Aberdeen ferry fares to rise by 10% from next year
The Scottish Government says a freeze on tickets at a cost of around £10m would be "too challenging to continue"
Ferry fares for Aberdeen passengers are going up by 10% from next year.
The Scottish Government says a freeze on tickets at a cost of around £10m would be "too challenging to continue".
The rise, which will take effect from January 1 on the Northern Isles network, comes as Scotland's ferry system continues to face disruption caused by breakdowns.
Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: "We froze ferry fares for 2023-24 instead of a 9.1% inflationary increase in order to help people, businesses and communities at the height of the cost-of-living crisis, and to continue to recover from the impact of the pandemic.
"However, doing so meant that Government effectively bore the loss of revenue in the longer term.
“In the current fiscal climate that loss, at £10 million a year, is too challenging to continue.
"Reluctantly, we are having to raise ferry fares in the coming year by 10%, bringing fare levels back to around what they would have been had fares not been frozen in 2023-24.
"This means, in real terms, fares have broadly increased in line with inflation over time.
"That will help to partially recover the previous freeze, address some of the significant budget pressures and allow the continued support of the ferries network in future years."
But the Scottish Tories said island communities will be "astonished and angry" with the news.
And Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur, who represents Orkney, said: "This fare hike will come as a serious blow to households and businesses in Orkney who rely on these lifeline services and who continue to struggle with cost-of-living pressures.
"When the Scottish Government 'froze' fares last year, ministers congratulated themselves for having protected island communities.
“At no time did they suggest that their generosity would be clawed back in future years through an inflation-busting increase.
"People in Orkney will rightly be suspicious of future 'gifts' from ministers who appear to be happy to give with one hand, and take away with the other."