Government 'stay at home' messages being heeded, CalMac believes after massive slump in ferry traffic; Caledonian MacBrayne's 28 routes carried just 163 passengers on Easter Sunday amid the ongoing Covid-19 coronavirus lockdown
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A DRAMATIC slump in Easter passenger numbers shows that people are sticking to Covid-19 lockdown pleas to stay at home, CalMac has said.
The west coast ferry operator, which runs the Ullapool to Stornoway service, said it carried just 163 passengers across its entire fleet on Easter Sunday.
The figure was a colossal 99.2 per cent down on the 21,570 who journeyed on the same day last year.
CalMac said the numbers were a sign that government "stay at home" pleas appeared to be working.
"There had been concerns that the good weather over the holiday weekend would encourage people to try and access the islands but thankfully the guidance not to travel unless absolutely necessary seems to have been accepted," said CalMac's Director of Operations, Robert Morrison.
"Reports from ports over the weekend showed that that no vehicles were stopped from boarding. This combined with the extremely low passenger number tells us people are listening to government guidelines to stay at home."
Over the four-day period from Friday to Monday, just 1837 people made a ferry journey on one of CalMac's 28 routes compared to 112,000 for the same period in 2019.
"We are only carrying lifeline supplies and essential workers needed to keep island economies running and communities safe," added Mr Morrison.
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