FERRY BOSSES have announced that CalMac’s timetable serving Gourock and Dunoon will change at the beginning of next week following a public consultation.
The move comes after transport bosses moved to ask members of the community across both Inverclyde and Cowal as to how services could be improved following a previous newly instated timetable published just four months ago.
The timetable had been met with much backlash, particularly from the Cowal community and its commuters, after services travelling from Dunoon to Gourock would arrive into Inverclyde a minute after trains heading to Glasgow had departed Gourock – resulting in waiting times of almost half an hour.
And a consultation carried out in recent weeks gathered more than 600 responses from both Cowal and Inverclyde as transport chiefs looked to reduce commute times from Cowal to Glasgow.
Responses showed an overwhelming majority in favour of an option which offered shorter connection times from Dunoon in the morning and to Dunoon in the late afternoon. This option best suited students, commuters, and people who had to travel to Inverclyde for appointments.
From Monday (October 21) services will leave both Cowal and Inverclyde five minutes later during peak hours, with boats now leaving both ports at quarter past and quarter to the hour.
During off-peak times, services are now scheduled to leave five minutes earlier, in order to meet train services leaving Gourock at 12 minutes past the hour and 18-minutes to the hour, however connection times sit at just two minutes as both transport services look to reduce commute times to under two hours.
A CalMac spokesperson said: “We recognised the importance of consulting with communities across Cowal and Inverclyde on the ideal ferry timetable, with many people using the Gourock-Dunoon service for commuting, studies or important personal appointments.
“We’re happy to have found a solution which minimises waiting times for onward travel and is supported by the vast majority of those who gave us their views.”
