FERRY firm Caledonian MacBrayne has carried more than five million passengers in a year for the first time in two decades, following the introduction of cheaper fares.
The Gourock-headquartered company has reported that 5,055,827 passengers and 1,356,396 cars travelled on its vessels in 2016, the first full year after the roll-out of road equivalent tariff (RET) across the network.
That was 428,801 more passengers and 186,695 more cars than in 2015.
The RET scheme on the Clyde and Hebrides ferry network brought journeys in line with the cost of travelling the same distance by road and has led to sharp drops in many fares. Its phased introduction began in 2008, with full network coverage by October 2015. Caledonian MacBrayne said 2016 was the first year since 1997 that it had carried more than five million passengers.
Managing director Martin Dorchester said: “Last year was our busiest in terms of passengers for two decades. It is a great reflection of the professionalism of our staff that they dealt with these increases while still running a smooth operation to help all our travellers get where they are going.”
The busiest route overall continues to be the crossing from Ardrossan in North Ayrshire to Brodick on the Isle of Arran. It carried 828,262 people and 202,843 cars in 2016, annual rises of 8.7 per cent and 6.84 per cent respectively.
The Largs to Isle of Cumbrae route was second-busiest, followed by Wemyss Bay/Gourock to Rothesay on the Isle of Bute.
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