Calmac cycle carraige

[smutchin]

When Balamory was at it's peak here it was unbelievable.

Belated apologies. My son was exactly the right age to be a big Balamory fan when we visited Mull around 12 years ago... He wasn't in a pushchair though.

We bumped into a colleague of mine who was there with her kids too. What are the chances, eh? Pretty high at that time, I'd have thought - perhaps the real surprise is that I didn't bump into anyone else I knew with kids of the same age.

 

[KneesUp]

I must have missed the reference here.

Balamory? What's the story?

 

[smutchin]

Balamory? What's the story?

Wouldn't you like to know!

 

[rualexander]

Calmac used to charge for cycles, it has only been free for the past decade or so, maybe a bit longer, I think it coincided with the RET charging for vehicles.

Most vessels have plenty of space for lots of bikes if they really wanted to address the situation, but it also seems reasonable that groups should book in advance so that space can be prepared.

Large numbers of individuals for specific events should really be anticipated by Calmac if they took the time to look at whats happening in the specific islands they serve.

Obviously a hundred cyclists turning up would take up space that paying vehicles might occupy so perhaps impacting on Calmac's revenue, but then again they are a subsidised operator and perhaps that subsidy should include carrying any number of cycles free of charge, without booking.

 

[smutchin]

Large numbers of individuals for specific events should really be anticipated by Calmac if they took the time to look at whats happening in the specific islands they serve.

It's perhaps more the event organiser's responsibility to let them know.

Not that this helped the organiser in the case of the On-Offshore audax I mentioned earlier, but maybe Calmac are more open to discussion than Wightlink.

 

[oldwheels]

Ferries can get cancelled at any time for a variety of reasons. Today a ferry was cancelled due to weather related problems elsewhere in the network.
Summertime should be ok with an extra boat and Calmac are generally pretty good at putting on an extra run if there are exceptional problems. They sent two extra boats to Barra on Hogmanay by different routes to make sure they did not run out of booze! In 45 years of cycling on Mull I have only got off the road once. I heard the sirens before I saw the blue lights so was well back when the ambulance came through.

 

[oldwheels]

A couple of posts came in while I was doing that last one. The ferry operator cannot be expected to anticipate events. It is up to the organisers to tell them. When not busy there is certainly plenty space but on morning and some late afternoon ferries you could not shoehorn a skateboard on to the car deck. Anyway this has now been passed on to the Customer Relations who may issue guidance to the port staff. My feeling is that individuals or couples should not have a problem but larger groups may do.