Report calls on CMAL and CalMac to merge

“Then you know when something is not right, you know how as an actively engaged citizen who to complain to and how to progress that complaint, so that is really important.”

 Paul Quigley added: “There is a lack of clarity over who is responsible for the service. 

“CalMac is being held responsible for any number of things that are not related to its role in the service provision.”

The findings are based on research conducted between November 2022 and June 2025, including a series of focus groups on Mull, Islay, Barra and Arran – quantitative data was also gathered through an online survey hosted by The Oban Times in 2023 and 2024. 

Focus groups suggested communications from CalMac were a big issue among island communities, with vague messages often leading to rumours surrounding cancellations and delays. 

CEO of CalMac, Robbie Drummond suggested the issue surrounding communications arises from the problem of lack of investment in the service and users reacting to the bad news. 

Mr Drummond added: “People conflate hating the message with poor communication. 

If we cancel a sailing they say, ‘Your comms are terrible’. No, they just don’t like the outcome.”

As a way of dealing with this issue the report argues island CalMac staff as an underused asset, and finds that there is a large amount of trust between employees on the ground and ferry users. 

On using the staff as an asset, Ms Findlay said: “People do trust front line staff, when they say this is what happened and this is why it happened they trust them.

“These are people employed by CalMac, so CalMac should utilise them. 

“They should train them, they should provide them with appropriate information mechanisms, so they can engage with passengers there and then in the moment.”

Ms Findlay concedes that although this will not replace traditional methods such as an app or website, it would be an easy way for CalMac to improve messaging as trust already exists with staff on the ground. 

Findings from the data also suggested dissatisfaction with CalMac’s consultation process, with users feeling they are over consulted and underheard. 

81 per cent of respondents disagreed that they were adequately consulted. 

One Islay participant said: “Yeah, well we’ve had a lot of consultation, but it feels like none of it’s been listened to.”

Another from Barra added: “People are tired and cynical about consultations where the decision has already been made before the consultation starts.”

Ms Findlay suggests that the public are being asked to consult on things they are not equipped to answer, and instead consultations should be more specifically tailored to their role as service users. 

A closed-loop system of consultation is recommended, whereby participants are informed of what has been decided, why that is the case and what impact the views of those consulted had on the outcome. 

 The full report can be found on the university website. 

All the research was independently commissioned and funded by the University of Glasgow.