Western Isles parliamentarians, Alasdair Allan MSP and Angus MacNeil MP are together with SNP Councillor Donald Manford, requesting a meeting with Transport Minister Keith Brown to discuss the feasibility of running flights from Stornoway and Benbecula under the Public Services Obligation (PSO). The Isle of Barra is already a PSO route. Am Pàipear has long campaigned for a PSO to be implemented on Western Isles air routes, particularly as an aid to encouraging inward investment. While the current ADS system allows island residents a 40% discount on their ticket price, excluding taxes, there is no equivalent incentive for travel to the islands. A PSO would mean the routes come under government control and so allowing the government to cap the cost of fares. Councillor Donald Manford said: ‘Public Service Obligation is a tried…
Taken from:
Politicians call on Transport Minister to investigate island PSOs