R.E.T. or Road Equivalent Tariff

Road Equivalent Tariff or R.E.T. is the experimental  ferry charging system to be introduced with the Cal Mac winter timetable 2008. 

What does it mean really?  It means that all travellers to and from the Western Isles (Outer Hebrides) and Tiree will have a reduced ferry fare for a 30 month trial period.   (The government's press release for more reading)

Will all the routes to and from the Outer Isles have the same discounts?

The same formula will be applied to all routes, however, because of previous subsidies, some routes will appear to have greater discounts.  The biggest discounts will be on the central crossings to the isles from Uig on Skye to Tarbert on Harris and Lochmaddy on North Uist.  An under 5 metre in length vehicle will now be under £23 for a single crossing as apposed to £48 for a single previously.  Similar discounts are available for other vehicles including Motorhomes and commercial vehicles.   The next best savings will be between Ulapool and Stornoway on Lewis.  The crossing from Oban to Tiree and Barra will have the least discounts applied, as they were already subsidised to a greater degree.

Why have these extra subsidies been proposed?

Members of the now SNP Scottish Parliament, the Federation of Small Businesses and others, made a study visit to Sweden some time ago to look at the way their ferry services were run, and how they applied a strategic ferry policy to their many islands.  The Swedish Government views the ferry service to its islands as part of the roads network.  As such, it only applies charges equal to those of travelling the same distance by road.  In other words it applies a 'Road Equivalent Tariff'.  The impact of this very heavy subsidy is that the islands flourish and require less financial help for schools and other services.  More importantly, all of the businesses resident on islands do much better and, as a consequence pay more into their tax system.  Q.E.D. this produces money for the subsidy.  Logical ! But will it work for Scotland and its fewer islands, much further from the mainland?

This is why the Scottish Parliament has introduced this rather complicated formula for the islands.  Further detailed information about the consultants final report to the parliament can be found in my article about RET lodged on the Scottish Islands Network website.   www.scottish-islands-network.co.uk/ferries/ret-1.htm  Also on the same website is a report on a meeting held in Oban when all of the islands not being involved in the trial met to discuss how this would impact on their own economies (not a happy group).  A proposal was made by the outgoing Labour/Lib Dem parliament that a blanket 30% discount should be applied to all islands.  The economic arguments were similar. 

Anyway, we have the RET plan in place, so lets all make the best of it.  Cheaper access to the Outer Isles for 30 months.  Very good! and well done to the Parliament for its introduction!

What will be the problems?

Firstly, if my own predictions are correct, the ferry crossing to Harris and North Uist from Uig on Skye will be heavily used, so booking well in advance will be required.  This may well cause frustration for islanders not being able to always travel at the time of their choice. 

No travel to Harris on a Sunday is available at the present time, so this crossing will be even more heavily subscribed.  This could change over the next couple of years as pressure to operate this service increases. 

Accommodation on the islands is limited, particularly over the main summer holiday season, so both ferry and accommodation require early booking.

Pressure on the season to extend may increase.  Opening times etc may need reviewing. 

Which way would you chose to travel

This depends on your starting point and destination, but in general, if you are travelling from the south to Barra directly, then the extra ferry cost may well be outweighed by the extra fuel cost of more than 150 miles, due to the detour around South Uist and also an extra ferry trip from Eriskay to Barra.  Only if the weather looks stormy would I consider a detour. 

If you are looking at doing a round trip of the isles, then it is worth considering the Uig crossing, with a detour to Barra.  Fuel costs and driving time should always be considered alongside the best value of ferry.

Comparisons  Costs are given for a single crossing by a car under 5 metres in length.

Oban to Castlebay on Barra     summer 08 cost £81  Winter 08 onwards costs £48.50

Uig on Skye to North Uist      summer 08 cost £48  Winter 08 onwards costs £22.40

Uig on Skye to Tarbert on Harris     summer 08 cost £48  Winter 08 onwards costs £22.40

Ulapool to Stornoway on Lewis    summer 08 cost £75  Winter 08 onwards costs £36.35

Timetables and costs

Barra and South Uist from Oban  Click here to get a P.D.F. printable timetable

Uig on Skye to North Uist   Click here to get a P.D.F. printable timetable

Uig on Skye to Tarbert on Harris  Click here to get a P.D.F. printable timetable

Ulapool to Stornoway on Lewis  Click here to get a P.D.F. printable timetable