PSO is the only way to protect
Benbecula’s air service
by Archie MacKay
THEY said that the Titanic was unsinkable, yet it failed to complete its maiden voyage. The Scottish Government have been responsible for most aspects of the Scottish transport network for a full decade now, but are we about to see the European Commission sink the Scottish ferry network like a metaphoric iceberg from the dark?
The Scottish Government say no, but many commentators say the possibility that the EC may deliver a hammer blow to the Scottish ferry network when they report on the investigation into possibly illegal state aid is distinctly more plausible than that.
One such commentator is the respected Emeritus Professor of Economics at Strathclyde University, Professor Neil Kay, a long time campaigner for Public Service Obligations, or PSOs, to be implemented on the Scottish ferry network.
Professor Kay argues that, much like the cause of the Titanic disaster, the problem with the Scottish ferry network as it stands is one of negligence and a failure to understand the risks to which the network has been exposed. Like the hull of the Titanic, it may be about to be torn asunder.
But enough of the Titanic analogies. For us to better understand the issue of the air service, we need first to understand the issue of PSOs in general; and where better to begin than with that other vital artery of the Uist, and Scottish islands transport network: ferries.
