The Clyde and Hebridean Ferry Services is currently in the tendering process, with two declared bidders completing the Pre-Qualification Questionnaires: Caledonian MacBrayne [CalMac] and Serco – publicly confirmed by themselves.
Wondering a month or so ago, how best to get a sense of how the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland see the value of the operation of the lifeline ferry services on the Scottish west coast, we checked out the bid scoring systems in the Invitations To Tender for three different transport contracts:
- the 2011 contract for the Gourock-Dunoon Passenger Ferry Service [won by Argyll Ferries];
- the 2012 contract for the Northern Isles Ferry Services [vehicle and passenger - won by Serco];
- the 2014 Scotrail Franchise contract [won by Abiello].
What we were looking for was the relative weight of quality of service to bid price allocated in the scoring systems of each of these contracts.
What we found was something of a jolt in the insights given into where ferry travel stands in the hierarchy of quality of services in the eyes of the Scottish Government / Transport Scotland.
- Bids for the Gourock-Dunoon Passenger Ferry Service [2011] were scored 10% on quality and 90% on price.
- Bids for the Northern Isles Ferry Services [2012] were scored 20% on quality and 80% on price.
- Bids for the Scotrail Franchise were scored 35% on quality and 65% on price.
The Dunoon Gourock Ferry Action Group activists may wish to reflect on this when next they are encouraged to feel grateful to the Scottish Government for the ego massages offered them at critical points of the electoral calendar.
An immediate matter of concern is that, in the Invitation To Tender for the massive Clyde and Hebridean Ferry Services contract, For Argyll has been informed by an insider in Scottish Government circles, that the bid scoring system is again heavily weighted in favour of price, with quality at a relative discount.
Yet these are lifeline services, as are the Northern Isles Services but not the single service in the Gourock Dunoon Passenger Ferry contract.
There may well be perfectly acceptable reason for this apparent discrimination against ferry services so, while surprised by the degree of disparity between the quality weighting for the rail contract and that of the ferries contracts, we are asking Transport Scotland to clarify the specific values at work in these judgments.
