COVID-19 31st December: Ferry and Bus Timetable Changes for January
From Sunday 3rd January 2021 timetables for some of the inter-island ferries and connecting public bus services are changing.
From Sunday morning, Shetland’s inter-island ferry service will move to a restricted timetable. The decision has been taken in order to preserve the overall resilience of the service.
The local bus timetable has also been amended, so that key workers can, if required, meet the appropriate ferry run.
The new timetables are expected to be in place until at least the end of January 2021.
All ferries should be booked either by phone or online - the booking office will be open on Saturday 2nd from 12 noon till 6.00pm. From Sunday onwards it will be open 8.00am to 5.00pm, seven days a week – call 01595 745804.
A similar approach was taken earlier this year, and the system has been slightly amended to deal with specific COVID 19 risks as we now understand them.
Local bus services which have been altered, along with the modified timetables for each route are:
Service 19: Lerwick to Vidlin
Service 23: Lerwick to Mossbank & Toft
Service 24V: Integrated Service to the North Isles
Service 24Y: Yell Service
Service 28: Unst Service
Service 29: Fetlar Service
Service 30: East Yell Service
Ryan Thomson is chair of the Council’s Environment and Transport Committee, and the transport partnership ZetTrans: “We’ve taken this decision to preserve the overall reliability of the service. Should any of our crews be required to isolate due to contact tracing for Covid-19, this timetable allows for that to happen with the lowest possible impact on the wider service.”
“I would like to remind folk that, under the current Tier 3 guidelines, our ferries and buses should be used for essential travel only. I understand that this may inconvenience some in the community, but it is important that we all do what we can to limit transmission of the virus, and protect our essential services.”