Proposed changes to ferry waitlist met with frustration

A Steamship Authority proposal that could heavily alter how Vineyarders travel on and off the Island with vehicles was met with pushback and confusion on how it would actually work.

As the ferry line works to overhaul its reservation system and website, the changes under consideration that recently caught the most attention from Vineyarders were the proposed amended policies for the waitlist and standby lines, which Islanders frequently utilize to get to off-Island destinations and to return home, due to technological constraints.

Currently, customers traveling with a vehicle can join a waitlist after making a reservation, and there isn’t a limit to how many waitlists they can join. Meanwhile, the standby line can be used by ticketholders on the exact day the customer wants to sail on a first-come-first-served basis. 

Under the proposed change, a reservation would be required to join the waitlist and a person can only join up to five waitlists on the day of the reserved trip.

As for the standby line, there would instead be a ticket associated with a certain date and time, although still on a first-come-first-served basis. A similarity to the current model is that people will not be guaranteed travel aboard the ferry, and it would be based on the space limitation on boats. If a person is unable to travel on the desired day, a refund would be given by the ferry line. The new model would also eliminate the Blue Line, a standby line exclusive to Islanders. Peter Jeffrey, Steamship Authority board chair and Falmouth representative, said there would be priority given to certain groups, like people who need to ride for a medical issue, in boarding. 

At the open house last week held by the ferry line in the Tisbury Emergency Services Facility on Jan. 22, Thomas Innis from Gibbous, the firm tapped to lead the SSA’s information technology overhaul, said the proposed policies are expected to reduce the churn of the waitlist, increase trip stability, and boost operational efficiency. 

“We were seeing that on any given trip, there were hundreds of reservations that had waitlisted for a trip and waitlisted for another trip,” Innis said. 

While this process can help some Islanders, Innis said it leads to a “very inefficient” churn that forces customers to wait for others to be moved off of the waitlist. He also said only 90 to 95 percent of the vehicle space is used with the current model. Additionally, the current, unlimited reservation waitlist was something that Innis said the program offered by E-Dea, the Italian software company contracted to revamp the reservation system, couldn’t handle without performance issues. The concerns over technological constraints were also raised in a public joint workshop held by the Steamship board, Port Council, and executive staff in Falmouth on Jan. 20. 

Ferry officials tried to assuage Islanders’ fears while in Tisbury. They reminded attendees that the proposed changes were not set in stone and were a work in progress. Additionally, they said feedback was being gathered to make the right decision. 

Still, SSA officials highlighted that the ferry line was trying to balance the interests of all port communities, not just the Vineyard, and the ways people try to “game the system” for tickets. Alison Fletcher, Steamship director of shoreside operations, said the ferry line is trying to minimize changes to its policies but underscored there will be “give and take” between the SSA and the traveling public. 

“It’s going to be a growing pain for all of us,” Fletcher said.

“A growing pain on our end means we may not get home or may not be able to get off when we need to get off,” Michael Klein, an Edgartown resident, said. 

There’s been a flurry of discussion among Islanders opposed to the idea. One Chilmark resident, Perry Ambulos, even created an online petition against the measure that had received over 1,000 virtual signatures in a matter of days as of Tuesday afternoon. 

Members of the Steamship Authority Citizens’ Action Group, which has advocated for change at the ferry line, said they have “serious concerns” over the project. They said it seems E-Dea had not been presented with “real-life use cases” from Islanders, “who have the most reliance on the boats,” before selection. That includes the use of the waitlist.

“The vendors should have been asked to demonstrate how their software would handle each of these requirements,” the statement from the group reads in part. “To be having these discussions not only after a vendor is selected but also well into the implementation phase should raise alarm bells for everyone. And it is difficult to understand how system performance limitations are just now surfacing.” 

The group highlighted there are “many fellow Islanders who are similarly alarmed” by the proposed policy changes. Frustration was also voiced during the open house in Tisbury. 

Islanders protested the changes to the system and highlighted that they utilize multiple waitlist spaces to do off-Island tasks — including shopping, medical appointments, or family functions like weddings — because space is oftentimes unavailable for the days they want, even during the off-season. 

Margaret Hannemann, a Chilmark resident and founding member of the Steamship Authority Citizens’ Action Group, said sometimes a space does open up, but it isn’t offered at the discounted rate for Islanders, and “I can’t pay it.” She added that sometimes space opens up as it gets closer to the departure time.

“I need to get off [the Island],” she said. “I get a reservation for when I can and then I work very hard. I actually spend a lot of days going in and looking, and sometimes I just find one even though I am on a waitlist.” 

Several Islanders said the proposed policies were not flexible enough for Islanders who may need sudden changes to their travel plans and did not reflect the experiences of Islanders, especially during the busy summer. That point was underscored by some Islanders who highlighted that the Vineyard has an older population with individuals who need off-Island medical appointments. Others cautioned against unnecessary changes until the new reservation system actually goes live. 

“We have real-life examples of things we need to do … with this new system we will not be able to do unless we get super lucky and we happen to take the one ferry that’s going to clear our standby,” said Beth O’Connor, another founding member of the Steamship Authority Citizens’ Action Group, about the proposed policies for the waitlist and standby line. 

Alex Kryska, the new Steamship Authority general manager, underscored that the project has a testing period to prepare the new system before it is unveiled. Under the current timeline, the launch of an improved website and the phased rollout of the reservation system is estimated to take place between fall 2026 and winter 2027. 

Innis said options are being explored to work with a new system, like managing vehicle deck space based on the amount of feet available for a vehicle rather than pre-determined spaces and dissuading customers from not showing up to trips. Ultimately, policy decisions will come down to where the ferry line prioritizes its resources, especially during the times of the year when boats are full. And summer reservations on the Vineyard route are scheduled to open on Feb. 3. 

But there are also other factors that exacerbate the waitlist issue for the local ferry line. Innis said while there are ferry systems similar to the Steamship Authority, like the Canadian BC Ferries, there doesn’t seem to be other ferry lines that operate with the “volume of the SSA with the constraints of the SSA.” 

SSA officials encouraged people to email their thoughts and questions about the project at truenorth@steamshipauthority.com. They also recommended people share their real life examples of how they use the reservation system, including negative experiences they had. The ferry line is also looking for beta testers and those interested in participating can also reach out to this email.