I oppose the recently approved rate hike for Casco Bay Lines. While it appears to offer a less expensive option for year-round residents by lowering the monthly summer pass rate from $82.50 to $48, this will not result in savings for my family.

This dramatic rate hike to $14 per round-trip, from $7.70, also includes the elimination of commuter books. Not all islanders use the ferry enough to warrant a monthly pass. My three young-adult children and I each ride the ferry anywhere from three to 15 times per month. The total cost we paid previously in the summer was less than $150 monthly. If we used the ferry more, we paid more. Less, we paid less. Now we will be forced to buy four passes every month, for almost $200, which is a waste. Choosing not to buy a monthly pass for any one of us will be too much of a gamble because the only alternative will be to pay $14 each time one of us wants to return home, which would add up quickly.

This is not a done deal as the Public Utilities Commission still needs to approve this rate hike, and can be contacted directly by residents. I will be asking the PUC to tell the board of Casco Bay Lines to rethink this new rate structure and to also remedy the harm this will have on the friends and family of year-round residents who will no longer be able to afford the ferry.

Mary Lou Wendell
Peaks Island

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