Liberal MPs are patting themselves on the back these days after the federal government repealed a rate increase on the Gulf ferries but a lobby group says that does nothing to address the root cause of the problem with rates.

The intent of the Terms of Union between Newfoundland and Canada in 1949 was to treat the stretch of water between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland the same as asphalt, meaning that the cost to cross would be no different than driving on the TCH.

Ted Bartlett of Transport Action Atlantic says the big problem is the 65 per cent cost recovery target set by the Harper Conservatives. He says the Liberals promised to eliminate that policy in the 2015 election campaign but have yet to do so.

The costs to use the Confederation Bridge between PEI and New Brunswick have gone up about 35 per cent since it opened 24 years ago but over that span, rates on the gulf ferries have more than doubled.