July 15, 2011Dear Sir,After 20-plus years of travelling via ferry and using the Warwick/Paget ferry, commencing August 1, 2011, I will no longer be catching the ferry. I will either be car pooling or parking at Bulls Head. I am encouraging all ferry commuters who catch this ferry to follow suit.This is a recession! How can the fare be raised from $2.50 for 1 way to $5.00 per way? This would mean that ONLY the Warwick/Paget commuters will have to pay $10 per day, $50 per week, $200 per month versus $55 which we currently pay. Who can afford this fare in today’s recession?How/why did the former Premier advise the public to catch the ferry? Why don’t the Minister of Transport and other Marine and Ports officials and their families catch the Warwick/Paget ferry daily and pay the increase?1. Why should we, the public have to suffer for government spending?2. Why the increase with only the Warwick/Paget route. The distance from Warwick/Paget route is closer than the other routes. Why should we have to pay the higher fare? It is totally unreasonable for the Warwick/Paget commuters to have to pay the increase for a few visitors in the summer and a few residents of Hinson Islands who use the ferry.3. Why can’t the increase be across the board e.g. Rockaway, Dockyard, St George’s.4. The three month ferry passes, tickets and tokens which people are presently using, will they still be eligible to use them until they expire?PLEASE ANSWER ALL THE ABOVE QUESTIONS AND DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO!The Warwick/Paget route ferries are the worst ferries — they are old, broken down, rusty, unreliable, etc. Rockaway, Dockyard and St George’s have newer ferries but yet you want Warwick/Paget ferry commuters to pay the increase.A ferry commuter had called the ferry terminal with a few questions regarding the fare increase and a female answered the telephone abruptly: ‘Mam, I do not know anything about that! I do not know anymore than what you know, they have not informed us of anything.” The commuter could not even get a word in or even finish asking the questions.August 1, is fast approaching, shouldn’t the Marine & Ports staff working at the ferry terminal know these answers because in two weeks time the price is set to rise.SADLY – A DISGUSTED FERRY COMMUTERWarwickEditor’s note: Since this letter was written the fare increase has been postponed.