Ticketing pilot launches

The first vehicle passenger to board in Stornoway after having his ticket scanned was Ewan Drummond, while fellow traveller Stuart McAllister was one of the first foot passengers to board with the new tickets.

Meanwhile at the other end of the journey, the Beaton family were helped with their ticket validation by port staff Rod Holsworth and Struan Reeve (pictured above).

For the first time, foot passengers will be able to book tickets online, allowing greater convenience for customers, particularly during busy periods.

All tickets purchased at the Ullapool and Stornoway ports are now barcoded and infant tickets are available.

From today (Friday June 3), boarding card information will be captured during the customer online booking process.

From the afternoon of Monday June 6, passenger-only tickets can be booked online and tickets printed at home; for those without printing facilities, tickets can still be picked up at the port

The facility to book in port or on the phone remains.

After the trial on the Ullapool to Stornoway route, the enhancements will be rolled out across all of the bookable routes during the summer.

There also plans to deliver a phased roll-out of enhancements on non- bookable routes in due course.