Time to rethink SSA Enabling Act

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To the Editor:

The MV Times article “Previous SSA consultant warned of problems” (Jan. 2) clearly shows that the very same Steamship Authority problems found by McKinsey and Co. consultants in 1994 — namely, ineffective management and failure to plan — still exist in the findings of HMS Consultants today. We should learn from this history.

I suspect that the root cause is the SSA’s Enabling Act, which creates a weak, amateur governing board that is appointed by the Islands and mainland towns, but does not represent them and is not responsive to their needs.

If we tinker at the edges of the SSA with a new position here and a new procedure there, we are likely to find the same SSA problems in 2044. The time has come to rethink the Enabling Act

entirely, with the goal of more reliable, more responsive ferry services, and a longer-term, comprehensive approach to transportation in southeastern Massachusetts.

David Isenberg
Woods Hole

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