HUNDREDS of residents have been left facing lengthy bus detours after a Clyde ferry service introduced only a month ago suffered the latest in a series of breakdowns.
Passengers who use the Kilcreggan to Gourock ferry have been forced onto replacement buses since the Island Princess, which plies the route, struck a creel line and was taken into dock for repairs to its engine.
The problems have turned a 15-minute crossing into a journey of more than an hour-and-a-half by road, prompting questions by locals on the Rosneath Pensinsula over why a replacement vessel has not been available.
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), which subsidises the service, is already facing anger from residents after downgrading the Kilcreggan ferry service earlier this year in a cost-cutting exercise.
The revised service, which took effect from April 1, has led to savings of more than £200,000 for the transport authority by axing the Helensburgh leg of the journey. It is used by around 250 passengers a day.
Clydelink, which won the tender exercise to operate the crossing, had originally promised to have a new vessel built to service the route but instead bought a secondhand boat which residents have claimed is unsuitable.
Jackie Baillie, the Labour MSP whose Dumbarton constituency includes Rosneath, met Transport Minister Keith Brown earlier this week to raise concerns about the service and said the latest problems were "beyond a joke". She said: "On the face of it, SPT have been getting a good deal from the new operator.
"But its promises of a new ferry didn't materialise, its promises of having a replacement ferry didn't materialise.
SPT said: "The ferry operator informed SPT that a submerged object caused damage to the propeller and engine, resulting in it being withdrawn from service."
Clydelink said it had not been able to put a replacement vessel into service due to delays in having it licensed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency but was hoping it would be able to sail today.
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