November 1, 2011Dear Sir,The pink ferry route hike is ridiculous and, in my opinion, a way to reduce ridership so that the route can be cancelled before the ferries need to be replaced (as the government doesn't have any extra money).The method of introducing the 100 percent increase is equally ridiculous. If one green ticket used to worth a one-way trip, shouldn’t two green tickets equal the new rate? Nope, they can no longer be used and you can’t get a refund for any unused ones either.In addition, anyone with a monthly pass has to “upgrade” those they may have purchased in advance, ie go back to the ferry terminal and pay all over again, or forfeit the money you spent as refunds are again not permitted. That’s akin to purchasing a ticket to Miami in a timely fashion only for the airline to call you up when the fare goes up, demanding you pay the difference.Furthermore, if you were unlucky enough to have bought a quarterly pass (yes, I like to plan ahead), you have to pay even more. A monthly pass used to be $135, or $45 per month. With a 100 percent increase it is now $270, or $90 per month meaning I now owe $45 to “upgrade” my pass. This was confirmed by Marine and Ports. Alas, the gentleman at the terminal yesterday afternoon decided that if my old pass was worth $45 (⅓ of $135) then I must owe $65 to make up the difference for the new monthly pass cost of $110. In case you’ve lost track, that amounts to a 144% increase for the month of November to ride the pink route.There are rumours a new Transport Minister may be announced today. May I suggest that he or she stand atop a hill in Paget and look from Hamilton to Dockyard and then Hamilton to Belmont so that he or she can explain the logic behind the pink route costing twice as much as the route to Dockyard or Rockaway (if you buy a monthly pass).JENNIFER ADAMSWarwick