Trident forced to raise prices due to fuel costs

By Simon Tostevin

INCREASE prices or reduce the schedule: that was the dilemma faced by Travel Trident manager Peter Wilcox and his family recently.

The Herm ferry company decided a 50p price rise for adults was a better option than losing the flexibility currently enjoyed by customers. ‘It’s something we’re not happy about, but circumstances mean that we have to increase fares just to balance the books,’ Mr Wilcox said.

‘This is a family-run business and we as a family do not like doing this. I hope people understand. The public needs to know that it’s sincerely something we have done out of necessity.’

Trident’s fuel costs have leapt by about 80% in the last six months and Mr Wilcox said it could not absorb all of it.

‘The cost for my first purchase of fuel in January this year was 38 or 39p per litre,’ he said.

‘I have just had a notification through that my last purchase, for June, was 68.5ppl.

‘We did not expect this. I don’t think anyone expected fuel to do what it has done. If it had been 10 or 15%, we would have tried to absorb it and increase prices next year, but unfortunately we couldn’t.’

The increase comes into effect on Tuesday, with adults now being charged £9.50 to make the return trip to Herm.

Children’s and OAPs’ fares will stay the same.

‘We have tried to not make it too hard on families,’ Mr Wilcox said.

‘So if two parents are taking two kids over, they will pay a pound more.’

Mr Wilcox said his family did not want to go down the route of Condor and HD Ferries, which have reduced their schedule to combat escalating oil prices.

‘It was the only other thing we could have done,’ he said.

‘But we are trying to make Trident easy and user-friendly, offering people a variety of sailing options.

‘In the old days, people used to have to let us know what boat they were coming back from Herm on, but they don’t anymore.

‘People can get on any crossing they want.

‘We want to be flexible for people.’

He added that when he started with the company in 1997, the cost of a return ticket was about £6.50.

‘So, generally, the fares have not risen with inflation,’ he said.

‘Another thing I’m not sure a lot of people realise is that we pay 66p landing tax to the States of Guernsey every time we bring someone back from there.’

The last time Trident put its fares up was last year: 50p for adults and 25p for children on that occasion.