Good move on ferry pricing

The Sentinel often criticizes state ferry system management for bad decisions. But now it’s time to praise them for a good decision.

Dropping the “dynamic pricing” structure for ferry service this fall and winter, October through April, is the right thing to do. There was nothing dynamically well-liked about the 3-year-old pricing system that added a surcharge of 5% to 50% on passenger, vehicle and stateroom ticket prices on popular sailings.

The state was trying to run the ferry system like an airline, charging more as the ships fill up. Unlike an airline, which offers multiple flights a week and travelers can book the lowest fares, the ferry system serves many smaller communities, such as Wrangell, just once a week, limiting the options for travelers looking for a cheaper sailing.

Acknowledging that the fall/winter schedule, which takes effect Oct. 1, was late in arriving, and also acknowledging that its service has fallen short of dependable in recent years, the Alaska Marine Highway System decided to drop the pricing surcharge for now.

Ferry officials said dynamic pricing can work when travelers are able to plan ahead, but conceding it’s unreasonable to add that steep surcharge while not providing reliable service and with just two weeks notice of the fall schedule.

Good for them to see the problem and put the fare surcharge aside. It was a dynamic stinker that overburdened Alaskans just for the sake of boosting revenues from travelers with few options.

— Wrangell Sentinel