Councillors to consider earlier Bressay ferry sailings
Shetland Times
Earlier sailings for the Bressay ferry are to be considered by ZetTrans when its board meets next week.
Sailings for the vessel begin at 7am each day to allow people to go to work.
However, the Bressay Community Council has asked ZetTrans to consider earlier departures from 6.30am to allow for residents to make the first scheduled flights from Sumburgh Airport.
The ZetTrans board are expected to ask lead officer Michael Craigie to discuss with the SICs Ferry Operations Service and the Transport committee whether it would be possible and cost effective to run the Bressay ferry earlier.
In the policy statement of the transport partnership, it said links should “provide equitable access to opportunities”.
Bressay Community Council argued that there would be better access to healthcare in Aberdeen as well as business and personal opportunities on the mainland.
Job opportunities in the isles would also be open to Bressay residents, for shifts which start as early as 7am.
Mr Craigie will acknowledge that “preliminary” work has begun to provide a better understanding to the situation. But he will ask for more formal discussions to take place.
Kevin Hodgson
When are the council going to be held accountable for their hollowing out of the ferry service, Yell sound has two ferries because it serves traffic for three islands, but one ferry is tied up for almost half of the week while people and businesses are having to wait hours to get space
on board, what with crew shortages and now waiting for the tourist season to start send one ferry off to dry docking!!, Unst is opening an international space station, sending rockets into orbit yet no-one can cross yell sound? seems like its a deliberate action to cut the service permanently to one ferry, put this right, an awful lot of the people from the northern Isles and North mainland feel that we are an after thought, and if its not in Lerwick its not important