Response to interpellation 2025/26:90 on increasing prices in Gotlandstrafiken
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns the high prices in Gotlandstrafiken and its impact on the island's residents and businesses. KD argues that the state has a responsibility for an accessible transport sector and that the new agreement 2027–2035 will include price caps that are less sensitive to fuel prices 1 2. KD informs that Trafikverket shall conduct an in-depth follow-up of the pricing in the current agreement 3 2. S argues that the prices are unacceptable, that Gotlanders pay several hundred percent more than on the mainland and that the situation threatens growth 4 5. S demands radical measures and wants Gotland to be included in the national infrastructure 4 5.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Hanna Westerén has asked me a number of questions regarding the ferry traffic to and from Gotland.
First, I would like to thank Hanna Westerén for her commitment to the ferry connections to and from Gotland. As we know, we had an interpellation debate on this issue in March 2024.
Let me also state that a well-functioning, long-term sustainable and reliable transport system where all types of traffic are developed and contribute to the transport policy goals is a prerequisite for the whole of Sweden to function. The conditions for living, residing and working in the entire country shall be strengthened. It is therefore important with good accessibility between the country's different parts. The State's commitment to the ferry traffic to and from Gotland is a clear expression of that.
As Hanna Westerén is aware, it is Trafikverket that has been tasked with entering into and being responsible for the state's agreements regarding line shipping to and from Gotland. The Government allocates funds for that purpose in the state budget. The current agreements for the ferry traffic expire at the beginning of 2027, and the upcoming agreement applies to the period 2027–2035 with an additional two option years.
The upcoming contract period contains requirements for more sustainable ferry transport. Furthermore, the operator will be part of the total defense to ensure that the transport mission is carried out in a secure manner in relation to both national security and information security.
It is obviously important that there are good conditions for Gotlanders and the business community on Gotland to carry out necessary journeys and transports. Therefore, there will also be a price cap for Gotlanders and freight transports in the new agreement. Furthermore, the new price caps will not be affected by fuel price changes to the same extent as in today's agreement.
Hanna Westerén (S)
Madam Speaker! It is good etiquette to say thank you for the answer, so I do. However, it is an answer that leaves me very disappointed and actually also angry. The answer is non-committal regarding what I asked about, and it is also a bit disrespectful to pretend to answer my questions by partly pointing out that we have debated this before – it would be strange otherwise given the situation Gotland finds itself in – and partly describing how traffic to and from Gotland is organized. Every Gotlander knows what traffic we have and how it works. What we have views on in my home municipality is that, compared to other municipalities in Sweden, it costs several hundred percent more to cross the municipal border. It is completely unacceptable, and it can no longer continue.
Since Infrastructure Minister Andreas Carlson fails to answer my questions, other than stating that we in Gotland will enjoy so-called ceiling prices even during the next procurement period, I feel compelled to ask the questions again.
I mean that we Gotland residents deserve answers as to why we should be forced to prioritize so much more harshly among our needs in order to afford using our road over the sea. The questions that I demand answers to from Infrastructure Minister Andreas Carlson are as follows:
How can it be reasonable that the people of Gotland should pay several hundred percent more to travel on their road across the sea than it costs to travel a corresponding distance on the mainland?
How does the Minister and the Government mean that such a much higher cost per traveled kilometer is consistent with the infrastructural goals of equal conditions throughout the country?
How does the government intend to facilitate for hard-pressed Gotlandic households to be able to use their country road at all at a reasonable cost?
In conclusion: Is the government prepared to task Trafikverket with working more strategically with the attractiveness of the islands and include, for example, Gotland in the national plan? How would such a mandate read in that case?
Madam Speaker! The prices in Gotlandstrafiken for both passengers and freight are lowering Gotland. The population is decreasing now, investments are being withheld, and faith in the future is fading. These are not exaggerations, but it is happening at my home right now.
It does not have to be like this. I implore the Minister for Infrastructure: Do something radical about the prices in Gotlandstrafiken! Show that the government is serious about the whole of Sweden should live! Right now, a part of Sweden is in a really bad position, and that is Gotland. Infrastructure Minister Andreas Carlson can change this if he and the government want to.
Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! I thank you very much for the questions and the commitment.
I understand that many on Gotland experience that the ferry prices are too high and that this affects the everyday lives of the people of Gotland. I have great respect for the people of Gotland's frustration over the ferry prices. I share the view that Gotland should have good and reasonable connections with the mainland.
I see that this issue affects many, and I have therefore followed the developments closely. I have conducted a dialogue with the relevant and responsible authorities on how we can limit high ferry prices in the long term. I want to inform and communicate in the chamber today that Trafikverket, against the background of the investigations that Region Gotland has produced, will more deeply follow up on the agreement with Destination Gotland regarding price development and pricing. I see this as an important measure, and I will, of course, take part in the results of the follow-up as soon as it is completed.
I have also, through my party colleague Sara Lidqvist, who is the Kristdemokraterna group leader on the island, updated myself on the situation there and what Hanna Westerén describes. I will visit Gotland before the turn of the year to meet the County Governor and get an update on the situation and the status. We are looking at a date now. I will also meet the private individual who has had a petition, in order to hear her perspective on the issue.
I respect that the member wants even more specific answers to the questions she asked, but I want to give a very clear and important announcement today: Trafikverket, which continuously monitors the agreement with Destination Gotland, will now conduct an in-depth follow-up of the agreement regarding price development and pricing. I see this as an important measure.
Hanna Westerén (S)
Madam Speaker! Sometimes one has to compose one's features. That is what I am trying to do right now, because this is, just as the Minister for Infrastructure just said, an immensely important announcement for Gotland.
Based on how the answer was formulated, I was prepared to interpret even the continuation as a long no. That was how I interpreted the answer, but now it still sounds like the government has actually heard the distress calls from Gotland. It fills me with some confidence.
We Gotlanders cannot sit still in the boat when this is happening – forgive the pun! – and watch as we rather quickly glide further and further away from the mainland.
I hear that the Minister for Infrastructure has received Region Gotland's investigation, and it is extremely important that those figures have reached the Minister for Infrastructure. They show very clearly that it concerns an absurdly large part of the Gotlandic households' incomes every month.
The space that remains when all the inevitable bills are paid and that can be spent on a trip to grandma and grandpa or on doing something over a weekend with the family – all that everyone on the other side of the municipal border can do – costs an enormous amount for a Gotland resident today. This must come to an end.
We have a situation that is completely bizarre. Adult Gotlanders are referred to the public dental clinic in Nynäshamn when we cannot go to the dentist at home. It is always expensive to go to the dentist, but to also have expensive costs for Gotlandstrafiken becomes a real burden.
From the investigation and Region Gotland's figures that the Minister for Infrastructure referred to, it also appears that a non-negligible part of the people of Gotland, given the price level, cannot even leave the island as it is right now. It becomes absurd in a welfare state in 2025 to be in some form of municipal arrest. So we cannot have that. It is deplorable and unworthy of Sweden in 2025.
Now that the government is going to look more deeply into this together with Trafikverket, I have a point regarding the problematization of the terms ceiling price and maximum price, which appear frequently in the debate. They are very difficult for us Gotlanders to relate to, because they do not reflect the actual price we pay when we reach the checkout in the operator's system. It results in higher costs than what the ceiling price and maximum price reflect.
We also have dynamic pricing in Gotlandstrafiken. It is a quite new phenomenon for us. It means that we also have an enormous difficulty in predicting what price we will actually have to pay for a round trip to the mainland. This uncertainty and insecurity, I do not think we Gotlanders deserve. We must be able to transport on our road under equivalent conditions.
I can also emphasize that Region Gotland's case study clearly shows that even if a family books at a mini-price, it is an enormous proportion of the household's KALP, i.e., the amount left to live on, that is claimed to utilize the ferry traffic. It is completely unreasonable.
I look forward to the in-depth analysis. I truly hope that it leads to a change, because Gotland is getting further and further away from the mainland. We are dying, as some say, right now, the soot death.
Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! I thank you very much for the commitment and the input.
I can repeat that Trafikverket, within the agreement in question, has initiated and communicated an in-depth follow-up of the agreement with Destination Gotland regarding price development and pricing. I see this as an important measure. I will, of course, follow this and take part in the results of the follow-up as soon as it is completed.
When it comes to the next agreement, which will enter into force for the period 2027–2035, with an additional two option years, it is important to say that it will be less sensitive to such sharp fuel price increases as we have seen in recent years as a result of the pandemic. The new agreement will be less sensitive. In that respect, price increases will not affect ticket prices in the same way as it has done. But when it did, Madam Speaker, the government worked very actively to inject funds to dampen the price increase, which we succeeded in doing. It demonstrates the commitment we have had for more reasonable ticket prices in Gotlandstrafiken during the parliamentary term.
I also see that it is an important announcement what will apply for price ceilings and maximum ceilings for Gotlanders as well in the future. Then, of course, one can always discuss it, but it is important that it is included even in the next agreement, as I see it.
Let us continue the dialogue. I thank you for your commitment. It has reached me from other places as well, from Gotland. I look forward to deepening it next month when I visit Gotland and have a meeting with the County Governor and also receive the petition from the private individual to take part of her and their perspectives.
Hanna Westerén (S)
Madam Speaker! I can warn the Minister for Infrastructure that we will see each other here in the chamber again.
Of course, we Gotland residents will follow this very closely and truly follow up to ensure that there is a change. Even if the next agreement becomes less price-sensitive, we are in a situation where our prices have increased by over 50 percent in a very short time, so we are moving at a very high level. Even if the Minister for Infrastructure says that the next agreement will be less price-sensitive, we are moving at a very high price level. That must be remembered.
It is also the case that we find ourselves in expensive times – everything is becoming more expensive – but also in times of high alert. We need to hold this country together. It is not reasonable for Gotland to end up further and further away from the mainland in a time when we need to hold together.
It is also not reasonable that we Gotlanders have more difficulty solving work commuting, have less influx, and receive fewer investments. The price levels in the ferry traffic are a threat to growth and development on Gotland. It is unsatisfactory.
I want to express optimism regarding the in-depth analysis. I believe that people will be astonished by some of the deviations that the agreement actually enables. In those cases, the state must take greater responsibility.
I also wonder if the Minister for Infrastructure means that Gotlandstrafiken is correctly classified. It is a question that I want to send forward for the future. Is it not time that we become part of the national infrastructure instead of being classified as unprofitable public transport?
Furthermore, it is the case that Sweden, unlike many other countries, lacks an island policy. Perhaps it is time to be inspired by other EU countries? The Minister is welcome to comment on that.
In conclusion, I am extremely pleased that the Minister has found time in his calendar to receive the petition. I mean that it is well-invested time.
Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Yes, there were some other pieces of information, and I can only regret that. It was due to an unfortunate communication error. The question reached neither me nor my closest colleagues, but now it shall be investigated and handled.
It is of course important for me to get a picture from the County Governor, from parliamentary politicians from Gotland and from my own party. The group leader Sara Lidqvist has, as I mentioned, informed me, and I would very much like to meet the private individuals who have taken the initiative for the petition.
I take with me the questions that Hanna Westerén concludes with. I do not see it as any kind of warning that we should continue the dialogue at some other time, but I welcome and look forward to it. Thank you very much for the commitment!
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.