Wishart calls on Transport Secretary to address NorthLink passenger concerns
Scottish Liberal Democrat and Shetland MSP, Beatrice Wishart has written to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Fiona Hyslop MSP expressing concerns about passenger safety in pod lounges on the Northern Isles Ferry Service. Ms Wishart highlighted some shocking passenger accounts of their experiences in pod lounges.
Last month Wishart lodged a series of written questions to the Scottish Government about the Northern Isles Ferry Service and what requirements it might stipulate in the next contract in line with passenger requests such as the return of shared cabins, the end of ‘cliff edge’ dates for bookings and a rolling booking system open to passengers.
Responses cited that preparatory work is now underway for the NIFS4 contract but this remains at an early stage. No decision on the detailed requirements of the contract has been taken but the views of stakeholders and operational feasibility will inform the approach taken. There is no plan to ‘introduce’ shared cabins, rectifying ‘cliff edge’ bookings was dependent on any possible cost rises in fares or staff wages and the rolling booking system will be considered ahead of the next contract bid.
Ms Wishart has repeated calls to successive Transport Secretaries for such changes on the service.
Ms Wishart said:
“There is certainly a feeling of frustration in the isles that transport to and from the islands is no longer seen by the Scottish Government as a lifeline service as the request of islanders seem to be repeatedly ignored.
“The view from the isles is clear - shared cabins should be an option for passengers. This is not an option that everyone would take up but it is a policy that was in place for many years and helped to reduce the cost of passage for many.
“I dispute the Transport Secretary’s use of the phrase ‘introduce shared cabins’ as this is a policy that was firmly established, is still requested and should be reintroduced.
“I have long called for a system that can ensure we end the ‘cliff edge’ booking system currently in place, such as a new rolling system. Passengers are inconvenienced by not being able to book a return trip over Christmas, the current last possible date to book being 31st December 2025.”
Ms Wishart’s recent written questions to the Scottish Government :
- Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Date lodged: 14 March 2025
- Current status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 26 March 2025
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will change the booking system for travel on the Northern Isles Ferry Service, to ensure a continual rolling system, as part of the next Northern Isles Ferry Service contract.
Answer
Preparatory work is now underway for the NIFS4 contract but this remains at an early stage. No decision on the detailed requirements of the contract has been taken but the views of stakeholders and operational feasibility will inform the approach taken. This will include considering how the booking system can be operated to maximise flexibility for customers.
- Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Date lodged: 14 March 2025
- Current status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 26 March 2025
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will require the return of the option of shared cabins for passengers on the Northern Isles Ferry Service as part of the next Northern Isles Ferry Service contract.
Answer
The current NIFS contract is due to expire on 30 June 2028. Preparatory work to deliver the next generation of these services remains at an early stage. The detailed service requirements will be informed by a combination of stakeholder views alongside consideration of operational feasibility. There are no current plans to introduce shared cabins as part of the NIFS services.
- Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Date lodged: 14 March 2025
- Current status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 27 March 2025
Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the Northern Isles Ferry Service booking system will open for bookings for dates beyond 31 December 2025.
Answer
I fully appreciate the need to get bookings released in good time so that businesses and individuals can plan ahead. The Northern Isles Ferry Services contract stipulates that the May CPI rate, which is normally published in June, is used as the basis for the following year’s fares increase together with any other cost pressures such as energy and staff wage increase. We will aim to confirm fares as soon as possible thereafter to allow bookings to be opened as early as possible.
The text of Ms Wishart’s letter to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport is as follows:
Dear Fiona
Shared cabins policy on the Northern Isles Ferry Service
Thank you for your answer to my recent written question regarding shared cabins on the Serco-NorthLink Northern Isles Ferry Service (question reference S6W-35681).
As you will recall, I asked whether the Scottish Government would require the return of the option of shared cabins for passengers as part of the next Northern Isles Ferry Service contract. In your response you stated:
“There are no current plans to introduce shared cabins as part of the NIFS services.”
I am surprised by the choice of ‘introduce’ rather than ‘reintroduce’, given that shared cabins were a longstanding offering on this service for many years prior to their suspension in 2020, and I would be interested to hear why your response was worded this way.
As I have raised with you previously, there remains a strong feeling in the community in Shetland that shared cabins should return to the Northern Isles Ferry Service. This was evidenced in the survey I conducted in 2023, the results of which I shared with you at the time, in which many respondents referred to the lack of a shared cabin option and called for this to return. I continue to receive representations and comments from constituents to this effect.
At the recent March Shetland External Transport Forum, Robina Barton, a transport official at Shetland Islands Council, raised this issue again, which was reported in local media. Ms Barton pointed to a petition calling for shared cabins to return, which further evidences the strength of feeling in the local community. I understand that Ms Barton questioned why shared cabins are not allowed while strangers are side by side in the pod lounges, and in response Mr Garrett from Serco-NorthLink stated that the removal of shared cabins was for general reasons of safety.
Despite my extensive engagement with Serco-NorthLink, Transport Scotland, you and your predecessors on this issue, I am yet to receive a clear explanation of these safety issues Mr Garrett cites as the reason for the removal of the shared cabin option. I would greatly appreciate if you could enlighten me on this point.
Regarding passenger safety, I have heard from women who feel unsafe in the pod areas, a view that was echoed by Ms Barton in the External Transport Forum meeting who stated that as a woman she felt very vulnerable in the pod lounge. It does not appear therefore that the pod lounges are safer than shared cabins.
I would also refer you to correspondence I had with Graeme Dey MSP when he was Transport Minister in 2021, and his reply, reference 202100264832, which did not really respond to the serious issues my constituent raised.
I can also cite an incident in the pods told to be by a woman who woke up in the middle of the night to find a man standing over her teenage daughter in the pod beside her, making gestures that would indicate he wanted to shoot her.
In September last year local media reported a woman feeling so unsafe during her sailing, due to the behaviour of drunken men that she stated she will avoid the pods in future.
Women are experiencing frightening incidents in the pod rooms. In an age of increasing misogyny and aggression towards women the Scottish Government cannot ignore what it is being told about women’s safety.
Finally, the lack of the shared cabin option impacts on cabin availability for islanders, as it results in situations in which a single traveller must book a cabin which has space for multiple people. A shared cabin is not an option that everyone would take up but it is a policy that was in place for decades and helped to reduce the cost of passage for many.
The situation is untenable for my constituents who rely on the lifeline service and it must be addressed. I look forward to your response to my concerns.
Beatrice Wishart MSP