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The new ferry contract.


JustMe
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Well if the government are content to give "Road Equivalent Tariff" fares to motorists using ferries to the Western Isles then I want to see "Rail Equivalent Tariff" for foot passengers. That would mean that with my railcard I could expect an advance purchase fare of something like £6.20 each way from Lerwick to Aberdeen.

 

I think any new operator is free to source new ships for the route but sadly there is really no time from the awarding of the contract for new ships to be built. Something like the X bow design which offers lots of advantages surely ought to be looked at.

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I am hopeing that we get something totaly new along with new boats that can sail in the kinda weather we get here and maybe even some cheeper fairs and not this constant Rip Us Off that we all seam to go through why is it just because we live on this stunning and fantastic island must we losse out .

Are we not alowed to get cheep fairs ?

 

Change is needed now .

The boats go with the contract, same as last time.

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One of the news reports on this said that the existing boats would be made available to any succesful bidder, but they were free to use alternatives.

 

Given the very short timescale though, I would doubt if anybody is likely to come up with better vessels for the route. Certainly not a new build.

 

Also when Northlink were looking into fitting more cabins into the existing boats, they said that it couldn't be justified given the short time left in the remaining contract in which the cost would have to be repaid. I can't see why this should be repaid even within a full contract term. Surely it should be repaid over the expected lifetime of the vessels as the cabins will still be there after each contract expires.

 

That said, the boats will be due to go into drydock around the spring time so whoever gets the next contract is unlikely to fit extra cabins before spring 2013 if ever!

 

This entire excercise was begun in an attempt to save on the 8 or 9 million pounds subsidy being paid to P&O. It's all a spectacular fail as far as I can see.

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Not to sound disagreeable Muppet, but I personally think that the whole excercise as started by the first Scottish Parliament Government i.e Labour was to boot a private, and allegedly Tory supporting, shipping company out.

 

As the editorial in the Shetland Times said after the collapse of the first contract "could they(Labour) not stomach the fact that the route was being run by a private company, and one that managed to make a small profit?".

 

I remember the front page headline too "Another Fine Mess".

 

How true, how very true.....

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  • 2 weeks later...

Perhaps Andrew Banks will tender for the whole contract. It is totally outrageous that public money is being used to compete against a private operator who i believe even offers cheaper fares. They also do not require photo ID, which shows that Northlink arguments that its a requirement are a bit shaky to say the least.

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Interesting to see P&O bidding. Could we see a return of the St Clair name? All be it it would probably just be the Hjaltland renamed.

 

For everyone concerned and ease, I hope it is just rewarded to Northlink.

 

Do the Scottish Government get a choice or does it have to go to the lowest bidder?

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Do the Scottish Government get a choice or does it have to go to the lowest bidder?

Probably not to the lowest bidder as the suitability of the bidder to provide the service could also be taken into account. Also if one bidder came up with a figure way lower than the rest and lower that the Government calculated it should be then they could reject it.
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My understanding was that P&O lost the contract as they were the only company that knew the actual costs of running the service.. Northlink (with no knowledge of the requirements) underpriced and won.

I hope that the Government look at the bigger picture of subsidies and not 'pass the buck', cheapest quote politics that they've stuck by in the past.

 

I, Personally, don't mind if the next provider supplies an older vessel. Just as long as it's seaworthy and relatively comfortable. So supplying (not fit for) purpose built vessels is not a priority and cuts initial costs. I think there's only one company in the running that can manage that.

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It's a shame that the whole exercise is such a waste of the other companies', bar NorthLink's, time and money.

 

Unless, one of the other companies really can make an offer that can't be refused but even then it's scottish politics we're having to deal with and so I have no faith in it.

 

But, if I'm proved wrong then I'll hold my hands up and admit it!.

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