We do try to offer value for money by keeping prices as low as possible and usually fares only rise annually in line with RPI. Vehicle fares are nearly always cheaper if booked well in advance (2014 sailings are available now at this years lead-in prices) and quieter sailings will be cheaper than travelling at peak times. My Red Funnel members (it's free to join) also benefit from a range of offers throughout the year.
Red Funnel's routes don't receive any subsidy despite our commitment to running lifeline sailings which barely break-even and unlike the cross-Channel operators there is also limited opportunity to subsidise the ticket price from spend onboard which is a major revenue stream for these companies. Unfortunately we don't benefit either from the economies of scale that they do simply because the costs of running smaller ships (crew, fuel, maintenance, regulatory) are disproportionate. What's more, unlike the competition, Red Funnel's entire fleet has used low-sulphur fuel since the mid 90's which is much much kinder to the environment but considerably more expensive than the more polluting intermediate or heavy fuels. We believe this is a price worth paying but it does have a big impact on our costs.
The cost of travel is always an emotive subject, but if you take the Red Jet £8.60 off-peak day return passenger fare it works out at just £0.39 per mile or £0.17 per minute which we believe compares favourably with other short-sea fares and the wider travel industry - a recent taxi journey cost £1.00 per minute by way of comparison.
