In a stunning display of corporate goodwill that financial analysts are calling “suspiciously unprecedented,” the newly formed Gateway Operators Consortium announced their New Year’s resolution to implement “complete pricing transparency” across all gateway transit networks.

“Starting immediately, we’re committed to making our fee structure crystal clear to all customers,” announced Consortium spokesperson Patricia Vance during a press conference broadcast from Cibola Station. “No more confusion. No more surprises. Just straightforward, honest pricing.”

New standardized fee disclosure summarized flowchart.¹

The announcement comes mere weeks after the Connectivity update launched galaxy-wide, with gateway operators facing mounting criticism over what traders describe as “wildly creative” pricing strategies.

“We heard your feedback loud and clear,” Vance continued. “Many of you felt our pricing was unnecessarily complex. Well, we’ve listened. From now on, fees will only increase during peak hours, off-peak hours, weekends, weekdays, holidays, non-holidays, periods of high traffic, periods of low traffic that we’re trying to stimulate, when vortex fuel prices fluctuate, and whenever Mercury is in retrograde.”

The new “simplified” fee structure includes a base rate, a fuel surcharge, an infrastructure maintenance fee, a jump coordination fee, a singularity stabilization fee, a government tribute, an operator profit margin, a “because we can” surcharge, and what the Consortium calls a “dynamic market adjustment coefficient” that updates every 0.3 seconds.

“It’s actually very straightforward,” explained chief economist Dr. Marcus Webb from his office on Montem. “The formula is only seventeen variables long. Most pilots should be able to calculate their jump cost with nothing more than a scientific calculator and a graduate degree in econometrics.”

The Consortium’s new pricing disclosure document spans 247 pages and includes helpful sections such as “When We Might Change Prices Without Notice” and “Creative Interpretations of ‘Base Rate.’” A particularly enlightening chapter titled “What ‘Transparent’ Actually Means” clarifies that while prices will be visible, they won’t necessarily be predictable, reasonable, or even consistent between ships in the same jump queue.

Gateway operators have also committed to providing advance notice of fee changes “whenever practical,” which the fine print defines as “between zero and thirty seconds before your ship enters the vortex.”

When asked about complaints that some gateway operators were charging different rates to different customers for identical jumps, Vance responded enthusiastically. “That’s exactly the kind of transparency we’re committed to! Now we’ll openly admit we’re doing that. See? Transparent.”

The pricing disclosure also introduces several new fee categories that traders found particularly enlightening. The “First-Time User Welcome Fee” applies to any pilot’s first jump through a gateway. The “Frequent User Loyalty Optimization Fee” applies to every subsequent jump. A “Route Availability Surcharge” is charged when the gateway is busy, while a “Low Traffic Subsidy Fee” applies when it’s not.

Perhaps most innovative is the “Fee Transparency Communication Fee,” a small charge added to every jump to cover the costs of maintaining the pricing disclosure system itself.

“We’re really proud of this one,” said Vance. “It shows our commitment to accountability. You pay to know what you’re paying for. What could be more honest than that?”

The Consortium also announced plans to introduce a mobile app that will help pilots estimate their jump costs in real-time. The app will be free to download but will require a monthly subscription fee, plus microtransactions for features like “see fees for specific gateways” and “calculate total trip cost.”

Local shipping magnate Katerina Volkov, whose company operates a fleet of cargo haulers between Benten and Hortus systems, expressed skepticism about the announcement. “Last week I was quoted 1,200 ICA for a jump. When my ship entered the gateway, the fee was 8,500 ICA. When I asked why, they said the price had been ’transparently adjusted for market conditions’ in the fourteen seconds between my flight plan submission and the actual jump.”

“See?” Vance responded when informed of Volkov’s complaint. “That’s exactly the kind of transparency we’re talking about. The prices transparently went up. We’re not hiding anything.”

Gateway operators have also committed to providing detailed post-jump receipts that break down exactly where each component of the fee went. Early receipts show categories including “General Operations,” “Specific Operations,” “Operational Overhead,” “Overhead Operations,” and “Miscellaneous Operations-Related Activities.”

The Insitor Cooperative’s trade ministry released a statement praising the Consortium’s commitment to transparency while simultaneously announcing new regulations requiring gateway operators to disclose their fee structures at least twelve parsecs in advance. The Consortium responded by filing a motion to define “disclosure” as “making information theoretically available somewhere.”

At press time, the Gateway Operators Consortium announced their February resolution: to “increase uptime reliability to 99.9%, excluding scheduled maintenance, unscheduled maintenance, periods when we’re working on the pricing calculator, Tuesdays, and whenever we decide to take a break.”

When asked if the new transparency measures might actually help reduce overall transit costs, Vance smiled warmly. “Oh, absolutely not. But at least now you’ll understand exactly how much more you’re paying. And really, isn’t knowledge its own reward?”