Shock ferry fares hike during pilot scheme

“4.2% rise in fares”

The shock latest increase in ferry fares just announced by the SNP-controlled Scottish Government is yet another sign that it cares little for the islands’ needs.

That is the view of Labour prospective candidate Donald John Macsween who said he was shocked that transport minister Stewart Stevenson did not even wait to the end of the ferry fares pilot before announcing a total of 4.2% rise in fares on the state-owned Caledonian MacBrayne network.

He has called on Angus Macneil MP and Alasdair Allan MSP to immediately respond to the growing community’s anger over the move and to publicly condemn the hike.

“That is a shocking assault on the island life”

By adding a further 2% to the published fare increase on the pretext that it was necessary to protect lifeline services, the SNP has now brought the increase up to 4.2%, starting in little more than two weeks.

Mr Macsween said: “That is a shocking assault on the island life. Why has the SNP done this now? The least that Stewart Stevenson could have done would be to wait until the end of the pilot fares scheme that the SNP brought in. What is going on?

“We already know that we are to have a major ferries review, but they have rushed in this hike in unseemly haste. The signs are that the review is going to result in the unbundling of routes and the possibility of fewer ferry ports – precisely the things the SNP railed against when in opposition.”

He said that the two most urgent ferry problems facing the Western Isles were the introduction of a discounted ferry fares scheme on the inter-island routes and the introduction of a Lochboisdale to Mallaig ferry service. Despite repeated promises, thing has happened.

“Resentment against the SNP”

“It seems that SNP Government has now set its face against delivering either of these urgent requirements.”

Mr Macsween said the latest increase on top of the published increases  would, in a time of recession, spark great resentment against the SNP.

He added: “With a general election round the corner, I would expect the two elected parliamentary representatives in the islands to not sit on the fence on this one but to roundly condemn these increases and deplore the detrimental effect they will have on all our lives.”

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