Present       Chairman:   Michael Elwis

                   Secretary:  Iain MacKinnon

                    Michael Ackerley                    Chamber of Commerce

                    Ronnie Campbell                    Mull Community Council

                    John S Caskie                        Agriculture

                    Ian Fox                                  Caledonian MacBrayne

                    Gillian King                            Holiday Mull

                    James Knight                         Transport / Contractors

                    Wilf Loynd                             Transport / Contractors

                    Bill Pollock                            Independent Users

                    Hazel Yule                             Transport / Contractors

The Chairman welcomed the members to the meeting with a special welcome to Ian Fox.

1.          Apologies       No apologies were intimated.

2.          Winter timetable 2004/2005

The chairman outlined the Committee’s proposed timetable to Mr Fox and the reasons behind the request, highlighting the view that the server ferry was there primarily to service the islanders in the best possible way and therefore it was imperative that the vessel be berthed overnight at Craignure to ensure the islanders the optimum amount of time on the mainland each day.  Mr Fox agreed that he could see no reason why the ferry cannot be berthed on the Mull side in future and he could see the merits of the request.  He would, however, like to get the views of the two permanent masters of the MV Isle of Mull on their return to Oban at the completion of the vessel’s annual refit and this should be in mid-December.  He went on to say that even if it was agreed to have the ferry berthed in Oban during the winter, this would not be permitted in the summer as CalMac’s shipping services tender for summer 2005 onwards had been based on a similar timetable to next year’s proposed and if successful this cannot be altered radically for the ongoing 5 years.  He advised the committee that in future, if they had any major grievances on timetables, they should lobby the Scottish Executive as it was they that dictated the timetable CalMac had to run at the various locations.

Mr Fox agreed to look into the possibility of including an additional sailing with immediate effect on Wednesdays for the rest of this winter, departing Oban at 10 a.m. and returning from Craignure at 11 a.m. 

Mr Fox confirmed that, like many, CalMac had been caught out by the considerable increase of traffic to the island last summer and indeed demand had continued up to the end of the English schools’ mid-term break.  He has therefore decided to include additional sailings on to the shoulder of next year’s summer timetable, thus ensuring a better service to all users.  He advised that, due to a disagreement by the islands of Coll and Tiree to the proposed 2004 summer timetable, the company was having to meet with the islanders in 10 days’ time to discuss their requirements.  If it is decided that their requests are merited and that the inner isles timetable requires to be altered this could have a knock-on effect to the proposed timetable for the Oban and Craignure route in order to accommodate both ferries at the single link span in Oban.

3.          Livestock Rates to/from Mull

Mr Fox was pleased to advise the members that the livestock rates have been revised and that there has been a considerable reduction in the charges.  The rates are as follows:

Bulls                                          £37 reduced to £19.50

Cattle                                        £19.50 reduced to £14.75

Calves                                        £11.85 reduced to £8.10

Sheep/lambs/pigs                    £3.80 reduced to £1.95

4.          Provision of luggage container/trolley at Oban Pier

Mr Fox advised the members to go back to whom they represent and establish if the users would be prepared to pay a minimum payment for this facility.  He pointed out that the provision of a trolley would take up a car space on the car deck and he would require to justify this proposal financially. 

5.          Provision of luggage trolleys between Oban train station, bus terminal and Oban pier

Mr Fox was not aware that if passengers used the trolleys provided by CalMac to the station they would effectively lose their £1 coin payment unless they returned the trolley to the pier immediately.  He promised to look into the situation and see if an arranged can be made by the rail company whereby they would have a compatible facility at the Oban train station.

6.          Block bookings of rally traffic in October

Mr Fox advised that a rally block booking system has never been in place. He confirmed that, when rally officials and competitors made their reservations, they quoted a predetermined number and were afforded discounted tickets.  The members requested that it be a condition of the facility that they should be for the sailings pre-booked and if they did not take up that particular booking they should be charged the full rate when they turn up at an alternative sailing.

7.          Monitoring/recording of bookings attempted on sailings that are already fully booked.

Mr Fox advised that the company do not record at present but that it may be a good commercial discipline to monitor in future.

8.          AOCB

Mr Fox advised that, when CalMac software is updated, it is hoped that customers will be able to use their credit cards to make payment when booking in advance and also that commercial users should be able to debit their particular accounts. 

Responding to a question on “peak sailings”, Mr Fox advised that ongoing discussion with a view to removing such sailings in future, but to justify this exercise a one-off increase in fares would require to take place.

The call centre system had not been successful; future car reservations should be made through the company’s offices.

Mr Ackerley voiced his concern on the effect one community’s disagreement on a timetable can have on other islands.  He suggested that the way forward was for everyone including CalMac to communicate and come up with a consensual plan, which could then be carried forward for years to come.

Members suggested that when vessels are going to be replaced, discussion should take place with the islanders to ascertain what type/size of ferry would be best to accommodate the cross section of users.

9.          Close of Meeting

The chairman thanked Mr Fox for his input and hoped that the committee and Caledonian MacBrayne would work together in the future for the benefit of all users.

            The meeting closed at 9.25 with a vote of thanks to the chair.