Council wants views on ferry charging proposals

A series of public meetings are to be held in the county as part of an OIC review of internal ferry service charges.

Chairman of the OIC’s transportation and infrastructure committee, Councillor Jim Foubister, said: “We have developed three different tariff models as part of background work for the review, to help us calculate the impacts of different tariff structures. But we want the community to inform us about what they think is a sensible and fair approach to charging for ferries.

“We are keen to hear public views on alternative models, suggested ticketing types and the booking system. It’s important that people take into account not only how they use the ferries as passengers, but also how prices impact on tourism to the islands, and the impact of the cost of freight transport on island economies.”

For all three pricing models, some fares would go up and some would go down, but it’s expected overall income generated would remain the same as current levels.

Public meetings with every isles-based community council will start next week – for full details see www.orkney.gov.uk.

The consultation period will end on December 16.