Prompted by the difficulties many people have experienced getting to and from medical appointments, Transport Scotland and CalMac have responded with a system that should improve the situation.
If you have a medical appointment on the mainland and intend to travel by car, but you cannot get a booking on the ferry, CalMac will now provide you with a taxi for the mainland portion of travel.
Although prompted by the difficulties of travelling during the months of Covid19, this arrangement is permanent. It means that regardless of how full the ferries are, if you need to use a car to attend a medical appointment, you can be sure of making it.
Full details on how to access the scheme, eligibility and so on the CalMac website here.
Booking no-shows
On a related subject – please remember to inform CalMac if you book a particular sailing, but end up not using the ticket or taking a different sailing. ‘No-shows’ (ie booked vehicles not turning up) are a constant problem in the network. It results in sailings being indicated as ‘unavailable’, when in fact there is free space. So if you end up delaying your journey; or take an earlier ferry than planned; or travel in a smaller vehicle than you booked – please make sure you change your booking online, or inform CalMac at the port or by phone. That will ensure that the information on the CalMac website is as reliable as possible, and make travel for everyone easier. Thank you!