CalMac's achievements outlined in latest annual report
CalMac's commitment to providing west coast communities with a safe and reliable lifeline ferry service has been underlined in the operator's latest annual report.
The DML (David MacBrayne Limited) Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending March 2022 has revealed that CalMac service levels remained high, with a contractual reliability of 98.8%, despite challenges facing the fleet including covid infections, travel restrictions, extreme weather, and vessel breakdowns.
Achievements outlined in the report include record levels of investment being spent on maintaining the fleet - an increase of 64% over five years from £21.0m in 2018 to £34.3m in 2022 - to improve resilience, maintain the safety of passengers and crew, and to reduce the incidents of disruption.
Customers are at the heart of CalMac and they are regularly surveyed for feedback about their onboard experience so that journeys can continually be improved. The report has revealed that customer satisfaction with the service remained high at 85%.
Communities and their views are also crucial, and the report outlines that CalMac is committed to engaging with them openly and effectively. Regular meetings took place both formally and informally with groups such as the Ferries Community Board, ferry stakeholder groups, local ferry committees and local businesses and local councils.
The report also shows CalMac's contribution to the success of communities, including providing opportunities for local employment and training, as well as supporting more than 200 local charities and more than 11,000 people through the CalMac Community Fund. Recent research has forecasted that for every pound awarded through the Fund, local communities benefit from a social return of £7.32. It is expected to deliver £965,500 of value to local economies over the next two years.
Chief Executive Robbie Drummond said: "We are extremely privileged to serve one of the most beautiful parts of the world, and we take our responsibility to provide communities and customers with a quality lifeline service very seriously.
"Our latest annual report highlights that despite challenges, our service levels remain high in the face of challenging weather patterns and the impact of unplanned maintenance. We continue to focus on a community-centred approach during times of disruption, liaising with ferry committees and local authorities to help affected passengers. Record levels of funding are also being spent on fleet maintenance to help strengthen resilience.
"The report also makes clear that our customers living in the communities we serve are of the utmost importance to CalMac. We are deeply embedded in our communities, with many of our staff living and working throughout the network. We are committed to supporting local economies through employment opportunities and seeking talent through schemes such as our popular modern apprenticeship programme.
"We continue to work with partners including CMAL and Transport Scotland to support the successful delivery of additional vessels and are looking forward to welcoming 16 new vessels to the fleet over the next five years. This will bring significant service improvements to our fleet, improving reliability across the network that will benefit our customers, communities, and visitors."
The annual report can be viewed here.
For further information, please contact CalMac's External Communications Manager Fiona Borland on 07785 926 485 or by emailing fiona.borland@calmac.co.uk
About CalMac
CalMac is the UK's largest ferry operator, running 29 routes to over 50 destinations, across 200 miles of Scotland's west coast. Our fleet of 35 vessels complete approximately 136,000 sailings a year with crossings ranging from five minutes to five and a half hours. In 2019, our busiest year to date, we carried more than 5.6 million passengers. CalMac provides an everyday lifeline service to west coast communities, and for tourism, we play a critical role in enabling its development, which is hugely important for the area's economy.
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