Council launches #MyFerry campaign to highlight need for investment in Shetland’s inter-island ferry service
Andrew Hirst
A new social media campaign has been launched to highlight the crucial role of Shetland’s inter-island ferry service and emphasise the case for vital funding.
Shetland Islands Council’s campaign will share stories from across the isles who depend on the service, using the Twitter hashtag #MyFerry.
The case studies, which will be shared with politicians and organisations supporting the campaign, feature a wide cross section of folk, including a high school student, health worker, salmon farmer and more.
It follows repeated calls to the Scottish government to provide funding for the service, which has an ageing fleet and infrastructure, and is running at a £5.5m deficit.
The SIC’s political leader Steven Coutts said: “We are highlighting how crucial our ferries are to people in our island communities, to live their lives in the best way they can.
“Our internal ferry services are critical in the support they provide to our economy and we’re hopeful we can persuade the Scottish government to increase its funding, which we believe is a lifeline for our people as well as an investment for Scotland as a whole.
“What we’re asking for is sufficient funding to preserve the service we have, to upgrade those routes which need it with new vessels and infrastructure, and to take advantage of new technologies to develop our internal links into the future.
“I’d like to emphasise that this is not about any future fixed links, but about the present challenges being faced by our ferry fleet and the wider council finances.
“We’re hoping that the hashtag will be shared widely by our community in the weeks ahead so that people all over the country can see the lifeline these ferries offer us, and the economic opportunities they unlock for Scotland.”
Tamarra Stevenson
Its a shame that its only a twitter # as not everyone is on twitter like myself I use the ferry atleast 4 times a year to go visit my family in England and also any hospital appointments that may arise I can’t fly due to my electric wheelchair so this is why its so vital the government helps with the ferrys cost so I’m not even more isolated from my family
William Polson
The SIC officials have been presenting controversial figures for various transport options over the past two decades.
The latest revenue figures they have presented in their My Ferry campaign appear to be as controversial, as they appear to have risen substantially when compared with the revenue figures in a previous transport consultation document the Shetland Inter Islands Transport Study (SIITS).
The My Ferry figures Income £17.4 million, Expenditure £22.9 million, Deficit £5.5 million, appear to be estimated figures for Revenue in the year 2021/ 22.
The figures shown in SIITS for running Shetlands inter Island ferries in the year 2015/16 were “Income £2,208,040, Expenditure £16,291,711.
This appears to show a £15.2 million increase in income and a £6.6 million increase in expenditure, in only a few years.
Is it possible that someone in the SIC may have made a mistake in one, or even both of those calculations?