Military veterans from towns served by the Steamship Authority will be eligible to pay the same lower fare as active-duty members, if the authority’s governing board agrees with the unanimous recommendation of its advisory port council.

“Our proposal is to provide veterans of our port communities the same discount that we provide furloughed or [active] military and seniors,” Steamship general manager Alex Kryska said at Tuesday morning’s port council meeting in Hyannis.

It’s unclear what financial impact this would have on the Steamship Authority. Many Island veterans already are paying the lowest fare available because they are seniors, Mr. Kryska said.

The port council also voted in favor of providing priority bookings for military honor guards headed to the Islands for veterans’ funerals.

Reservations director Angela Campbell will work directly with the honor guards to ensure that they get vehicle space on the boats, Mr. Kryska said.

“We do recognize that honor guards are paid for by Department of Veterans Affairs, so there’s not a need for us to cover that cost. But we will prioritize their booking and make sure they get on the boats that they need,” he said.

Both actions were requested last month by the director of veterans services for Dukes County, George Pimentel, and are now subject to approval by the governing board.

While Mr. Pimentel’s requests applied only to Dukes County residents, Mr. Kryska said the new policies would apply to veterans living in all of the port communities as well as in New Bedford, which currently does not have a Steamship Authority terminal but remains a partner in the regional transportation authority.

The port council also gave its conceptual approval to a joint request from Healthy Aging MV and the Vineyard Transit Authority to help provide a bus connection from Woods Hole to Sagamore, for Island seniors headed to Boston-area hospitals aboard a medical shuttle that leaves the Cape four days a week.

“It makes it easier for the people to travel to these Boston hospitals [and] it’s less vehicle traffic on our vessels as well,” treasurer/comptroller Mark Rozum said.

Steamship Authority staffers are still working out the details, he said.

The governing board is expected to decide on all three changes at its next meeting, August 18 at 9:30 a.m. on the second floor of the Hyannis terminal.