Shetland Islands Council has launched a new online booking service for ferry users, offering the opportunity to reserve vehicle space on any of the main internal routes.
Vehicle ferries connect the Shetland mainland with all the larger islands. They're well used by commuters and for freight transport and visitors find that they can get around Shetland easily and economically. The network was established in the mid 1970s and each succeeding generation of vessel has been larger than its predecessor. The service has always been subsidised, reducing the costs that would otherwise fall on communities that rely on it.
Until now, booking a ferry has meant phoning one the relevant ferry office but users now have the alternative of going online, registering and then making a reservation at https://ferry.shetland.gov.uk/.
Maggie Sandison, Director of Infrastructure Services: “I'm very pleased we're able to offer our customers this enhanced service. People will need to register online once, but this is a very simple process. This is the first of a number of improvements that customers will start to see from the new ticketing and booking system.”
There's more about Shetland's internal ferry services here.