HOT TOPIC FEBRUARY 2020
What are the greatest transport challenges facing the North-east? “We have seen great investment within Aberdeen recently. It’s vital the city keeps strong regional connectivity to key cities for continued business growth, especially the central London hubs. Aberdeen no longer has flights to London City, London Gatwick and only one airline flies to London Heathrow. “As a business, Grace May helps key partners build their technology teams, through search based recruitment. Aberdeen is faced with a digital skills shortage in key areas including data management, software development and cybersecurity. This shortage in the short term cannot be met by universities or training programmes, as companies require commercially experienced talent. We have used our experience in other markets such as London’s Fintech market to meet requirements and also develop local talent. As flights have reduced, this has made it more difficult as the prospect of weekly commuting or relocating to the city becomes less attractive.” Sasha Jaypalan, director, Grace May
“Our company works hard at bringing positive business change to our clients and, like most people in business, our time is very important to us. As we maintain offices in both Glasgow and Aberdeen, our staff regularly spend time travelling between the two cities, time which should be utilised productively working on a train. I say ‘should be utilised’ because in reality, the majority of journeys are undertaken by road – a situation which, from an environmental perspective, we would rather avoid. “The simple fact, however, is that with rail journey times averaging 2 hours 40 minutes they continue to be insufficiently attractive versus the convenience of a car journey. I know it’s been said many times by many people, but we really need to see rail journey times becoming attractive to the point of ‘no contest’ use.” Donald McIvor, director, Chasqui-Team Ltd
“In a world that is continually looking for new, greener methods of transportation, the North-east seems to be falling behind on one of the easiest ways to reduce carbon emissions – usage of public transport. A constant complaint for many people relying on bus services is that they are becoming more infrequent and serve less areas. There are parts of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire where, to get to the next area, you have to travel into the city centre, to come straight back out on the next bus turning a 15-minute journey into one of an hour or longer. “Many areas in Aberdeenshire aren’t even serviced by a bus route. Whilst it’s a Catch 22 scenario in that the bus companies need people on the buses to justify new routes, the routes need to be available and reliable so people can plan their journeys, whether for commuting or pleasure.” Lewis Sim, managing director, Legasea 12.