ALOR STAR: The price of the ferry ticket to Langkawi from Kuala Kedah and Kuala Perlis has returned to normal today after an uproar over the sudden RM3 fare hike yesterday.
Checks by Kedah Consumer Association (Cake) at the ferry terminal in Kuala Kedah showed that the ticket price has been reverted back to RM23 for adult at RM17 for children compared to RM26 for adult and RM20 for children yesterday.
Its secretary Mohamad Yusrizal Yusoff said the ferry operators appeared to have agreed to maintain the old fare after passengers raised their disappointment and concern about the sudden hike.
“We received many complaints following the sudden increase that greeted the passengers on the first day of the year.
We urged ferry operators to take heed of the burden faced by the people because the ferry service is frequently used by locals who sometimes need to travel between the mainland and island for work,” he said.
It was reported that passengers of the Langkawi ferry services were greeted by an unpleasant New Year's Day surprise when they were charged an extra RM3 beginning yesterday.
The passengers, who are either travelling to the tourism destination or returning to the mainland via the Kuala Kedah and Kuala Perlis jetties, had a shock when they found that the ferry fare had been increased by RM3 per passenger.
Confused by the sudden surcharge, Langkawi ferry passengers deluged social media with pictures of the tickets with the new prices, seeking clarification.
One of the passengers, Mesuary Mazlann uploaded a picture of a Langkawi-Kuala Kedah ferry ticket which showed that the fare is RM26 instead of the previous fare of RM23.
The status was shared in a Langkawi Facebook page which has garnered over 700 comments and over 70 shares since it was posted about 10am today.