MSP Jamie Greene on Ayrshire's ferry and bus problems

I’M regularly accused of “banging on about ferries”.  It’s a charge I wear with pride.

Ferries are a lifeline for many in our country, and it is beyond a scandal that they are being run so poorly.

There is, of course, a very simple way to get me to stop going on about ferries. Get them working!

But there is no sign of that as, to take just one important example, the return of CalMac’s MV Caledonian Isles to the Ardrossan to Arran route was delayed again due to a gearbox fault.

This lifeline service has been out of action since January last year and, as residents will be all too aware, has had its return date pushed back more times than I can count.

There was reason to be hopeful as it looked as though the vessel was finally set to sail last week. Nevertheless this additional delay was met with understandable frustration from local communities, and shoulder-shrugging indifference from ministers.

I don’t need to stress the importance of this vessel to the people of Ardrossan, as it remains the only vessel capable serving Arran that is capable of docking at Ardrossan Harbour.

In the last few weeks, I have also been “banging on” about buses as over 400 Stagecoach bus drivers took industrial action, which resulted in many communities across North Ayrshire being left with little to no bus services at all.

Indeed, one constituent in Garnock Valley told me this situation left them “stranded.”

I raised this urgent issue in the Scottish Parliament but was dismayed when the SNP Minister for Connectivity stated that he had not even met with Stagecoach or Unite the Union and was taking no action to resolve this matter. Indeed, the Minister seemed more concerned with scoring cheap political points than actually restoring connectivity in North Ayrshire.

While I am glad that Stagecoach and Unite the Union have come to a resolution this week, connectivity is the Scottish Government’s responsibility, and ministers should have been doing more.

Scotland suffers from a connectivity postcode lottery. People living in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and other more urban, central places, enjoy comparatively good public transport links. It is possible, for example, to travel across Edinburgh, around the clock, for a flat fare on almost every day of the year.

Meanwhile, for those folk living outside of cities, we face the unacceptable prospect of one bus company going on strike bringing the connectivity of the entire region to a standstill.

This has been the case for too long and the Scottish Government has simply failed, so far, to fix it.

What Scotland needs is for the Government, private enterprise, and other stakeholders to bring themselves together and get this sorted. Importantly, Scotland needs a full, root-and-branch review of buses in rural and isolated areas, including in the West of Scotland.

If the Scottish Government continues this kind of inaction, then I will indeed continue to “bang on” about any issue impacting the lives of my constituents.