Scottish Government ferry fares hike was greater than operators’ request, note shows

The 10% increase in ferry fares decided by the Scottish Government was greater than the rise requested by ferry operators, a freedom of information response has shown.

CalMac and NorthLink, who operate routes on the west coast and Northern Isles respectively, had sought a 2% increase in fares in line with the inflation rate from earlier in the year.

A briefing note obtained by Scottish Labour noted “the significant and ongoing fiscal pressures facing ministers at this time necessitate recommending a 10% increase”.

The note also says inflation and the costs of maintaining an ageing fleet make the 10% rise necessary.

Transport secretary Fiona Hyslop announced the 10% increase in October. It took effect from January 1 on the Northern Isles network and will start on March 28 on the west coast.

The Government accepts the increase will be difficult but says it will recoup money used to freeze fares in previous years.

Scottish Labour islands spokeswoman Rhoda Grant said: “These bombshell documents show it was SNP ministers who chose to inflict eyewatering fare hikes on long-suffering ferry passengers.

“After dealing with years of ferry chaos because of the SNP’s incompetence, islanders are now being forced to pick up the tab for SNP financial mismanagement too.

“Scots cannot keep being forced to pay the price for SNP failure.”

A Transport Scotland spokesman said: “The Scottish Government is committed to investing in our ferry services.

“We are delivering six new major vessels to serve Scotland’s ferry network from early 2025 to help reduce the need for extensive repairs on older vessels.

“We have also recently launched the procurement of another seven small vessels as we work to deliver the resilient services that our island communities need and deserve.

“The Scottish Government has had to face prolonged spending cuts from UK Government and this increase will help us recover the £10 million being carried from previous fare freezes.

“It will also help deliver the resilient, accessible services that ferry users want, enable continued investment in new vessels and infrastructure to support those services and cover the recurring costs from previous fares freezes.”

The spokesman added: “We know that any fares increase will be challenging for passengers and businesses but, having held fares in previous years, they will increase to around the level they would’ve been without our fares freeze in 23/24.”