Comment posted Transport Scotland non ‘economic impact analysis’ of 2007 A83 landslide by ferryman.
“The hotel hired Loch Lomond Seaplanes to deliver the champagne to Inveraray pier.”
Does that mean it was cheaper to fly things in than to take a van over on Western Ferries? WF don’t display their commercial rates on their website, perhaps they don’t want to make the natives restless by advertising the surcharge on goods moving in and out of Cowal.
ferryman also commented
- There was a driver of a commercial van looking for a ferry at the CalMac pier this morning. I sent him along to Western. He was concerned about prices but I could not advise him as they don’t publish commercial rates on their website. It is a bit much that as people have to turn up before finding out how much it will cost.
I have heard the commercial rates are high and, if they are, we all end up paying through increased costs for goods and services.
I have every sympathy with Lochgoilhead. No doubt the newroom position is that you are spoilt for choice with roads and ferry services.
- “The A83 is the only route in and out of – and right through Argyll down to Campbeltown, from the central belt.”
No, it is possible to cross the Firth of Clyde by vehicle ferry though that has now been reduced by the Government and Transport Scotland to a single monopoly operator with no price/profit control.
“it notes but does not quantify that there will have been some additional traffic on the Cowal ferries during the closure at the Rest. Everyone’s proverbial granny could have told us that – and did.”
Of course Transport Scotland did not quantify it because it would have been embarrassing to highlight that an important part of the transport network had been made into a monopoly.
“Transport Scotland civil servants, on this evidence, don’t know what an economic impact study demands and have no reason to suspect that MSPs know any better?”
Probably both. Transport Scotland are imcompetent and they know our MSP Michael Russell daydreams about tunnels.
Are you suggesting Newsroom that the Government is underinvesting in the West of Scotland and going about things in an incompetent manner? Would that not be an exaggeration after all they are thinking about doing something, sometime and if the A83 is closed you have alternatives of the A82 and the monopoly ferry service. Many communities would give their eye teeth for such a selection surely?
Recent comments by ferryman
- Reminder: Argyll Ferries on ‘refit’ service schedule
The scottish Government has failed to deliver on the transferable ferry tickets it was going to setup. The bus scheme is a bodge that adds anything upto two hours to travel time.Any news on what they are going to do for Cowal Games or are they just going to try another gamble on the weather.
- New Campbeltown ferry pilot – a whale beached before it starts
They did not refuse to give car/ferry passenger service to Dunoon – they took it away!They went back on a maniefesto committment to provide new vehicle ferries and then to cap it all they made an incompetent botch by putting in a totally and uttery unreliable passenger only service.
- Inexplicable blame game from MSP on lack of cross-ticketing on Dunoon ferries
“no carrier could justify running a heavier and thirstier craft than necessary”The “than necessary” is the critical point. If you are specifying a commuter service to get people to and from work, hospital college etc. then it is necessary and perfectly possible to specify vessels able to operate reliably on the Clyde.
What you do not do is accept vessels which regularly and repeatedly fail to run for days at a time.
Newsroom wrote “physical facts are the physical facts”, they are indeed and the current bathtubs are far too small for reliable operation. In any case the Ali Cat was operating unreliably on the route already so her current performance is no surprise.
- Inexplicable blame game from MSP on lack of cross-ticketing on Dunoon ferries
I take exception to your statement that “The Argyll Ferries’ passenger boats, being necessarily lighter craft, are more prone to delay and cancellation in a bit of a blow”.Transport Scotland should have specified vessels able to provide a reliable service. They did not hence the problem.
Also the gentleman referred to in the article in the Observer concluded by saying he did not want a lot of energy devoted to cross ticketing etc he wanted it devoted to the getting his town centre ferry service taking him to the trains to work.
That of course makes sense because even if he could transfer totally reliably to and from Western at no cost at all he would still be late for work.
- Western Ferries: new sailings, inflation rises in fares – and protection for concessions
“the consensus seemed to be that they would be too expensive to be used as passenger only ferries”Exactly. Here you have ferries known to be reliable in the sea conditions on the route, able to operate at a fantastic profit when carrying vehicles but not economic carrying only passengers.
AF are suspended again today, they were off all day yesterday, because they use bathtubs not remotely suited for the purpose to which they are being put.
The sensible thing is to use larger ferries on the town centre route and let them carry vehicles. As CalMac demonstrated, before the Government of the day stopped them, putting on more sailings increased revenue and cut subsidy.
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The inadequacies in this study surely mirror the historic government mindset.
The delay in improving the A82 between Balloch and Tarbet until the traffic overload had reached nonsensical proportions, and the long-term reluctance to face up to the engineering challenges of making the A82 fit for purpose between Tarbet and Ardlui, and the A83 between Ardrishaig and Tarbert, point to a political establishment that all too often has its eyes fixed firmly on the major areas of population – and has its back turned on us.
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“The A83 is the only route in and out of – and right through Argyll down to Campbeltown, from the central belt.”
No, it is possible to cross the Firth of Clyde by vehicle ferry though that has now been reduced by the Government and Transport Scotland to a single monopoly operator with no price/profit control.
“it notes but does not quantify that there will have been some additional traffic on the Cowal ferries during the closure at the Rest. Everyone’s proverbial granny could have told us that – and did.”
Of course Transport Scotland did not quantify it because it would have been embarrassing to highlight that an important part of the transport network had been made into a monopoly.
“Transport Scotland civil servants, on this evidence, don’t know what an economic impact study demands and have no reason to suspect that MSPs know any better?”
Probably both. Transport Scotland are imcompetent and they know our MSP Michael Russell daydreams about tunnels.
Are you suggesting Newsroom that the Government is underinvesting in the West of Scotland and going about things in an incompetent manner? Would that not be an exaggeration after all they are thinking about doing something, sometime and if the A83 is closed you have alternatives of the A82 and the monopoly ferry service. Many communities would give their eye teeth for such a selection surely?
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“The hotel hired Loch Lomond Seaplanes to deliver the champagne to Inveraray pier.”
Does that mean it was cheaper to fly things in than to take a van over on Western Ferries? WF don’t display their commercial rates on their website, perhaps they don’t want to make the natives restless by advertising the surcharge on goods moving in and out of Cowal.
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Ah – a van delivery via Cowal would not have attracted the publicity the arrival of the seaplane at Inveraray did.
We’d hoped to make clear that The George was saying as loudly as possible ‘Look what the loss of this road access is doing to businesses here. We can’t fulfil our obligations to customers.’
The national media paid swift attention but not, apparently, Transport Scotland who conveniently ignored the impacts on businesses in this non-study.
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See Lochgoilhead didnt get a mention AGAIN, when that road is closed we have no public transport to Glasgow as Helensburgh bus wont come long way, and it takes us an extra 60 miles to get to Glasgow, but we get no sympathy as especially for a small village who rely on tourism and people wont drive the detour as it too long and the ferry is too expensive !!!!!!
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There was a driver of a commercial van looking for a ferry at the CalMac pier this morning. I sent him along to Western. He was concerned about prices but I could not advise him as they don’t publish commercial rates on their website. It is a bit much that as people have to turn up before finding out how much it will cost.
I have heard the commercial rates are high and, if they are, we all end up paying through increased costs for goods and services.
I have every sympathy with Lochgoilhead. No doubt the newroom position is that you are spoilt for choice with roads and ferry services.
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This passed me by as I was at sea when it was published; a snow job of the first water, a report with no useful facts in it. Using data I’ve made up plus a cursory look at wikipedia, by my calculations the road closures have cost Argyll £3.1m per day and heightened landslide risk warnings have cost £250k per day. It’s fun doing this report writing thing; is there money in it?
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Yes db there is always money in the report writing business
and those without substance such as the above are really useful as a delaying tactic. Keep musing,and naval gazing for long enough and the problem might just quietly go away…its only Argyll after all, so why should we expect road safety and a thriving economy?
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