Transport / Cost of scrapping peak ferry fares not to be recouped by other means, Transport Scotland confirms
THERE are no plans to scrap the islander discount on NorthLink ferry fares to pay for the removal of mid and peak season fares for local residents on the Northern Isles ferries.
Transport Scotland confirmed to Shetland News that there will also be no additional increases in ferry fares above those implemented on 1 January.
On Tuesday, finance secretary Shona Robison announced that from April islanders will no longer have to pay mid and peak season ferry fares when using the service.
This follows pressure from SNP candidate Hannah Mary Goodlad who had won support to exempt islanders from seasonal pricing during her party’s autumn conference.
A bone of contention for many years, the abolition of seasonal ferry fares has been called for by local politicians for many years, including the Lib Dems, the Greens as well as the Our Islands, Our Future campaign.
However, concern and suspicion was raised as soon as the finance secretary had made her announcement on Tuesday with many commentators on social media suggesting that the ‘election gift’ would be recouped by other ways.
And on close inspection of the Level-4 workbooks which gives a detailed breakdown of the Scottish budget, it emerged that the annual subsidy to run the Northern Isles ferry service is to be reduced from £52.87 million in 2025/26 to £45.54 million in 2026/27.
It raises questions over how the subsidy is to be reduced by almost 14 per cent when the additional cost of scrapping the peak ferry fares in 2026/27 has been estimated at £1.8 million.
But Transport Scotland confirmed that the “islander discount is not being removed” and that the removal of mid and peak fares will mean islanders pay low season rates year-round.
A spokesperson for the government agency added that the year-round low season fare will be based on the current islander rate which includes the discount.
“The annual inflationary increase for this year has already been implemented on 1 January 2026 and there are no plans for additional increases,” the spokesperson said.
He added the reduction in the annual subsidy cost was due to the way the Northern Isles contract was structured, which means that costs are lower in the final years of the contract.
Meanwhile, SNP candidate Goodlad said she had decided to make affordability and accessibility to transport links a priority of her campaign after islanders had shared with her their experience of the north boat.
“These were deeply moving and I want to thank folks again for getting in touch – it made all the difference. It made an emotional connection to our story that was impossible to ignore,” she said.
“I then used my voice [through a motion] at SNP conference to tell these stories and share these experiences to SNP leadership.
“In the following months I lobbied and followed up with government to ensure that this motion wasn’t just put into a drawer somewhere.
“I’m delighted that the Greens and the Lib Dems also got behind our campaign too. Cross party collaboration for the benefit of Shetland needs to happen much more.”
The SNP minority government now have until the end of February to secure majority support for the budget and are expected to make concessions to other parties such as the Greens and the Lib Dems in order to secure their votes.
Asked if local MSP Beatrice Wishart and the five strong Lib Dem group in the Scottish Parliament would support the government’s budget, a spokesperson would only say that the party would engage with the government and take a “pragmatic approach”.
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