Fast Link to Hyannis Wins Public Backing
Steamship Authority Governors Poised to Decide on Hy-Line Proposal;
Year-Round Service Planned
By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer
The public likes the idea of a year-round fast ferry running between
Hyannis and Oak Bluffs. Now the question is whether the Steamship
Authority will.
Most of the comments made at two public hearings held in Oak Bluffs
and Hyannis favored the proposal by Hy-Line Cruises to run a
149-passenger catamaran between the two ports. The boat line may decide
as soon as next Thursday's meeting in Woods Hole whether to allow
the Hyannis-based company to run the service.
"I think it will be a wonderful thing," Renee Balter,
executive director of the Oak Bluffs Association, said at a public
hearing Monday at the Oak Bluffs School.
"It will be a boon on many fronts," said Arthur
Flathers, a Vineyard Haven resident who closely follows boat line
affairs.
At the Hyannis hearing, held Tuesday at the SSA terminal, Hyannis
resident Allen Goddard backed the proposal. "It will enhance the
economic revitalization of Hyannis," he said.
SRC="http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2005/03/11/content/mark_wallace_sm.jpg" Hy-Line also has drawn a phalanx of written support from federal and
state legislators, educators, health care providers and business
associations.
They include U.S. Sens. Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry, Cong.
William Delahunt, state Sens. Robert O'Leary and Therese Murray,
Cape Cod Community College president Kathleen Schatzberg, Martha's
Vineyard Regional High School principal Margaret Reagan, Island Health
Inc. executive director Cynthia Mitchell, the Cape Cod and Hyannis
chambers of commerce, as well as the Oak Bluffs Association.
As of Wednesday, only three people had raised questions at the
hearings about the proposal.
One is William Campbell, spokesman for the Marine Engineers'
Beneficial Association, which represents unlicensed employees at the
boat line.
"If this really, truly looks like a necessity or a convenience
to the public, we [the SSA] should provide it," Mr. Campbell said.
The ball is now in the hands of SSA senior managers, who are
analyzing Hy-Line's plan and its potential impact on the
state-chartered boat line. The staff will forward a recommendation to
the SSA board of governors, which is tentatively scheduled to vote on
the plan at its meeting Thursday at the Candle House in Woods Hole. The
meeting begins at 9:30 a.m.
SSA general counsel Steven Sayers has raised the possibility that
staff will not have a recommendation ready by Thursday. In that case,
boat line governors will vote on the proposal at their April meeting.
If the board votes to permit the service either this or next month,
Hy-Line plans to start the service around Memorial Day. Company co-owner
Murray Scudder said the progress of renovations on the vessel intended
for the service, the Grey Lady II, will play a larger role in the start
of the service than the timing of a favorable SSA vote.
Hy-Line operated the Grey Lady II year-round on the
Hyannis-Nantucket route for five years, and recently brought the ferry
back to the East Coast after leasing the boat to a California operator.
SRC="http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2005/03/11/content/renee_balter_sm.jpg"The trip between the ports would take about 55 minutes.
Hy-Line is proposing a one-way rate of $29 for passengers aged 13
and older, with a round trip fare of $52. A ferry embarkation fee of 50
cents per departure would be added.
The company also is planning a set of reduced rates. Children
between five and 12 years of age would pay $23 one-way and $39 for a
round trip. A commuter book containing 10 round trip tickets would be
available for $234. School group rates would be $10 per person, with
youth group rates at $11 per person (the latter would include the
embarkation fee.)
Hy-Line has downplayed the potential impact of the new service on
the Steamship Authority, which operates no service on the route. The
company argues that the service represents the tapping of Vineyard and
Mid-Cape markets that now rarely travel between the Cape and the Island.
Hy-Line has said that its passenger traffic has been declining for
the five years on the route. The company anticipates that providing
faster service to the Island will attract more riders to the service.
To grant Hy-Line a license for the operation, the SSA must determine
whether the service is a public necessity and a public convenience.
Mr. Sayers said at Monday's hearing that the service would
give the Boston market a more convenient way to get to the Vineyard via
Hyannis rather than using SSA ferries out of Woods Hole.
Hy-Line has proposed running five round trips on the route from May
through Jan. 1, with run four round trips from Jan. 2 through April 30.
Hy-Line owners say they plan to continue to operate a traditional
ferry between Hyannis and Oak Bluffs in addition to the fast ferry. The
ferry Brant Point, takes about an hour and a half to make the trip.
Hy-Line also has proposed using the Brant Point to increase seasonal
service between the Vineyard and Nantucket, but that plan has not yet
come before the boat line for consideration.
Mrs. Balter, whose association represents businesses in Oak Bluffs,
said the proposed fast-ferry service represented a "tremendous
economic opportunity" for the town.
Bob Moore, director of the charter school in West Tisbury, supported
the fast ferry, saying it would open up opportunities for students to
use Cape Cod Community College, and for the school to take advantage of
professional development courses in Barnstable, Yarmouth and Dennis.
SRC="http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2005/03/11/content/wayne_lamson_sm.jpg" Even Jim Tietje, the owner of Patriot Party Boats, who operates a
year-round 40-passenger boat between Falmouth harbor and Oak Bluffs,
spoke in favor of the Hy-Line plan.
"If you run this service, more people will be aware of my
service," he said.
Scarce parking around the Oak Bluffs harbor surfaced as an issue.
Mr. Scudder said company discussions are under way with town
officials to address the parking problem. Mrs. Balter said the town
already was planning to operate a park and ride lot at the Oak Bluffs
School during the summer.
SSA employee Steve Ames of Hyannis, who lives near the Hy-Line
terminal, recommended that the boat line allow Hy-Line to run the
service for two years and then take over the route.
Mr. Sayers said the SSA will continue to accept comments on the
proposal until the end of the day today. People may call 508-548-5011,
extension 301.
At the Monday hearing, Martin Reilly, director of business
development for Hy-Line, said despite the fact that the company has
operated a route between Oak Bluffs and Hyannis for 34 years, its image
is still defined more in terms of Nantucket service.
"We want to be more synonymous with Martha's
Vineyard," he said.
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