High level of frustration with new ticketing system
The Ferries Community Board, made up of community representatives from islands and other users of ferry services across Scotland, has voiced the “high level of anger and frustration” felt by communities across the network following the introduction of CalMac’s new eticketing system.
Its views were made clear at its latest meeting with Transport Scotland’s Chris Wilcock, CalMac managing director Robbie Drummond and CMAL chief executive Kevin Hobbs.
A Ferries Community Board spokesperson said: “Board members strongly emphasised the high level of anger and frustration felt by communities across the network. The latest additional disruption during the initial phase of the introduction of the new ticketing system has increased the difficulties experienced by communities, businesses and individuals. Urgent action to bring the fleet back to its normal capacity is essential if further damage to island communities is to be avoided.”
Board members also expressed concern around the strain placed on front-line employees at this time and urged management to support these staff as much as they can.
The frustration follows the introduction of the new booking and ticketing platform on Wednesday May 17 which has suffered from a number of issues.
Users wanting to book ferry journeys have been unable to log in to the system, have been unable to make payments, or their existing bookings were not transferred to the new system.
In addition, many users’ log-in details were not recognised and attempts to recreate accounts were not possible owing to email delays which compounded frustrations.
Speaking about the issues, Robbie Drummond said: “I am sorry for any inconvenience caused to our customers since the launch of our new booking and ticketing platform and thank them for their continued patience and support. Please be assured we remain focused on working with our technology and payment suppliers and our teams are working around the clock. We are confident that issues experienced will be resolved and, over time, the advantages of the new system will become more obvious to our customers and staff. We will continue to respond to customer inquiries as quickly as possible and communicate updates through our usual channels.”
The Ferries Community Board was established in 2016 with its primary purpose to be the voice of the communities and provide community views to CalMac. The chairperson of the board is an independent member of the community and the board produces a biannual report on its work.