Port Council approves Steamship rate increase

Port Council members unanimously endorsed a rate increase for the Vineyard and Nantucket routes, which would be seen mainly for peak-season vehicle travelers.

Excursion trips will not change under the proposal, and neither will passenger fares.

The standard fare for vehicles under 20 feet in length would increase by $2 for one-way shoulder-season travelers on the Vineyard; $9 for peak-season travelers Monday through Thursday, and $10 for peak-season travel over the weekends.

Parking permits will increase as well, including an $75 increase for the Woods Hole lot and $50 for the Palmer lot.

The changes would go into effect at the beginning of the new year, and will need approval from the Steamship Authority board.

Travelers on the Nantucket route will also see fare increases. One-way vehicle trips during the peak season will go up $15 on weekdays, and $25 on the weekend. 

The rate increases are meant to counter a deficit for the Steamship. Financial advisors say that training insurance, training, and maintenance costs are all going up. 

According to a presentation given by SSA treasurer and controller Mark Rozum and assistant treasurer Courtney Oliveira at a Port Council meeting on Tuesday, the Steamship is budgeting $350,000 more for training, a nearly 50 percent increase from the current year. That’s partially due to needing to train workers for the three new ferries that the Steamship recently purchased, and to have more officers on deck, Rozum said.

Also, the Steamship is budgeting $380,000 more for insurance in 2024, a nearly 8 percent increase from 2023, and $3 million more for maintenance costs, at about a 13 percent increase. The maintenance includes dry-docking services for SSA vessels Nantucket, Eagle, Island Home, and Iyanough. 

Meantime, Rozum noted that August traffic was slightly down this year on both the Vineyard and Nantucket routes compared with August last year. He said that traffic was normalizing to the historic levels prior to COVID-19, following a rise in traffic in the years preceding the pandemic. About 2 percent fewer passengers were traveling on the Vineyard route this year compared to last year, and about 1,200 fewer vehicles were traveling on the Vineyard route, or an approximately 2 percent decrease compared with 2023.