“The ferry problem is no worse than any …

Comment posted Argyll Ferries’ performance statistics for August 2012 by ferryman.

“The ferry problem is no worse than any other similar car queuing problems!”

When the streaker service was in operation people could head for either car ferry and expect to get on it. Now, because of lack of peak capacity, people have to aim one or even two ferries earlier than before.

That is a considerable burden if you have to do it day in day out to get to work.

Commuters attempting to use the bus service do suffer because of the buses not getting on. The fact that it will get on the next ferry still means people are late for work. You cannot expect employers to be interested in a bus not getting on a ferry.

The same goes with the Argyll Ferries service. It is far too unreliable and it causes people real problems.

This needs to be fixed as it will seriously damage the local economy. There is no point burying heads in the sand and pretending everything is fine, it is not.

ferryman also commented

• The only time I have ever been stuck on the other side is since the introduction of the new service, it was not the weekend of the concert.

  On Friday 15/June I went from Argyll Ferries to Western Ferries by taxi (no sign of a courtesy bus). When I arrived at Western all 10 lanes were full, buses, and cars. There had probably been a queue onto the road as there was a ferry filling when I got there. I wondered what was going on as did not think Western had been off, the weather being not too bad, I question if there really were 40mph winds as Argyll Ferries claim. That is when I found out there was a Primal Scream concert being held in Dunoon on the Saturday. When I got to Hunter’s Quay there was a welcome courtesy bus, the action group pushed for those. The Argyll Ferries service remained disrupted and cancelled through the Saturday.

  Why was more fuss not made of it in the media, good qustion – you tell me.

  I am told that queues onto the road at McInroy’s point are actually not an uncommon occurance now.
  I also believe that people who do try to commute by the bus sometimes find it does not get on the ferry. If you want newsroom to investigate there is something they can verify.

  Normally Western are running when AFL are off, that is the point the AFL vessels are not fit for purpose. The fact that Western is running does not get you to work/college/hospital/airport on time though.

• I had tried to get the Argyll Ferry on the Friday of the concert, it was off. When I got to Western the car park was overflowing. I read the Dunoon Observer. Whenever the ferries are off I have trouble getting to and from work.
  Got stuck overnight on the other side for the first time ever because of the current shambles of a service.
  No research is necessary to see the damage being caused, you would have to be blind not to see it.
• If people come to the town and have a good time what is said on blogs like this will make little difference. If they come and find boats off, have to trek about the place, worry about getting home, queue, and fork out unexpected sums of money that will put them off.

  It must be hard attracting acts to Dunoon because there is obviously a bigger audience across the water and its cheaper for people to get there. If performers find their fans are unhappy because boats are cancelled they will simply not come back.

  Did you read the piece in the Dunoon Observer about Cowal Games? It seemed to start off on a positive note with the ferries coping but then mentioned long queues for cars and that the VISITORS were saying they were disappointed and surprised by the ferry arrangements.

  If numbers drop it could take years to build them back up.

• There was a rock concert in Dunoon on those dates in June. So what did visitors find: if they were coming by car Western was chock a block (prices were no doubt a bit of shock as well).If they were coming on foot well the passenger service was off!!!

  Excellent work being done to attract people to the town is being undermined by the ferry services.

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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