Prompted by by a 40 per cent drop in ridership and scheduling inconsistencies, beach officials said Tuesday they are considering eliminating the summer bus route connecting Chilmark inns to Lucy Vincent Beach.

Beach superintendent Martina Mastromonaco and beach committee chairman Kristin Maloney said at the Chilmark selectmen’s meeting that last summer’s schedule was the most difficult to manage in recent years.

Initially, Ms. Mastromonaco said, the bus service “really solved a big, big problem for our department, which was overcrowding in the parking lot, but a lot changed over the years. This was the hardest summer, with the beach and bus trying to figure out their schedule.”

Ms. Mastromonaco said the Vineyard Transit Authority did not provide schedules to the beach committee and bus dropoff and pickup times were inconsistent.

The route 12 bus connects the Beach Plum Inn, Menemsha Inn, Capt. Flanders House and the Pickett House to the beach in the summer months from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and was originally created on request from the town and the inns. But numbers have trended downward in recent years and some town officials questioned its necessity.

Ms. Maloney said the committee was considering recommending the selectmen do away with the bus service. Ridership has dropped from an average of nearly 5,000 passengers during July and August to 3,000 this past season, according to numbers provided by the VTA.

In a trial period last summer the beach committee issued passes for the inns for guests to drive into the beach parking lots before 11 a.m. and after 3 p.m. Ms. Maloney said that seemed to be a sufficient way to keep parking congestion down and inn guests happy.

“The placards we gave to the inns seemed to work pretty well. That alleviated some problems and made them happier, but there was less usage of the bus itself,” Ms. Maloney said. “The beach is working fine the way it is now with the inns, and the bus is not essential.”

VTA director Angie Grant defended the bus route and said schedules were available online and in the town hall. She urged better communication between the VTA and the town. Some inn keepers said the town should keep the bus because it offered another option to guests without cars. “I was very happy with the trial this year. It worked out very well,” Julie Flanders, owner of the Capt. Flanders House, said. “My worry would be to cancel the bus altogether . . . what do you propose to do with our guests who don’t have cars?”

Dennis Barquinero of the Beach Plum Inn and Menemsha Inn said the bus and stickers were “a great balance.” But Elizabeth Pickett said she didn’t think the bus service was necessary for the Pickett House. “I’ve had to widen my driveway twice to accommodate the beach bus,” she said. “I’d rather not use the bus at all unless they’re going to pick up my guests on State Road, which is difficult for [the buses] because they can’t turn around.”

The group decided to revisit the issue in February.

In other business the selectmen approved a draft lease for the Tea Lane Farm house and surrounding three acres. Terms of the lease are for 75 years with a $20,000 one-time payment up front for the ground lease. The improvements made to the house and surrounding three out buildings will be paid for and owned by the lessee. The lessee also is required to live there for 11 months out of the year.

The community preservation committee is also considering placing an article on the annual town meeting warrant for $100,00 in funds to help the new tenant renovate the house. The town will hold an open house for prospective farmers to take over the historic farm on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Up-Island residents looking for better cell phone coverage will have to wait another two months for the digital antenna system (DAS) to be fully up and running. The system was supposed to go live Jan. 1 in Chilmark and Aquinnah, but installation of the fiber lines to the DAS network will begin Jan. 16. The nodes to hold the fiber lines are already in place. AT& T service will launch by the end of March.