Tourists ‘flooding’ bus network, says transport boss

Cruise ship  Nieuw Statendam passes Sumburgh Airport. Photo: Ronnie Robertson.

Tourists are “flooding” the transport network at peak times, a senior council official has warned.

ZetTrans lead officer Michael Craigie said the number of tourists using buses meant Shetlanders were sometimes unable to get on board.

Addressing Lerwick Community Council last night (Monday) Mr Craigie said the problem “might be rare – but it has been happening”.

“And Shetland has ambitions to grow its tourism market so this problem is unlikely to diminish over time.”

Mr Craigie said ZetTrans would be looking at how the public transport network could accommodate the increase in tourism as part of an ongoing consultation into future bus service provision.

He said it was about trying to understand the “pinch-points” in the current network and what options there were to alleviate such problems arising.

Mr Craigie was responding to questions from community councillor Emma Williamson who asked what ZetTrans was doing the increase in tourists.

Ms Williamson also raised concerns about the impact of the Lerwick tourist information centre closing.

She said many people who did not know how to navigate the bus network sought help from the iCentre, which is set to close in November.

She said the closure would have a “big impact”.

Mr Craigie said the council currently distributed “literally thousands” of bus timetables via the iCentre. 

“We are preparing ourselves for an increase in folk contacting us for travel information,” he said.

“I’m not going to get into the politics of this, I’m just articulating that the tourist office has been incredibly important and a valuable source of information

Mr Craigie said the “personal touch” offered by iCentre staff helped tourists understand the “nuances” of the transport network, which could otherwise be hard to negotiate.

VisitScotland’s Shetland office manager Steve Mathieson said his team had been talking to Promote Shetland to provide a “good handover”.

Promote Shetland told The Shetland Times last week it had been in discussion with the SIC and other partners about the closure of the iCentre.

It is planning a range of products to provide new and enhanced information for visitors, including bus and ferry timetables.