Evaluation of the Social and Economic Impacts of the Sound of Harris Ferry Service
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Evaluation of the Social & Economic Impacts
of
The Sound of Harris Ferry Service
Final Report
for
Highlands & Islands Enterprise
Western Isles Enterprise
Prepared By
Grangeston
Economics
February 2003
50 Southside Road
Inverness
IV2 4XA
Tel: 01463 729107
Email:
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Grangeston
Economics
Evaluation of the Social and Economic Impacts of the Sound of Harris Ferry Service
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CONTENTS
Executive Summary i
1Introduction1
2Analysis of Ferry Carryings2
3Report on Ferry Users Surveys 15
4Assessment of Economic Impacts 30
5Assessment of Social Impacts 39
6Wider Effects on Western Isles 44
7Summary and Conclusions 48
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Grangeston
Economics
Evaluation of the Social and Economic Impacts of the Sound of Harris Ferry Service
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Introduction
Grangeston Economics was commissioned by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Western Isles Enterprise to undertake an evaluation of the Sound of Harris Ferry Service. The research was undertaken between August 2002 and January 2003.
The overall objective of the study was to evaluate the social and economic impacts of the Sound of Harris ferry service. Specifically, the research should consider:
The contribution of the ferry service to the general competitiveness of the Western Isles;
The extent to which the nature and scale of the impacts reflect the circumstances of each island and thus the extent to which they can be generalised to other islands;
Any further or emerging development opportunities for each of the islands in the context of the enhanced transport links.
Methods
The methods employed to meet the study objectives included:
Analysis of CalMac carryings data for the Sound of Harris Ferry Service;
On-board survey of users of the ferry service;
Survey of Accommodation Providers;
Survey of Coach Companies;
Survey of Hauliers;
Survey of Other Businesses; and
Consultations with relevant public and third sector organisations.
Analysis of Ferry Carryings
A dedicated vehicle ferry service between Harris and North Uist was introduced in June 1996. The ferry, the Loch Bhrusda, can carry up to 18 cars (27 lane metres plus 5 restricted car only spaces) and 150 passengers. Because of safety restrictions applied on this route, the service is only allowed to operate during ‘daylight hours’. As a consequence the timetable for the route is fairly complex, with, effectively, six different timetables in the winter and four in the summer. Both the number of sailings and the time of the first and last sailings are constrained as a consequence. In turn this effectively limits the time available to undertake business and to be able to return within the day, especially during the winter. A solution to this constraint needs to be found if the Sound of Harris Ferry is to provide the level of service required by businesses and other users.
CalMac will be operating a new, larger vessel on the route from 2003. While this will alleviate capacity constraints on individual sailings it will not be able to address the constraints arising from the timing of first and last sailings, especially during the winter. This issue needs to be addressed if the Sound of Harris Ferry is to provide the level of service required by business and other users.
However, as one of the key infrastructural developments in the Western Isles, the Sound of Harris Ferry Service has been successful. Demand has grown strongly since the establishment of the service with both passenger and car traffic growing by 46% between 1997 and 2002, coach traffic growing by 32% and commercial vehicles by 90%.
In 2002, there were close to 44,700 passenger movements on the service, 14,600 car movements, 127 coaches and 1,600 commercial vehicles. It is estimated that approximately 62% of the passenger movements and 50% of the car movements were undertaken by visitors to the Western Isles.
Significantly more coaches travel from Lewis/Harris to the Southern Isles than vice versa, with over 70% of coach movements on the ferry departing from Leverburgh. It is likely that the bulk of this coach traffic is visitor related. In contrast, local travel by coach tends to involve a bus to the ferry terminal, travelling as a foot passenger and joining another coach at the other side.
The route exhibits a significant degree of seasonality in passenger, car and coach carryings, with the months of May to August accounting for between 55% to 68% of annual carryings. This traffic is largely driven by the visitor/tourist market. In comparison the movements of commercial vehicles is distributed more evenly across the year, with slightly higher traffic levels over the summer months.
Report on Ferry User Surveys
Two on-board surveys were undertaken of visitors to, and residents of, the Western Isles. A total of 458 passengers were interviewed of which 59% were visitors and 41% residents. Two-thirds of visitor traffic on the Sound of Harris Ferry Service is one-way. 68% of those arriving in Lewis/Harris departed from the Southern Isles and 82% of visitors arriving in the Southern Isles departed from Lewis/Harris. It was also noted that 13% of those visitors who arrived via Lewis/Harris and departed from the Southern Isles or vice versa used the Sound of Harris Ferry Service on more than one occasion on their visit. Thus the number of visitors using the Sound of Harris Ferry Service in one direction only is less than arriving and departing at different ends of the Western Isles.
Lewis and Harris accounted for 55% of visitor nights with North and South Uist accounting for a further 30%. 32% of visitors said they would not have travelled to the Western Isles if the Sound of Harris Ferry Service had not been available. This is a significant percentage an demonstrates the importance of this link in making the Western Isles a more attractive destination for visitors. In addition, 63% of visitors were more likely to revisit the Western Isles because of the availability of the Sound of Harris Ferry Service although the ferry made little difference to the likelihood of them revisiting individual islands.
9% of the visitors were travelling to the Western Isles on business. Of these, 80% believed that without the ferry service their company would incur additional costs of up to £112.50 per company visit.
Almost 40% of the residents surveyed were from Stornoway and a further 25% from elsewhere in Lewis. In comparison only 28% came from the Southern Isles. 64% of residents were on business trips and of these 42% were public sector employees. Prior to the introduction of the Sound of Harris Ferry Service one in three residents did not travel between Lewis/Harris and the Southern Isles.
Of those residents travelling on business, 17% would not have made the journey if the Sound of Harris Ferry Service were not available and 90% believed that without the ferry service their company would incur additional costs on average of around £107 per company visit.
Assessment of Economic Impacts
It is estimated that in 2002 visitors accounted for 27,572 trips on the Sound of Harris Ferry Service. On the basis of the visitor survey it was estimated that 67% of the visitors were using the ferry one-way and 33% were using it to make a return journey. Thus for every 100 visitors 133 trips (movements on the ferry) were made. This is equivalent to 20,731 visitors using the ferry either one way or return.
The most significant impacts attributable to the Sound of Harris Ferry Service relate to the additional expenditures of visitors. It is estimated that, in total, an additional £1.5m in visitor expenditures and 44 FTE jobs have been generated. In addition, local businesses have saved almost £0.5m in costs and visiting businessmen have saved a further £151,200.
Accommodation providers interviewed believed that the Sound of Harris Ferry Service had made a difference to their businesses with 2/3rds of them stating that their trade was greater as a result. More importantly, over 50% of the accommodation providers believed their businesses would be adversely impacted if the Sound of Harris Ferry Service did not exist.
Local coach providers had benefited from new activity in terms of private hire by sports teams and other group outings. Hauliers from both the Western Isles and the mainland have benefited from the Sound of Harris Ferry Service. The service has allowed them to provide a better service (i.e. more areas covered on a more regular basis) as well as being more cost effective for them (i.e. using less vehicles and manpower). Almost 85% of the hauliers were delivering food products of which 35% were carrying seafood or products relating to seafood.
Assessment of Social Impacts
The provision of the Sound of Harris Ferry Service also had a significant impact on the social and cultural aspects of the Western Isles. Social impacts will include, for example:
Changes in community confidence;
Changes in extent of interaction between groups throughout the Western Isles;
Access of communities to services including health and education; and
Changes in the perception of inclusion.
Although less easy to value, the Sound of Harris Ferry Service has enhanced the ability of residents of the Western Isles to access a wider range of services and social activities. Specifically, 34% of residents used the service on at least one occasion to access services, with accessing council offices, training and education, and hospitals being the three most important services. For residents of Lewis/Harris access to council offices was most important and for residents of the Southern Isles the most important service accessed was hospitals.
In terms of social activities 42% of residents used the ferry to access at least one of the social activities, which included sports, entertainment, culture and visiting family. The largest number of trips was generated by sports (44%) followed by visiting family (30%). Whereas sports are the main social activity accessed by residents of Lewis/Harris the most important activity for residents of the Southern Isles is visiting family.
Finally, 89% of residents felt they had better access to and social interaction with other areas in the Western Isles. In addition, 66% believed that the ferry service reduced the extent of isolation felt by residents. The key, perhaps, is that the existence of the service has opened up more possibilities for social interaction and for accessing services.
Wider Effects on the Western Isles
Overall, the general competitiveness of the Western Isles has been enhanced through the provision of the Sound of Harris Ferry Service. Competitiveness has been improved through reducing the costs of accessing markets from within the Western Isles and from the mainland.
The ferry service, including the improvements to the service through a larger vessel has created a number of future opportunities in terms of:
Visitor accommodation;
Restaurants and cafes;
Visitor attractions;
Activities for visitors; and
Conference and business meeting facilities.
Finally, the evidence from this evaluation suggests that the provision of frequent ferry services within island groupings in conjunction with frequent services between the mainland and the islands will have significant impacts both in terms of level of activity and enhancing social interaction. The scale of this impact in terms of additional visitor expenditures and cost savings to businesses was significant. In addition, a key constraint on residents’ use of the service relates to the frequency and timings of sailings.
Conclusions
Overall, the Sound of Harris Ferry Service has had significant impacts by:
Generating additional visitor trips to the Western Isles;
Creating 44 additional jobs associated with additional visitor expenditure;
Providing better and cheaper access to Lewis/Harris and the Southern Isles for businesses;
Providing savings of £0.5m for companies in the Western Isles and a further £151,200 for companies from the mainland; and
Improving access to services and social activities for residents of the Western Isles.
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Grangeston
Economics