For the past few weeks we have been hearing of a fare increase imposed by the operators of the ferryboats which traverse the Blowing Point to Marigot route. According to reports, the fare was unilaterally increased from fifteen to twenty United States dollars. The general public was caught by surprise as there was no previous indication that any discussions were taking place in relation to this issue. What was even more puzzling was a public statement, made by the Honourable Evan Gumbs, Minister of Infrastructure, which indicated that the fare increase was not authorized by Government or the Anguilla Air and Sea Port Authority. The essence of the statement was that the ferryboat owners were operating unlawfully by imposing the fare increase. One of the matters to be taken into account, however, is that there is no specified fare in the Tariff Book.
Despite the Minister’s statement, and the protests of passengers, ferryboat operators continued to charge passengers the increased fare for travel between Blowing Point and Marigot, and in some cases refused to transport passengers who tried to assert their right to pay the lower fare. Passengers used various media available to them to express their outrage – the main questions being:
What is the justification for the fare increase? Has there been an improvement in the service offered by ferryboat operators? With fuel prices decreasing, why is the fare increasing? How can ferryboat operators be allowed to impose a fare that has not been authorized by the appropriate entities? What mechanisms are being used, or factors being considered, in determining if and by how much the fare should increase?
The situation came to a head last Saturday 21st March 2015 when the ferryboat operators went on strike and refused to transport passengers to St Martin. As an act of solidarity, the operators of ferries to Dutch St Maarten also refused to transport passengers who had not made previous reservations. Passengers were therefore stranded at Blowing Point unable to get to St Martin/ St Maarten. This impasse continued for several hours and resulted in mayhem at the port with many disgruntled passengers. Through the intervention of Ministers of Government a temporary solution was reached. The solution was for the ferryboat operators to resume the service and to charge the increased fare to passengers until a final decision was made.
However, many are skeptical as to whether this will in fact be a temporary situation or whether it is a done deal. Many have pointed to the fact that the “interim stabilization levy” can now be considered permanent. Others have also observed that on the eve of a general election there may be hesitation in upsetting ferryboat operators many of whom reside in constituencies which have traditionally been strongholds of the ruling party. Now that the strike is over, is the battle done or will there be any battle at all?
If there is one thing we ought to have learnt from this strike, if we didn’t know it before, is that access to Anguilla has to be a major priority for any Government coming into office. This simple but profound act by the ferryboat operators should have demonstrated to us the importance of our ferry service in transporting Anguillians and visitors into and out of Anguilla. This service is currently the main means of access and, given how vulnerable we are if for some reason the service is interrupted, we have to give consideration to either making major improvements to the service, or providing other means of easy and affordable access to Anguilla, or both. This is a message that has been often preached by the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association. However, I believe all Anguillians should now have a better understanding of it, given this experience and the vulnerabilities associated with relying on a seaport as a main means of access.
While the ferry service is back in operation, it is imperative that we do not lose sight of the fundamental issues that are still to be addressed: access into Anguilla, and the establishment of appropriate mechanisms for determining under what circumstances and to what extent fares should increase. If we focus our attention on these issues now, it is likely that we will save ourselves similar occurrences in the future.
