CLYDE and Hebrides ferries have been brought under public control after a £4 billion contract has been agreed.
On Tuesday, it was announced that Transport Scotland and CalMac Ferries Limited have signed relevant agreements to allow the 10-year deal to go ahead.
CalMac had previously operated the Clyde and Hebridean Ferry Service, but the contract was approaching expiry. Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said that moving the contract into a public ownership model will “fundamentally change” the service for island communities.
She added that there will be additional ferries to Barra and Arran over the winter. Under the previous contract, the ferries were run on a commercial basis.
The new arrangements will begin from Wednesday October 1, and are worth £3.9m.
In response to a Government initiated Holyrood question, Hyslop said she expects the contact to be a “catalyst for positive change” across the network.
Announcing the deal, Hyslop said: “The new Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services arrangements fundamentally change the ethos of the services from a commercial arrangement to a model fully focused on delivering a public service for Scotland’s island and rural communities.
“Island communities have long called for better resilience and reliability of ferry services.
“This new contract will enable us to deliver those improvements, with significant investment in new vessels, increased services on the Sound of Barra and services on the secondary Arran route across this winter.
“Both routes will also benefit from the recruitment of additional CalMac crew to support enhanced operations and community interests for a more robust service.”
Hyslop added that the services will “continue to evolve” to meet the needs of local communities.
“This change embeds the requirement for the continuation of engagement with the Ferries Community Board, bringing communities closer and making certain their views are heard throughout the delivery of the service,” she added.
“This Government is fully committed to ensuring lifeline ferry services are delivered efficiently and with best value for island and rural communities.
“I look forward to continued engagement with island residents, businesses and communities, CalMac staff and trade unions on these new arrangements.”
Duncan Mackison, CEO at CalMac said: "The spirit in which CalMac wants and intends to work with west coast communities is reflected in this new contract, and creates a framework for us to operate ferry services which are safe, reliable, sustainable, accessible and better integrated with other transport providers.
"We acknowledge that there have been challenges in recent years but we're fully invested in continuing to drive up standards and delivering for the communities we serve. “With a dozen new vessels on the way, we expect our capability to help island economies thrive to continue to improve rapidly in the next few years.
"Communities want CalMac to succeed because ultimately our success is their success. The new arrangements provide a foundation for our exceptional people to work with all customers to deliver for them, and we're excited to get started."
