A&R Marine Corp. and the state Division of Public Utilities and Carriers have asked regulators to approve a settlement that would raise the adult one-way fare on the Bristol-to-Prudence Island ferry from $5.40 to $8.30 and the one-way fare for a small passenger vehicle from $31.00 to $38.80. The parties want the Public Utilities Commission to approve the settlement by Dec. 8 so the rates can take effect by Dec. 9. The commission set an evidentiary hearing on it for Wednesday, Nov. 4, and the docket lists filings from that day, but it shows no order and no published account of the hearing as of Saturday, Nov. 7.
A&R Marine does business as Prudence & Bay Islands Transport and runs service between Bristol and both Prudence and Hog islands. Its current tariff took effect May 28, 2016, according to its March 9 rate application, and the commission's notice calls the filing the company's first rate increase request in about 10 years.
What the settlement changes
The settlement, signed Oct. 28, would raise annual revenue by $581,738, or 44.20%, to a total revenue requirement of $1,897,747. A&R had asked in March for $683,782, a 51.96% increase. The Division's Sept. 16 testimony recommended $563,764.
The commission's notice of the settlement compares the new rates with current rates and with A&R's March proposal. Adult round trips would go from $10.80 to $16.60, children's one-way fares from $1.90 to $2.95, bicycles from $1.10 to $2.00, and motorcycles from $7.50 to $15.75. The settlement sets the small-vehicle one-way fare $2.00 above the $36.80 in the March proposal and the adult one-way fare $3.35 below the $11.65 proposed then.
The settlement also keeps a Prudence Island 24-hour round-trip discount for passengers and eligible vehicles that leave the island and return within a day, and sets the passenger discount at 50% of the full round-trip fare. Commuter-book fares rise more steeply than standard fares unless the discount applies. A 10-ride commuter ticket costs $3.25 a trip under the current tariff; the schedule A&R filed on Nov. 4 shows $8.30, or $4.15 with the discount. For a small vehicle on a six-ride commuter book, the schedule A&R filed on Nov. 4, marked "Revised Post Hearing 11-4-26," shows $21.00 a trip rising to $38.80, or $26.40 with the discount.
Other terms include a fuel price of $3.50 a gallon in base rates, a reserve account for major vessel maintenance with an annual compliance filing, a 9.0% cost of equity and a 7.61% overall rate of return on a $3,749,082 rate base.
What happens next
The commission suspended the proposed rates on March 27, allowing them to take effect no later than Dec. 9, according to its Oct. 23 hearing notice. If the commission rejects or fails to approve any part of the settlement, the whole agreement is void. The docket shows no commission order, and no account of the Nov. 4 hearing, as of Saturday, Nov. 7.
