RIVAL bidders for Scotland's biggest ferry contract have spoken of their ambitions for the service as they submitted the final tenders.
The £1 billion contract will be awarded by ministers at the end of May for a start date of October 1.
Martin Dorchester, managing director of CalMac Ferries Ltd, said the publicly-owned organisation had submitted a "compelling case" to continue to run the lifeline services, which serve island communities including Arran, Islay and Lewis.
He added: "I'm confident that we will be the clear winner when a decision is reached in May and, if so, I'm determined we'll deliver our best service levels yet."
Mr Dorchester said he could not reveal any details of the bid while the competition was ongoing, but confirmed that they had submitted plans to introduce smartcards across the service in line with Scottish Government demands.
Mr Dorchester said they would expect to introduce smartcards integrated with other forms of public transport within "three to five years" of the new contract term, adding that he believed the operator's long-standing experience of running the service gave CalMac the edge over Serco's rival bid.
"Operating on the west coast is our principal reason to exist," said Mr Dorchester. "Nobody knows these routes better than us and providing 130,000 sailings a year in some of the most challenging waters in Europe is impressive by any standards.
"I believe that our vast knowledge of these routes makes CalMac the best qualified and the only credible operator of them now and in the future."
However, director of Serco's bid, Jonathan Riley, said its "communities-led" proposal would stand out.
He said: "My team spent a great deal of time on hundreds of visits to the islands sitting down and talking to people and it was these conversations that inspired a great deal of our proposal. They know what they need, and it’s up to us, the transport experts to collaborate and deliver a better service plan. So that’s what we have done.
“I am confident that our proposal will improve the services for the people.”
Serco already run the NorthLink Ferries service connecting Orkney and Shetland with the mainland, and last year took over the running of the Caledonian Sleeper after the overnight train was hived off from the main ScotRail franchise into a standalone operation.
It also operates Scatsta Airport on Shetland on behalf off oil giant, BP.
The tender process for the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services' (CHFS) contract has been embroiled in controversy since ministers announced it was being put out to competitive tender, a move which the Scottish Government insisted was required under EU law but which opponents said was never necessary.
A report last week by Glasgow University economist Jeanette Findlay, commissioned by trade union RMT, warned that if Serco won the contract the "the island communities which [the Scottish Government] seeks to protect and develop, would be left at the mercy of a private sector monopolist", with potential cuts to services.
However, Mr Riley argued that taxpayers would not "be filled with confidence" at keeping the service in public hands given the annual subsidy has ballooned from £85m to a forecast of £126m over the past three years, while NorthLink’s subsidy decreased.
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