representatives appear unwilling to make a decision (preferring instead to spend £500,000 approx in additional costs whilst a report is produced), how would YOU address the problem?

 

A few suggestions to get you started..

 

An immediate increase in fares (including the ridiculous £3 fare to Fair Isle/Foula/Skerries/Papa Stour) ?

 

An immediate reinstatement of fares on the Yell to Unst, Yell to Fetlar and Unst to Fetlar services.

 

A reduction in services including;

 

No Sunday Services. After all, bus users can get by without one.

 

No services after 6pm. It seems to work for the buses so, why not try it?

 

Asbestos underwear on, lets hear it..

 

 

 

Us in Fair Isle have often stated that we feel the fare is far to low.

 

How about a fairer distribution of ferrys. Why the heck are huge ferries doing regular runs to islands with very low populations numerous times a week at great cost & pretty near empty ? Fair Isle has a thriving community, the smallest ferry, a massive freight need, yet has a boat that just does not meet the freight demands esp in winter.

[Muppet]

Interesting point you've made colin.

 

I dont live on an island, and maybe if I did, my answer might be different, but there's not much debate that ferry fares in Shetland are dirt cheap. Last time I was in Orkney, I paid over thirty quid to get to Hoy. Same trip here would have cost less than a tenner.

 

I keep hearing people tell me that when the Skerries ferry comes to Lerwick, the cars drive off it and park up as a handy place to dump their shopping before driving back on it to go back to Skerries as the fares are so cheap.

 

To answer your suggestions, yes the fares should go up.

 

Yes the fares should be re-instated on Bluemull sound.

 

The rest, well, I dont agree there. Maybe there are no buses on Sunday's and evening's, but at least that doesn't leave you cut off from the rest of the world.

 

Get tunnelling! There's the answer.

[JAStewart]

Bills get higher every day,

We receive much lower pay.

[Hambone]

Get tunnelling! There's the answer.

 

Here here, the sooner the tunnels are built the better.

[shetlander]

I’m in two minds about this. On one hand, I don’t think some folk (in Yell, Unst, Fetlar, Whalsay and Bressay at least) realise just how good they have it in terms of the level of service that is provided for them, particularly when compared to other island groups. On the other, any draconian measures – especially in relation to large fare increases or service cuts – need to be thought about carefully given the economic fragility of many of the areas in question. My suggestions:

 

- Reintroduce fares between Yell, Unst and Fetlar;

- Cut poorly used runs during the middle of the day and at weekends to Yell, Unst, Fetlar, Whalsay and Bressay;

- Stop runs after 10pm to Yell, Unst, Fetlar and Whalsay other than on Fridays/Saturdays;

- Run the Skerries service to Vidlin instead of Vidlin and Lerwick (a suggestion previously recommended but thrown out by councillors);

- Use a single crew and vessel to serve both Papa Stour and Foula (an opportunity probably lost now that the SIC – in its wisdom – has introduced a ro-ro service to Papa);

- Restrict the use of multi-journey tickets to island residents/regular travellers and on particular routes only.

 

Yes fixed links are a possible solution, but they’re neither going to come cheaply or in the short term. Until that happens, the Council is going to have to look at, and islanders are going to have to live with, cuts in some shape or form.

[fairislefaerie]

Blimey, just read the ferry costs in the Times !

 

 

Skerries at 300k + a year against Fair Isle's 16.5k a year fuel bill & they are toying with the idea of cutting a crew member from our ferry (which will have a big impact on community life) and cutting community runs !

 

Considering the skerries ferry is massive & and as such vastly underused by the skerries population you cant help but see that the council have the priorities back to front & upside down on this one.

 

 

But then, it seems the local council is content in its waste of council funds with regards to skerries, keeping a high school open for so few kids, for whom there is no viable reason for not attending the anderson & hostel like every other island kid adds up to the most laughable council education budget ive ever came across. Is it really any wonder the pinch is being felt .

[crofter]

- Use a single crew and vessel to serve both Papa Stour and Foula (an opportunity probably lost now that the SIC – in its wisdom – has introduced a ro-ro service to Papa);

 

Not necessarily. All it needs is a small investment in a ro-ro ramp in Foula!

 

Seriously, the tunnels should have been dug years ago.

[muckleflugga]

I have a couple of points on this. Firstly having been to work in Orkney recently and seeing the ferry fares there, I think our isles folks have nothing to complain about! Secondly, my cost of getting to and from work in my car has escalated due to fuel increases, why should SIC further subsidise isles folk by not passing on the ever rising costs.

[Colin]

why should SIC further subsidise isles folk by not passing on the ever rising costs.

 

Before someone else points it out, isles folk (in the main) drive to Lerwick from the ferry terminals.

 

In the interests of striking a balance, it should be noted that bus users are also (at the moment) protected from the increase in fuel prices although the difference in fuel usage between the bus and ferry services is huge.

 

Strange really when you consider that the return fare from Mainland to Whalsay on a gas guzzling luxury liner (as an example) is just £3 whilst the return fare from Scalloway to Lerwick on a fairly uncomfortable and noisy bus is £3.40 (£2.70 if you have bought some SIC 'plastic')

 

Also in the frame (but not mentioned yet) are the subsidised inter island air services. I wonder if it would be cheaper to encourage people to make more use of them? A simple 'joined up' transport service to bus people from Tingwall to Lerwick would probably work quite well.

[Foords_Chocolates]

I bet Muppet, Colin and Shetlander live on mainland Shetland......

[Colin]

I bet Muppet, Colin and Shetlander live on mainland Shetland......

 

Not that it matters to much in the context of my original posting. Scalloway.

 

Must have touched a nerve somewhere along the line..

 

[sheepshagger]

I have no sympathy with folks that have moved to a remote area then complain about the cost of getting to and from work, similarly no sympathy with folks complaining about how much it costs to get to the co-op to do their shopping. if everyone shopped local their would be less pollution one van carrying everyone groceries rathher than a hundred cars

[shetlander]

I bet Muppet, Colin and Shetlander live on mainland Shetland......

 

I don't actually.

 

For the record, I was brought up in the isles and still have parents living there, including one who relies on the ferry service to get to and from work every day. I share their concerns about significant fare increases but also their recognition that cuts could easily be made elsewhere in the service in order to achieve some sensible savings.

 

The point I was trying to make - as I have done on numerous occasions in the context of discussions about council cutbacks elsewhere on this forum - is that everybody is going to have to show that they are willing to accept cuts in some shape or form if the council is ever going to make any progress on trimming its budgets.

 

Propose to close schools and folk in affected communities sharg to their councillors and the proposal is thrown out. Propose to introduce social care charges and folk using those services sharg to their councillors and the proposal is thrown out. Propose to introduce cuts to the ferry service and folk in the isles sharg to their councillors and the proposal is thrown out. The procrasternating - and the belief among some that cuts are only okay if they dont affect them or their geographical area - can only go on for so long.

 

I completely recognise that any draconian measures - including some of those suggested by Colin - could be disasterous for some of the isles but there has to be at least some willingness to give.