The Steamship Authority board voted unanimously on Tuesday to extend off-season excursion rates until June 21 for both Nantucket and the Vineyard. The move was an effort to help ease travel burdens during the pandemic, particularly for people with medical appointments. The extension of the discounted rate for Islanders applies only to people who have an established excursion rate profile.
The subject wasn’t on the agenda, and rose to deliberation and a vote after Falmouth board member Kathryn Wilson brought it forward.
New Bedford board member Moira Tierney described the idea of the extension as “really important.”
Davis had originally floated June 14 as the end date for the extension, but Tierney suggested another week was appropriate.
Asked what the extension would cost, Davis said, “It’s roughly about $30,000 a week for every week that we would do it.”
“This is a kind of vote out of your heart, and not a good business decision,” Robert Jones, Barnstable’s representative, said. “So I’m willing to go with my heart on this.”
Ridership numbers still translate into a potential $60 million dollar loss, Davis told The Times at the end of the meeting. Earlier he’d informed the board the prospect of a $35 million loss might be in the cards. He later qualified that by saying it’s essentially a matter of perspective, presently.
“I was trying to be the glass-half-full type of guy,” he said of the $35 million estimate. “The glass-half-empty perspective is that if we were to continue with the same traffic levels that we have now from May, and just a slight increase each month going forward, we do still see that $60 million as being a possibility. Again, the four months of the summer, June, July, August, and September, are such a big part of our operating budget revenue-wise that it’s going to be the telling piece of it. Yes, the $35 million was if we’re able to ramp up — jump up to 75 percent ridership across the board.”
The board learned Coastal Marine Construction has begun repair work on the pier at the Oak Bluffs ferry terminal. Davis said the MV Katama transported the contractor’s equipment to the terminal on Monday. “I checked this morning; they are already at work,” Davis said.
He noted the pilings have been delivered, and are being stored in Falmouth until needed. The piling cap lumber is expected June 2, he said, which is six days earlier than anticipated. “We expect to be driving pilings early next week,” Mark Amundsen, director of marine operations, told the board.
Davis noted Vineyard Transportation Authority has been running service from ferries in Vineyard Haven to Oak Bluffs. He also said a proposal from SeaStreak came in to provide passenger service to Oak Bluffs while the terminal is shuttered. He described the prices as “prohibitive.”
For one of their smaller vessels, the company wanted “up to $11,000 a day,” and for the larger boat, “$17,000 a day.”
“In light of the governor’s opening plans, we don’t see that there would be a big surge of passenger increase for that,” he said. “And we do have sufficient passenger capacity on our vessels as is.”
Well, rate cuts, that’s an original way to try to right the financial boat of the Steamship Authority. Such rate cuts to Vineyard residents may help to soften the increasing shrill voices of criticism toward SSA management. And even take a little sting off of the lashing Board members gave Jim Malkin last week. But there’s a problem: the SSA is now only going to be financially deeper in the hole by the end of year. Port towns need to prepare now for Christmas cards from the Steamship Authority in the form of significant bills to port towns for 2019 operating losses.
Earlier someone posted that political acuity was the primary requirement for a manager of the SSA.
In other words, stick it to seasonal residents and tourists, again.
Time for the jukebox again…. Well we know where we’re going
But we don’t know where we’ve been
And we know what we’re knowing
But we can’t say what we’ve seen
And we’re not little children
And we know what we want
And the future is certain
Give us time to work it out
Yeah
We’re on a road to nowhere
Come on inside
Taking that ride to nowhere
We’ll take that ride
I’m feeling okay this morning
And you know
We’re on the road to paradise
Here we go, here we go
We’re on a ride to nowhere
Come on inside
Taking that ride to nowhere
I was charged full price just yesterday and don’t see an adjustment on my credit card. Here we go again
I called and they credited me the difference over the phone.
Reading these comments reminds of a saying one of my favorite teachers had: “No good deed goes unpunished.”
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
Without a doubt.
What doesn’t make sense to me is that you basically can’t get a boat! Look for a car crossing anytime in the next week, not a single opening any day, any time. One way to make more money is to run more boats, does anyone know what the hold up is?
I am getting off and have to flip a coin to get back
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