Wemyss Bay - Rothesay
Headline route information
- Mainland port: Wemyss Bay
- Island port: Rothesay
- Check-in-time: 20-minutes prior to departure for cars, 10-minutes for passengers
- Crossing time: 35 minutes
- Vessels:
- MV Argyle
- MV Bute
- Overnight berth: Rothesay
Introduction
Wemyss Bay – Rothesay is the primary Bute route, operated year-round by two dedicated Rothesay-based vessels, the sister ships MV Argyle and MV Bute.
Step 1: Route Service Level
The table below sets out the incremental ‘Route Service Levels’ which have been developed for this methodology:
| Level | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A | Shared single vessel, single crewed | Several routes in Orkney including: Rousay, Egilsay and Wyre; Stromness - Graemsay / Hoy; and Houton - Lyness / Flotta |
| B | Shared single vessel, with more than a single crew | Uig - Tarbert / Lochmaddy (summer, currently) |
| C | Dedicated single vessel, single crewed | Various 'small vessel' routes in the CHFS network, e.g., Sconser - Raasay, Tayinloan - Gigha etc |
| D | Dedicated single vessel with more than a single crew | Colintraive - Rhubodach, which uses a shift system to offer an extended operating day |
| E | Two dedicated vessels, each with a single crew | There are no routes with this operating model currently, Wemyss Bay - Rothesay being the closest |
| F | Two dedicated vessels, with one operating with more than a single crew | Several routes on the Shetland inter-island network, e.g., Symbister - Laxo / Vidlin |
| G | Two dedicated vessels, with both operating with more than a single crew | CalMac Ferries Ltd (CFL) Gourock - Dunoon route |
Please note, the operating day of a single crewed vessel is limited to the maximum hours that can be delivered by a single crew within the hours of work agreements. More than a ‘single crew’ is where a small number of additional crew are added to the complement to extend the operating day. However, this falls short of a full extra crew.
Where the table refers to ‘more than a single crew’ (Levels B, D, F and G), this could be a small additional crew complement to extend the day or a full second crew. The crewing model will be described in the narrative which follows.
The table below allocates the Wemyss Bay - Rothesay route to its relevant Route Service Level for both the winter and summer timetables, with commentary provided in the following sections.
| Timetable/Route Service Level | Level A | Level B | Level C | Level D | Level E | Level F | Level G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Summer | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Categorisation of waters
The Wemyss Bay - Rothesay route operates in Category C waters in winter and Category D waters in summer, and thus is governed by Merchant Shipping Notice 1876 Working Time: Inland Waterways Regulations 2003 as Amended. It should be noted that line boundary line between Category C and D waters is very close to the route and thus Wemyss Bay – Rothesay requires a vessel suitable for Category C water all year round.
The provisions of this legislation are covered in Merchant Shipping Notice (MSN) 1876.
The key provisions of this legislation are as follows:
- ‘Working time’ relates to:
- Any period, including overtime, during which an employee is working
- Any period during which an employee is receiving training
- Any additional period which is to be treated as working time for the purpose of these Regulations under a relevant agreement
- Maximum working time is defined as follows – working hours should not exceed:
- 14 hours in any 24-hour period
- 84 hours in any seven-day period
- Working time over a full year (i.e. any 52-week period) should not exceed 2,304 hours
- The employer must ensure that any employee does not work more than 48 hours for any seven-day period, averaged over 52 weeks (i.e. annualised hours)
- In terms of rest periods, workers must have at least:
- 10 hours in each 24-hour period, of which at least six hours are uninterrupted
- 84 hours in any seven-day period
- Section 17 of MSN 1876 makes provision for seasonal work, thus facilitating differential summer and winter timetables, as is common with ferry operations across Scotland:
- A season is defined as no more than nine consecutive months in any 12-month period in which activities are tied to certain times of the year as a result of external circumstances such as weather conditions or tourist demand
MV Argyle and MV Bute were built to operate in categorised waters only, and specifically the Firth of Clyde.
Length of operating day
Winter
The tables below summarise the length of the operating day and week for the Wemyss Bay – Rothesay vessels, MV Argyle and MV Bute – note, as sister ships, these vessels can be used interchangeably.
| Day | Start-Up | Sailing-Day | Close Down | Length of operating day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 1:00 | 13:15 | 0:45 | 15:00 |
| Tuesday | 1:00 | 13:15 | 0:45 | 15:00 |
| Wednesday | 1:00 | 13:15 | 0:45 | 15:00 |
| Thursday | 1:00 | 13:15 | 0:45 | 15:00 |
| Friday | 1:00 | 13:15 | 0:45 | 15:00 |
| Saturday | 1:00 | 12:35 | 0:45 | 14:20 |
| Sunday | 1:00 | 11:35 | 0:45 | 13:20 |
| Total | 7:00 | 90:25 | 5:15 | 102:40 |
| Day | Start-Up | Sailing-Day | Close Down | Length of operating day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 1:00 | 13:35 | 0:45 | 15:20 |
| Tuesday | 1:00 | 13:35 | 0:45 | 15:20 |
| Wednesday | 1:00 | 13:35 | 0:45 | 15:20 |
| Thursday | 1:00 | 13:35 | 0:45 | 15:20 |
| Friday | 1:00 | 13:35 | 0:45 | 15:20 |
| Saturday | 1:00 | 12:35 | 0:45 | 14:20 |
| Sunday | 1:00 | 11:35 | 0:45 | 13:20 |
| Total | 7:00 | 92:05 | 5:15 | 104:20 |
The crews of both vessels live onboard, but the weekly hours on the Wemyss Bay – Rothesay route exceed the regulatory maximum that can be delivered by a single crew. This is managed through the deployment of additional shore-based crew.
Summer
The tables below summarise the length of the standard summer operating day and week for the Wemyss Bay – Rothesay vessels, MV Argyle and MV Bute:
| Day | Start-Up | Sailing-Day | Close Down | Length of operating day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 1:00 | 13:15 | 0:45 | 15:00 |
| Tuesday | 1:00 | 13:15 | 0:45 | 15:00 |
| Wednesday | 1:00 | 13:15 | 0:45 | 15:00 |
| Thursday | 1:00 | 13:15 | 0:45 | 15:00 |
| Friday | 1:00 | 15:10 | 0:45 | 16:55 |
| Saturday | 1:00 | 12:35 | 0:45 | 14:20 |
| Sunday | 1:00 | 11:35 | 0:45 | 13:20 |
| Total | 7:00 | 92:20 | 5:15 | 104:35 |
| Day | Start-Up | Sailing-Day | Close Down | Length of operating day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 1:00 | 13:35 | 0:45 | 15:20 |
| Tuesday | 1:00 | 13:35 | 0:45 | 15:20 |
| Wednesday | 1:00 | 13:35 | 0:45 | 15:20 |
| Thursday | 1:00 | 13:35 | 0:45 | 15:20 |
| Friday | 1:00 | 13:35 | 0:45 | 15:20 |
| Saturday | 1:00 | 14:30 | 0:45 | 16:15 |
| Sunday | 1:00 | 11:35 | 0:45 | 13:20 |
| Total | 7:00 | 94:00 | 5:15 | 106:15 |
The summer timetable is broadly equivalent to the winter timetable and the vessels are crewed in the same way across the two seasons.
Route specific characteristics
- The classification of MV Argyle and MV Bute means that they are restricted to operating in categorised waters, and thus are dedicated to the Wemyss Bay - Rothesay route given most other CFL routes are ‘open sea’
- Drydock cover is provided by MV Coruisk, which spends the winter months in the Firth of Clyde given that she is also restricted to categorised waters in the winter
- In the event that the vessels cannot get into Wemyss Bay due to weather conditions or other issues, Gourock is used as a diversion port. Given the classification of the vessels, they cannot divert to ports in ‘open sea’ such as Ardrossan and Troon
Step 2: Analysis of connectivity
This section summarises headline connectivity in terms of the number of ferry connections provided and time on-mainland and on-island. The interactive dashboard includes further detailed connectivity analysis, including information related to onward connectivity.
Winter Connections
The tables below summarise the first departure, last arrival, number of connections per day and time on mainland / island.
| Sailing Details | Mon-Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|
| First departure | 06:25 | 07:05 | 08:05 |
| Last arrival | 20:40 | 20:40 | 20:40 |
| No. of sailings | 14 | 13 | 11 |
| Time on mainland | Nil | Nil | Nil |
| Time on island | 11:10 | 10:20 | 09:20 |
| Sailing Details | Mon-Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|
| First departure | 07:15 | 08:05 | 09:05 |
| Last arrival | 19:35 | 19:35 | 19:35 |
| No. of sailings | 14 | 13 | 11 |
| Time on mainland | 13:05 | 12:25 | 11:25 |
| Time on island | Nil | Nil | Nil |
The key points of note from the above tables are as follows:
- There is little variation in the Wemyss Bay – Rothesay timetable across the week. The service starts slightly later on a Saturday and Sunday, leading to one fewer return crossing on a Saturday and three on a Sunday, relative to Monday – Friday
- As both vessels overnight in Rothesay, the first two sailings of the day depart from there. This facilitates a conventional working day in Glasgow
- It should be noted that time on mainland and time on island are calculated from published timetables.
Summer Connections
The tables below summarise the first departure, last arrival, number of connections per day and time on mainland / island.
| Sailing Details | Mon-Thurs | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First departure | 06:25 | 06:25 | 07:05 | 08:05 |
| Last arrival | 20:40 | 21:35 | 21:35 | 20:40 |
| No. of sailings | 14 | 15 | 14 | 11 |
| Time on mainland | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
| Time on island | 11:10 | 12:10 | 11:20 | 09:20 |
| Sailing Details | Mon-Thurs | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First departure | 07:15 | 07:15 | 08:05 | 09:05 |
| Last arrival | 19:35 | 20:35 | 20:35 | 19:35 |
| No. of sailings | 14 | 15 | 14 | 11 |
| Time on mainland | 13:05 | 14:00 | 13:20 | 11:25 |
| Time on island | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
The key points of note from the above tables are as follows:
- The summer timetable on the Wemyss Bay – Rothesay route is not materially different from the winter timetable, a product of having two dedicated vessels and a core year-round demand. The operating day is however extended on a Friday and Saturday, supporting resident leisure activities on the mainland and tourism on Bute
- From Monday to Thursday, the timetable is exactly the same as that operated on the equivalent winter weekdays. The same is also true on a Sunday
- On a Friday, one additional evening return sailing is operated, meaning that the last departure from Wemyss Bay and the last arrival into Rothesay is circa one hour later
- On a Saturday, there is one extra sailing operated compared to the timetable, again extending the end of the operating day by circa one hour
Connecting public transport
The interactive dashboard incorporates a detailed breakdown of onward connectivity from all ports on the network, including connecting bus and rail services and contour-based journey time mapping. Key headlines include:
- Train services are scheduled to connect with all departures and arrivals at Wemyss Bay, the sole exception being the 20:35 arrival into Wemyss Bay on a summer Friday
- For those who have a concessionary travel pass or would prefer to use the bus, the McGills service 901 (the ClydeFlyer) provides a half hourly service across the day, which again connects well with the ferries. Once again, the 20:35 arrival into Wemyss Bay on a summer Friday is the only ferry without an onward connection
- The ClydeFlyer also serves a wider range of destinations than the train, including Braehead Shopping Centre, Gourock and Largs
- Rothesay is the main hub for bus services in Bute. The key route is the 90 / 490, which runs roughly hourly between Port Bannatyne and Kilchattan via Rothesay (with a handful of services extended to Rhubodach)
The figure below shows onward connectivity (drive times) by car from Wemyss Bay and Rothesay. This is broken down to journey times of 0 minutes (in blue), 1-30 minutes (in green), 31-60 minutes (in yellow), 61-90 minutes (in amber) and 91-120 minutes (in red):
Step 3: Carryings, capacity utilisation and performance
This section sets out the key route headlines with regards to carryings, capacity utilisation and performance – described in the form of answers to questions. The data / charts underlying this commentary are included in Appendix A, and detailed route specific data, including sailing-by-sailing analysis, is provided in the interactive dashboard. The appendix covers the period to the end of calendar year 2022, as a full year of 2023 sailing-by-sailing data was not available at the time of its production.
What have been the key supply-side changes since 2014?
In order to understand recent route trends with regards to carryings, capacity utilisation and performance, it is important to record the primary supply-side changes over the last decade or so.
2015
- Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) was introduced onto the Wemyss Bay - Rothesay route in October 2015. This led to the average passenger and car fares being reduced by 29% and 26% This can be seen on page 15 of Transport Scotland’s Evaluation of Road Equivalent Tariff on the Clyde and Hebridean Network.
2015 and 2016
- Wemyss Bay pier was closed for a major upgrade from September 2015 to March 2016, with services diverted to Gourock during this period
How have carryings changed over time?
- Passenger carryings had been growing strongly prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing by 8% between 2014 and 2019, largely a consequence of the introduction of RET in 2015. However, passenger numbers have not fully recovered from the pandemic, standing at only 85% of their 2019 level in 2022. That said, there were around one thousand fewer sailings in 2022, potentially due to remaining pandemic-related service reductions at the start of that year
- Car carryings grew particularly strongly following the introduction of RET in October 2015 and, by 2019, were 34% higher than in 2014. Car carryings have also not fully recovered their 2019 level, but the recovery was stronger than for passengers, standing at 96% of their 2019 level in 2022. This again may reflect the fact that fewer sailings were operated
- As with many routes on the network, the reclassification of the length at which a vehicle is defined as ‘commercial’ from five metres to six metres when RET was introduced has led to a sharp reduction in the number of CVs carried. There were 33% fewer CVs carried in 2019 than 2014, with decline correlating with the introduction of RET. The close proximity of Bute to the mainland means that it is comparatively easy to serve using vans for non-bulk flows
- Carryings were slightly down in 2015 and 2016 due to the closure of Wemyss Bay and the diversion of services to Gourock
How has reliability and punctuality changed over time?
- Cancellations on the route have been steadily increasing, from a low of less than 1% in 2016 to 7% in 2022
- In contrast, delays have gradually reduced since the pandemic, although the reasons for this are not entirely clear from the data
Why are sailings cancelled?
- As is common across most routes, the primary cause of cancellations is adverse weather, although there was a spike in cancellations due to mechanical problems in 2021
- “Emergency” was also cited as a significant disruption cause in 2021 and to a lesser degree 2022 – this is related to COVID-19 related impacts, e.g., crew self-isolation
Why are sailings delayed?
- There are a range of different causes of delay on this route. Adverse weather is the most common in most years, although knock on delays from a previous sailing and loading related delays are also common. This likely reflects one or two busy sailings on, for example, a peak summer day, impacting the schedule across the remainder of the day
How many days per year do services operate to timetable?
- The number of days which have operated to timetable (i.e., all sailings on that day arrived on time) is highly variable over time. It fell as low as 39% in 2016 and was as high as 76% in 2020. This is a consequence of the high sailing frequency across the day and impact of the knock-on and loading related delays described above
- The Wemyss Bay - Rothesay route is very intensively operated, and a better measure here is the percentage of individual sailings operated to time. This has been 90% or above over the period 2014 to 2022, except 2021, where it fell to 80%
How often has the vehicle deck been full or nearly full?
2014-2022
- Vehicle deck capacity is not routinely a problem on the Wemyss Bay – Rothesay route overall, and it indeed is not bookable. Generally, around 15% of sailings per annum have an occupancy of 75% or greater, although this number has progressively increased in recent years. This is though perhaps due to their being fewer sailings operated in 2020, 2021 and 2022
- It is however important to recognise that high utilisation sailings are likely to be clustered together, for example at morning and evening commuter times and summer Saturdays
2022 by month
- As would be expected on a route with a higher proportion of daytrippers, capacity pressures are generally most acute in the summer. In August 2022, almost 40% of sailings had a vehicle deck utilisation of 75% or greater, of which over a fifth were effectively full
- There was also a comparatively large number of higher utilisation sailings in January 2022. This is likely when one or both of MV Argyle and MV Bute were in drydock, with the lower capacity MV Coruisk standing in for them
It should be borne in mind when interpreting the 2022 data that fewer sailings operated in that year relative to e.g., 2019