In a perfect example of what ‘island time' means, a 25-cent/person/each way use fee for the Red Hook-Cruz Bay ferry will go into effect later this year. It was authorized by the Port Authority in 1996.
The fee has not been implemented before because there was no provision for its collection. No people, no machines, no nothing.
Now, the Port Authority has authorized $50,000 for the purchase of three turnstiles to be installed in the new Fredericks Marine Terminal. There will be no turnstile on the Cruz Bay dock. Ferry riders at Red Hook will have to deposit two tokens before boarding a boat. The money collected, expected to be about $500,000 a year, will be used to maintain the terminal.
The Virgin Islands Daily News editorialized against the move citing the expense to commuters ($130/year) and the irritation for visitors who will have to buy a ferry ticket at one counter and a ferry token at another. "The territory is always looking for ways to attract visitors. This is
not one of them" the editorial said. "The solution is obvious. Forget those turnstiles and
tokens." Read it here: http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_editorial?id=17634420
Alright, that’s the last straw. Seven of us were planning to spend a week apiece at two St. John villas in May. With this new charge, we just went over our budget. I guess we’ll just have to eat the airfare and villa rentals.
Maybe next year.
jeez, that’s dumb. why not just increase the ferry fare another .50? What about handicapped people who won’t make it through the turnstile, now they’ve got to hire someone else to open the gate manually, plus another person to man the token booth, and someone to maintain the turnstiles, which will break. Sometimes I really wonder how government entities can be so short-sighted. Makes me shudder to think what is going to happen when US healthcare, banks, energy policies, etc. are nationalized…..
If you’re gonna have a fare increase, add it to the cost of the ticket….how hard can that be?
Why not just authorize the ferry companies (as part of their license)to collect the additional 25 cents and require them to forward the amount to the port authority. Cost to the government….zero!
A note for Tom. We will certainly miss you on St. John. 25 cents X 7 people is only $1.75 (about half a beer) I’d splurge and go for it.
I was wondering if anyone would pick up on that.
April Fool!
Can’t wait until May 10th!
Got me! I needed a good laugh. See you soon on St. John.
Us Americans and other English speaking people think this is a PIA. Try to explain that to foriegners and non-english speaking tourist. Imagine the confusion.
for clarification: the reason the Port Authority cannot add the fee onto the regular ticket price is quite simple; the ferry companies would not, in turn, hand the fee collected onto the Port Authority. the Port Authority would also not realize their entire fees if added to ticket sales because the ferry companies have zero accountability for actual tickets sold. – ever wonder where that cash you hand the captain of the boat goes just before boarding when the ticket office is closed?
residents may remember just a few years ago how the barge companies owed large amounts of money to the Port Authority; the fees that were added onto the cost of each barge ticket. since the Port Authority couldn’t collect the fees already added onto the cost of the ticket they decided to build the ticket shack in Red Hook to collect the fee. that’s why you pay $3 to a Port Authority employee each time you leave Red Hook, instead of the barge company. a more ridiculous and pathetic way to collect these Port Authority fees could not be thought of.
generally speaking, in these islands you can live and die by the rule “if it doesn’t make sense it must be right.”
The PSC has raised the Red Hook – Cruz Bay ferry to $7effective next month – + the $.50 PA fee.
The Charlotte Amalie – Cruz Bay ferry is being decreased to $8 – no turnstiles.
So it is now only .50 difference – for a much longer ride – the taxi fare alone from Charlotte Amalie to Red Hook is generally $10.
Is any of this making sense yet in some financial way? Matt?