Martha’s Vineyard residents with questions about the Steamship Authority’s proposed 2020 rate increases can speak directly with top boat line officials on the Island Wednesday.

From noon to 2 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 2 at the Oak Bluffs Public Library, SSA general manager Robert Davis and treasurer/comptroller Mark Rozum will answer questions about the preliminary draft of the 2020 operating budget, which includes more than $4 million in fare and annual parking increases for the Vineyard route.

At the boat line’s monthly board of governors meeting Sept. 24 in Nantucket, Mr. Rozum told the board that 2020 operating expenses are projected to be $111,599,526, with operating revenues projected at $113,474,526.

That leaves the SSA more than $5 million short of its target net operating income of $7.3 million. The plan calls for making up $4.1 million of the insufficiency with increases on the Vineyard route, and the rest with fare hikes for Nantucket travel.

The largest operating expense increases in 2019 were in vessel maintenance, terminal maintenance and depreciation, Mr. Rozum said.

Vessel maintenance was $1.62 million more than budgeted, and both terminal maintenance and depreciation were more than $947,000.

The SSA is projecting modest revenue increases in 2020 of 1.2 per cent from automobile fares, 1.8 per cent from freight and 1.3 per cent from passengers, Mr. Rozum said. Parking revenue is projected to fall by 4.7 per cent.

The proposed fare increases on the Vineyard route affect all wheeled traffic except for bicycles and commercial vehicles between 20 feet and 65 feet long.

Standard automobile fares will account for more than 80 per cent of the increases, rising from $5 to $19 per one-way trip depending on the time of year and the day of the week, as the boat line experiments for the first time with weekend pricing for car fares.

On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from mid-May to mid-September, the proposed standard auto fare will rise from the current $81 one way to $100 for vehicles under 17 feet in length and $110 for vehicles 17 feet and longer. The increased rates for weekdays would be $85 and $95.

Excursion car fares, available only to Island residents, will rise by $5 under Mr. Rozum’s proposal, accounting for 32 per cent of the total rate adjustment.

Boat line governors are scheduled to vote on the budget and rate hikes at their monthly meeting on the Vineyard Oct. 15.

The SSA has posted more information about the draft 2020 operating budget on its website.