Negative reaction to new ferry rates

Government Investments Minister Austin Gatt, on Wednesday, announced an increase in the Gozo ferry fares, from June 1.

The standard passenger fare will be raised by 25c to Lm2, and passenger and car tickets, which will increase by 50c to Lm6.25 will continue to rise by another 25c in 2005 and 2006

Passenger tickets for the elderly will cost 75c. Senior citizens will pay Lm5 for a car and driver (up by 50c), rising again by 25c in 2005 and 2006.

Subsidies for Gozo residents will be sustained but passenger fares will rise by 20c to 50c, while passenger and vehicle tickets will cost Lm3 (up by 40c). These tickets will rise by 25c in each of the next two years.

A new winter schedule will be introduced, with one trip less. This move will enable cost-effective rescheduling to the tune of Lm117,000.

Dr Gatt said Gozo Channel's losses had amounted to over Lm2.66 million in the past three years. The Sa Maison route, he added, will be liberalised while no house catering will be provided on the ferries.

Dr Gatt said that from June the government's subsidy to Gozo Channel will rise to Lm6.6 million from the current Lm5.7 million a year.

Reaction to the fare increases was generally negative.

The Gozo Tourism Association (GTA) said that the ferry will continue to make Gozo less competitive compared to other Mediterranean destinations.

The association also asked which representatives of Gozo industry had been consulted before the new rates were calculated. It said that although no employees will be discharged from Gozo Channel, the new measures will result in job losses in the Gozo tourism sector.

According to a Gozo Business Chamber report, a 14 per cent increase in fares for non-Gozitans would increase Gozo Channel's revenue by Lm264,000. But it would also result in a Lm1.6 million loss to Gozo's economy.

The GTA also said that Gozo Channel has an obligation towards Gozitans, who have to cross over to Malta, and the 66 per cent increase in their fare will also have a negative impact.

The Gozo Chamber of Commerce referred to the study, conducted by the GTA, which pointed out that an increase in fares would have a negative impact on Gozo.

According to the chamber, it was a mistake to justify the rates by comparing them to past temporary increases. It said that Gozo's economy cannot afford such increases.