Transport / Government defends rise in NorthLink fares
TRANSPORT Scotland spoke to NorthLink about opening its 2026 booking schedule after first minister John Swinney’s recent visit to Shetland, it has been confirmed.
The Scottish Government did not say that Swinney was personally involved in the discussions, following a request by Shetland News.
However it confirmed Transport Scotland did engage with NorthLink as a result of the concerns raised with Swinney last month in Lerwick.
Swinney said he was left “dumbfounded” during a visit to Shetland after a question about why Shetlanders could not book NorthLink journeys for 2026 yet.
Less than two weeks later, NorthLink announced it had opened the 2026 booking schedule.
There were strong complaints, however, from locals about more price rises for passenger fares, cabins and cars on the lifeline Aberdeen-Lerwick and Kirkwall-Lerwick routes.
Islander passenger fares in peak season have risen from £28.50 to £29.50 on the Aberdeen route, while the most expensive cabin – the premium outer two-berth – is going up from £140 to £145.
A family of two adults and two children booking the most expensive cabin and taking a car, while using the islander discount, would expect to pay £674 to get to Aberdeen and back to Shetland.
That is considerably less than the figure of £900 which was reported elsewhere earlier this week, which is for non-islanders travelling without the discount.
Transport Scotland defended the fare rises this week, telling Shetland News the Scottish Government had made “significant investment in recent years to ensure that ferry fares are affordable”.
It said the consumer price index (CPI) figures were used to set the fares, with the CPI in May set at 3.4 per cent. Scottish ministers had decided that the fares increase “should not exceed that level”, it added.
“In the Northern Isles, islanders currently receive a 30 per cent discount, and following reductions in passenger and car fares in 2018, islander fares were frozen from 2020 to March 2024 alongside a 20 per cent reduction in cabin fares,” a Transport Scotland spokesperson said.
Highlands and Islands Green MSP Ariane Burgess meanwhile called for an end to seasonal pricing, with passengers charged different fares in low, mid and peak seasons.
“Seasonal pricing continues to unfairly penalise island residents,” she said.
“For those in Orkney and Shetland, ferries are lifeline routes, not luxury getaways. “It’s time to end seasonal surcharges for islanders and treat these services as the public transport they are.
“This is something I’ve been pushing the minister, Jim Fairlie, to address since last year.
“Islanders deserve fair fares, not seasonal penalties.”
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