text: Any islander who seriously believes that yet another 2.5% annual fare increase isn’t a done deal–a raise significantly above the increases in consumer prices or social security payments–hasn’t been paying attention.
  
  Over the last several years, our legislators have passed transportation budgets which assume that ferry fare increases will be 2.5% in the aggregate–even before WSF begins its fare-setting process.
  
  Sadly, having public meetings is largely a waste of everyone’s time. If WSF–and our legislators–truly wanted to incorporate public comment, these meetings would occur before budgets, and fare increases, are cast in concrete.