Ferry fares will rise by 10% in the new year, the Scottish Government has confirmed

Ferry fares across Scotland will rise by 10% from next year, the Scottish Government has said.

In a letter to the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee at Holyrood, transport secretary Fiona Hyslop said a fares freeze in place this year – at a cost of around £10 million – would be “too challenging to proceed” given the financial prospects for the government.

The increase, which will come into effect from January 1 on the Northern Isles network and on March 28 for the West Coast, comes as Scotland’s ferry system continues to experience disruption from faults.

“We have frozen ferry fares for 2023-2024 in lieu of a 9.1% inflation increase to help people, businesses and communities at the peak of the cost of living, and to continue to recover from the impact of the pandemic.” Mrs Hyslop wrote.

“However, this meant that the government effectively bore the longer-term loss of revenue. In the current budgetary climate, that £10 million per year loss is too challenging to sustain.

“We are reluctantly having to increase ferry fares by 10% over the next year, bringing fares back to around the level they would have been if fares had not been frozen in 2023-2024.

“This means that rates in real terms have risen over time largely in line with inflation.

“That will help to partially restore the previous freeze, address some of the significant budget pressures and enable continued support of the ferry network in the years ahead.”

But the Scottish Tories said island communities will be “surprised and angry” by the news.

“Those who rely on CalMac for their lifeline ferries have suffered years of substandard service due to the SNP’s incompetent procurement of new ships,” the party’s transport spokeswoman Sue Webber said.

“So the announcement of a 10% increase in ticket prices will feel like another slap in the face for them.

“The Transport Secretary says these increases are necessary – but they wouldn’t be if the SNP hadn’t wasted hundreds of millions of pounds on two new ships that still have to carry one passenger several years after they come into service. ”

The route between Brodick in Ayrshire and the Isle of Arran has suffered constant disruptions in recent months.

The usual ferry has been out of service for most of the year for maintenance, and the replacement has also been withdrawn for the usual repairs.

This has had a knock-on effect on the CalMac network, along with delays in the construction of the Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa at Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow, which have gone well over budget.

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