The Scottish Ferries Review

Consultation Document 2010

Islay - 19 July 2010

Judith Ainsley

Introduction• General presentation on Ferries review

• Q&A

• Workshop on routes and services methodology

• Opportunity for final questions

The Consultation

• Consultation Document, not a Plan• Runs to 30 September 2010• Questionnaires to complete and return• 33 key questions• scottishferriesreview@scotland.gsi.gov.uk• 0131 244 1539• Documents available on our website

Commitment to Ferries

• Essential part of our transport network• Essential for access to vital services• Enable movement of freight• Encourage sustainable and growing

communities• Must provide a safe, sustainable system• Quality employment

Summary of the Review:

• Inform a long term Ferries Strategy – to 2022• Influence next round of tendering for services• Investment programme for vessels and ports

and harbours• All publicly funded ferries included – Scottish

Government and local authority funded• No potential routes excluded• Needs of passengers, cars, commercial vehicles

and freight all to be considered

Lack of consistency

• Funding services• Funding vessels• Funding harbour infrastructure• Responsibility for delivery• What routes and what level of service• Tendered services• Provision of vessels

What we’ve done so far

• Been helped in forming opinions by project groups

• Consultants and CMAL carried out specific pieces of work to inform us

• Public consultation events last year

• Extensive data collection

Challenges

• Less money available to invest in and support ferries

• Ageing fleet and need for investment

• Ageing harbour infrastructure and need for investment

• Escalating fuel and crew costs

• Subsidy levels increasing

Funding and Procurement• To 2022 need £604m for vessels• To 2022 need £180m for ports and

harbours replacement• To 2022 need £7.5m p.a. annually for

ports and harbours maintenance• The services also need to be funded -

2007/8 cost for all c. £103m, 2008/9 for DML c.£90m

• We are asking you to consider options

Funding Options

• The status quo

• CMAL to access funds through alternative structural or financing routes

• Ports and harbours could be self-funding

• Users of the service to pay more

• Open the market up to greater competition

Procurement Options for services

• Tender some routes singly with the option for operators to bring their own vessel(s) to the tendered routes?

• Specific routes are suggested• Allow single routes to be “bundled” or stagger the

tenders?• Leave remaining routes within the 2 large bundles?• Loosen the tender requirements, specifying only the

minimum level service to allow operators the flexibility to innovate?

• What should be specified?

Fares Options• Increase all fares• Increase visitor fares• Reduce fares for island/peninsula

residents• Reduce fares for commercial vehicles• RET or other distance based• To manage demand• Mixed approach

Fares Questions• Asking you to consider what the rationale

for/purpose of the fares policy should be.

• Should fares differentiate between islanders/residents of peninsular communities and other ferry users?

• One fares policy across Scotland or different policies dependant on needs of communities?

What services should be funded?

• We have developed a methodology – based on Summer timetables - for determining what routes and services are needed

• We will now do the same for Winter timetable

How should services be provided?• Who should be responsible for providing

ferry services that need public subsidy?• Should there be central procurement

expertise regardless of who is responsible for the provision of the service?

Options• Status quo – inconsistent approach

• Scottish Government becomes responsible for all

• Local Authorities/RTPs become responsible for all

• A more consistent split of responsibility for example….

How responsibility could be split?

• SG responsible for services between mainland and islands, LAs or RTPs responsible for all others

• Dependant on administration at either end of the route

• Dependant on whether the route is classed as a “sea” route or one with less onerous conditions

Accessibility• Disabled people, those travelling with

children or luggage, PRMs• Equalities Impact Assessment at Draft

Plan stage• Accessibility Assessments carried out • Recommendations from this work in the

consultation document and you are asked for your views

Accessibility• Should they be implemented now?

• Included in future tender requirements?

• Accessibility improvement fund?

• Information system indicating the degree of accessibility?

Environmental Issues• Some questions regarding reducing

emissions aimed at operators

• Question 33, would you support longer journey times as part of a CO2 emissions reduction programme?

• Do you have any other suggestions to reduce emissions?

Any questions so far?

Part 2 - Workshop session • Opportunity to explore and discuss our initial findings

for Islay. So far we have considered:

1. what you need your ferry for2. what a service would look like to meet these needs3. where the gaps are

• We have still to consider options to address the gapsand prioritise future spending

Checking we’ve got this right?• Aware that in defining the needs of the

community and defining a ferry service to meet those needs there might be things we haven’t got quite right.

• We need you to tell us what you think –have we described your community correctly?do we need to change anything?

Current Issues for Islay

• Complicated timetable with variations on sailings

• Integration with other public transport modes on mainland

Islay –Household survey results

• 67% of people in Islay who use the ferry most are either quite or highly satisfied with their current services.

• Average satisfaction for the network is 73%.

What you need your ferry for -

1. Commuting - importance of ferry to enable regular commuting and business travel to and from community.

2. Personal – if people are dependent on basic services and facilities from the mainland

3. Supply chain - where communities have good access to public amenities and shopping – these amenities need supplying

4. Export/Import - where an island requires the ferry to cope with high levels of freight transit.

5. Tourism – how dependent is the island on tourism.

Initial findings for Islay

• Personal and Export/Import are equally important

• Followed by Supply chain, Tourism and then Commuting

• Does this feel right?

How did we assess this?• Commuting –We used household survey

data. We looked at the % of people who said their principle use was commuting or business travel;

• Personal - We considered the population density of the island and weighted this against factors such as whether the community has access to local healthcare/school facilities etc;

How did we assess this?• Supply chain –The measure for this

dependency was the population size of the island;

• Export/import –The measure for this dependency is commercial vehicle lane metres;

• Tourism - measured by the average number of people employed in tourism for the community and the ratio of summer and winter patronage.

Defining a service

• In defining a service to meet these needs we have considered:1.Crossing time;

2.number of sailings per day;

3.length of operating day; and,

4.the number of days per week the service runs

Initial analysis for Islay

• A longer operating day - most people content with current operating day but might address any capacity issues during summer months

• And no change to:crossing time;sailings per day;days per week.

• However, we will take account of consultation responses and Steps 5 and 6 yet to be applied

Steps 5 and 6• Identify options to address proposed

changes at Step 4

• STAG based appraisal

• Objectives to take account of current issues

• Prioritise future spend across the Scottish ferries network

What happens next?

• Public consultation to 30 September 2010• 43 events within this period• Draft Ferries Plan with more detailed Strategic

Environmental Assessment and an Equalities Impact Assessment

• Further minimum 6 week consultation period• Final Ferries Plan