SSA launches discounts for veterans

In a salute to the men and women who served in the country’s armed forces, the Steamship Authority (SSA) is moving ahead with reduced fares for veterans. 

The decision, approved by the SSA board last Tuesday, will lower fares for veterans from port communities by nearly half. For the SSA, port communities include Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Falmouth, Barnstable, and New Bedford. The board also approved priority booking for honor guards traveling to the Island’s ceremonial services, such as to perform military funeral duties. Costs will be reimbursed by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs or the associated military branch. 

Robert Jones, the Barnstable board representative and a Vietnam War veteran, said he “can’t help but lean [toward the idea] that all veterans deserve that type of discount.” 

But Jones pushed against using DD214 forms — certificates of release or discharge from active duty, issued by the U.S. Department of Defense — to prove veteran status, saying there is “confidential information” in these records. Others at the meeting noted other options can be used, such as veteran cards. 

“We don’t want to do anything that puts veterans in a difficult spot,” Ted Gavin, Vineyard board representative, said. “I read this as permissive and not restrictive … If they have nothing else, then DD214 becomes their option, not our requirement.”

Currently, active-duty military personnel also receive discounted fares. Veterans interested in the new program can reach out to the SSA’s reservation office with documentation showing honorable discharge. 

According to the SSA staff summary, the Vineyard is home to around 1,100 veterans; 300 veterans reside on Nantucket. If all of the veterans from both islands take a round-trip each month, including on the more expensive fast ferry Iyanough, it’s estimated to cost the SSA around $227,700. But this is a rough estimate, since many of the veterans may already be enrolled in the senior program, which makes calculating the cost impacts difficult. 

Many of the Vineyard’s veterans are 65 or older, and the board also unanimously approved a separate pilot bus program to help older Vineyard residents get to medical appointments in Boston. 

Starting in September, the ferry line will cooperate with the Vineyard Transit Authority (VTA) and the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority (CCRTA) to connect patients with an existing reservation-only bus program that takes patients to Boston-area hospitals from Sagamore. A VTA bus will take the Island patients from Woods Hole to the drop-off location and back. 

The rides will be offered Monday to Thursday each week. But it’s an early day for passengers: A driver can escort people from either the Tisbury Park and Ride or the SSA terminal to take the 6 am ferry. Once at Sagamore, the passengers will switch from the VTA bus to the CCRTA’s shuttle to Boston, which departs at 8:15 am and makes eight stops connecting to hospitals in the Boston area. The CCRTA website states the ride back to the Cape leaves at 3 pm. 

SSA staff will also help patients during embarkation and disembarkation on the Boston round-trips. 

The program, its initial phase expected to run between six and nine months, stems from a joint proposal from the VTA, Healthy Aging Martha’s Vineyard, and Dukes County Veteran Services. The participating organizations will have quarterly check-ins with the SSA.