Viewpoints
AMHS Fuel Surcharge
by Hunter Davis
October 01, 2004
Friday
So, AFTER the tourist season,
with those very full sailings and abbreviated schedules due to
the loss of the LeConte, the AMHS is adding a fuel surcharge
to staterooms and vehicles. So now we will be paying three surcharges
for one trip.
There are not that many outsiders
riding the ferries during the winter (right?), so it is Southeasters
who will be paying more, again. I'm all for user fees, if you
want to use it, you pay for it, but the timing of this rate hike,
announced the day before it goes into effect...? Why not just
create a steerage class for residents, and let the visitors get
the staterooms?
The reasoning is that the price of fuel is bound to go up, so
this is a preemptive rate hike that will be dropped when fuel
prices drop. I have yet to see a government agency that voluntarily
gives up money, even after a crisis of vision and planning is
past.
Too bad we can't dispatch the
ferry as a private yacht, like the Governor. Who did not even
ride on it. A sailing that cost 74,000 dollars according to the
front page of Ketchikan Daily News.
Hunter Davis
Ketchikan, AK - USA
Related news:
AMHS Fuel Surcharge to Apply to Car
Deck, Staterooms...
September 30, 2004
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