CalMac has suffered more embarrassing hitches to the roll out of its much heralded new £18m booking system.
After many delays, the Scottish Government-owned ferry operator finally launched its Ar Turas ticket booking system last Wednesday – replacing the old one.
But today CalMac apologised for “issues experienced by its customers” since the launch and reassured passengers that they will be resolved.
Engineers are working around the clock to resolve issues with CalMac’s new booking system after passengers branded it a “shambles.”
Customers were left struggling to see ferry timings and bookings last week following the launch.
Extent of CalMac’s system failure revealed
Bosses confirmed that payment issues on several crossings are currently being addressed.
Similar glitches were experienced on nine crossings across the fleet on launch day, but have since been resolved.
CalMac’s suppliers are currently working to resolve the fault; the principal of which relates to customer accounts. A small number are still being migrated onto the system, leaving some unable to see their account via the internet.
In a statement, the company added: “Customers’ receipt of emails has been delayed in some cases by email services (such as Google, Yahoo and Microsoft) automatically deferring delivery because of a volume of emails from a new source.
“After some delays, 97% of emails relating to bookings migrated from its previous Compass platform or sent following a new booking since launch have now been delivered. Account-related emails (asking the customer to validate their email address when creating an account) are delivering at a 99% success rate.”
The system failure has also led to widespread network disruption and reduced capacity on some sailings. Booked customers are being offered new sailings where possible or refunds.
‘We are confident that issues experienced will be resolved’
Customers travelling to and from Islay have also been bearing the brunt of the disruption.
Crossings to Islay have been showing as two separate routes on the site – with customers able to make return bookings to different ports using the multi-island feature.
Officials have stressed this new system will be made clearer in due course as new guidance is rolled-out.
CalMac officials have stressed works on the system faults remain ongoing.
Robbie Drummond, chief executive of CalMac, says he’s hopeful the new booking system will become an asset to both customers and staff.
He said: “I am sorry for any inconvenience caused to our customers since the launch of our new booking and ticketing platform, and I would like to thank them for their continued patience and support.
“Please be assured that we remain focused on working with our technology and payment suppliers, and our teams are working around the clock.
“We are confident that issues experienced will be resolved, and over time the advantages of the new system will become more obvious both to our customers and our staff.
“We will continue to respond to customer enquiries as quickly as possible and communicate updates through our usual channels.”
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