Scots ferries to stay public
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• Hauliers in western Scotland have welcomed news that ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne is set to avoid privatisation. The Government is expected to accept the findings of a report by consultant KPMG Management Consulting which recommends keeping Cal-Mac in state hands.
Operators had feared that privatisation would lead to fewer services and the loss of discounts for regular users. "Had they privatised it we'd have lost a lot of flexibility," says Donald Bannatyne of Arran Haulage on the Isle of Arran. He runs 17 vehicles and feared increased costs through extra downtime. "We'd have had vehicles hanging around the dock a long time waiting for the next sailing," he says.
Last year there were more than 110,000 commercial vehicle journeys on the operators' two ferry divisions, Clyde and Western Isles. The Road Haulage Association says: "We are quite content that a decision not to privatise will be a correct one."