Background and Context

The ‘exam question’ here is to set out the current and future ‘needs’ of ferry dependent island and peninsular communities in terms of their ferry service (Community Needs Assessment) and align this with an appropriate level of service, in the process identifying potential under or over-provision of services compared to the service currently provided on the route. Note that, for brevity, the term ‘island’ is used forthwith and all references to islands also apply to peninsular communities, unless otherwise stated.

Scotland’s ferry services perform four main roles:

• Meeting the travel needs of island residents.
• Meeting the travel needs of visitors to the islands.
• Meeting the supply-chain needs of islands in terms of inbound supplies and raw materials and outbound exports.
• Supporting business travel and services delivered to islands by mainland suppliers, particularly in smaller communities.

To determine whether island needs are being met or not, a six-stage process is proposed. These steps are summarised below and are set out in more detail thereafter.

Step 1

Allocation of current service to one of seven defined `Route Service Levels` (summer / winter).

Step 2

Analysis of connectivity provided by the current service (summer / winter).

Step 3

Analysis of the performance of the current service – carryings, capacity, performance and connectivity.

Step 4

Narrative and, where appropriate, indicators around travel by island residents, leisure visitors / tourists, the island supply-chain and service delivery.

Step 5

Gap analysis. If no gaps identified CNA concludes at Step 5.

Step 6

Option generation and appraisal/business case scoping.