Prices for the Bald Head Island ferry will increase about 40 percent next year.

The StarNews of Wilmington reports that the increase came last week after months of negotiations between Bald Head Island Transportation Inc. and the North Carolina Utilities Commission.

The company claims the ferry has operated at a loss since 1999 because of declining ridership and increasing gas prices. The ferry operator is part of Bald Head Island Limited LLC that developed the island as a resort where golf carts are the only mode of motorized transportation.

General ticket prices will go to $23 from $16; the excess baggage fee, which includes bicycles, will increase to $23 from $15. Annual passes will go to $1,850 from $1,665.

The price increases will bring in about $1.7 million additional revenue each year.

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