Just a year after raising its fares, the Maine State Ferry Service is proposing another rate hike to meet what it says are unanticipated rising costs. Increases for walk-on passengers and vehicles would rise by about 13.5%, the service reports, in its proposal aired at a public hearing on the proposal on April 10 at the Samoset Resort in Rockport.
The state Department of Transportation’s multimodal director Bill Geary, a recent director of the ferry service, explained that by state law, half the service’s operating budget must come from fares and fees. The other half comes from the state’s highway fund.
But fares and fees have only reached the 50% threshold in just three of the last ten years, he said. By not meeting 50%, the state highway fund has had to be tapped for an additional $4.6 million. DOT pays all the ferry service’s capital costs, such as new boats and terminal improvements.
By not meeting 50%, the state highway fund has had to be tapped for an additional $4.6 million.
State ferries serve the island communities of Frenchboro, Swan’s Island, Islesboro, North Haven, Vinalhaven, and Matinicus. That service comes at a high cost, Geary said, with $100 million being spent since 2019, and another $100 million expected over the next three years.
Some 200-plus trips were canceled over the last year, he said, due to crew shortages. Ferry service crew must train to meet strict U.S. Coast Guard regulations. And to keep ferries berthed on islands overnight, which allows for medical emergency trips to the mainland, crew work seven days on, seven days off, and must sleep on the island while on duty.
“We need to adjust the tolls to cover half the increased cost,” Geary said.
A concept floated by DOT Commissioner Bruce Van Note to begin berthing ferries on the mainland to help address crew shortages has been set aside for two or three years, service managers have said.
Geary said the state hoped to keep the current rate schedule in place for four years, but staff shortages have meant the service had to offer $4,000 hiring bonuses, double overtime pay, and higher wage scales. There is a global mariner shortage, he said, which is broadly impacting the industry.
The ferry service has enlisted Seaward Services, a private maritime employment agency, but Geary said the changes the service has made have meant it hasn’t had to use the firm since December.
Last year, the ferry service offered four options for increasing fares, with one an 18% across-the-board hike. Peak and off-peak months also were considered, as well as adjusting passenger and vehicle fares at differing rates. Geary said he received little feedback from the Maine State Ferry Advisory Board, which includes members from the islands served, and the service settled on a 13.5% hike.
• For Islesboro, rates for an adult round-trip passenger ticket will rise from $9 to $10.25 from Oct. 1 to May 31, and from $15 to $17 from June 1 to Sept. 30. Round-trip passenger vehicle fares will rise from $26 to $30 in the off season, and from $37.50 to $42.50 in the warm months. Truck rates, calculated on a per-foot-length basis, will rise from $5 to $5.75 in the off season, and from $6 to $6.75 in the warm months.
• For Swan’s Island, Frenchboro, North Haven, and Vinalhaven, rates for an adult round-trip passenger will rise from $14 to $15.75 from Oct. 1 to May 31, and from $20.25 to $23 from June 1 to Sept. 30. Round trip passenger vehicle fares will rise from $36.50 to $41.50 in the off season, and from $48.50 to $55 in the warmer months. Truck rates, per foot, will rise from $5.25 to $6 in the off season, and from $6.25 to $7 in the warmer months.
• For Matinicus, year-round rates for adult round-trip passenger tickets will rise from $25 to $28.25, passenger vehicles with a reservation will cost $122.50, up from $108, and truck rates will increase from $8.75 to $10 per foot.
Peter Willcox, the Islesboro representative to the ferry advisory board, called the ferry service “a lifeline,” and that the rate hike “will make our community unaffordable, particularly for year-round residents and senior citizens on fixed imcomes.”
He suggested the service consider discounting fares for permanent island residents.
Karen Mundo, a former Islesboro resident, said she had to move because she “could no longer afford to live on the island.” She opposes the rate hike, she said, noting that “many elderly people on the island life in poverty. I’m asking for some relief” for others in this age group.
Islesboro’s select board submitted a written statement arguing for “a reduced resident rate,” and pledged to work with the state “by providing proof of residency.”
Nick Battista, chief policy and external affairs officer with Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront, urged DOT officials to review the first “demand-driven study of the ferry service,” commissioned by the Institute in 2021-2022. Some of its recommendations were adopted, he said, but more might be considered.
Eva Murray of Matinicus suggested the ferry service consider adjusting its fares to charge more for vehicles to encourage visitors the arrive as walk-ons.
Perry Gates, formerly of North Haven but who now travels frequently to the island, urged ferry managers to work toward rates that are more stable.
“What can we do, looking down the road, to decrease expenses? How do we increase income that is fair, that makes sense in the long term”
If adopted, the new rates would go into effect June 1. Geary said there currently are 11 bill proposals in the state legislature that would impact ferry policies.
Public comments on the fare proposal will be accepted online by emailing anne.m.pare@maine.gov through April 20, and by mail if postmarked by April 20 to Anne Paré, Legal Services Office, Maine Department of Transportation, State House Station 16, Augusta, ME 04333.
