Meeting on the Vineyard Tuesday, Steamship Authority governors voted unanimously to approve a 2020 operating budget that raises vehicle and long-term parking rates beginning Jan. 4. SSA senior managers also found themselves explaining the cancellation policy for ferries after last week’s storm.

Ferry service to the Vineyard was suspended last Thursday and Friday when a three-day northeaster lashed the two Islands. Hundreds of travelers were stranded on both sides of the Sound at the start of a holiday weekend.

During public comment at the end of Tuesday’s meeting, general manager Robert Davis fielded questions about the cancellations. A variety of factors affect the decision to run or cancel boats, Mr. Davis said, including wind direction, characteristics of specific boats and harbor conditions.

For example, he said some boats still on moorings in Vineyard Haven harbor swung perilously close to the ferry’s approaches during the recent northeaster, and because of the many variables, there’s no hard and fast rule travelers can count on to know whether or not the boats will run.

“We leave most of those decisions to the crews themselves,” Mr. Davis said.

The general manager acknowledged the difficulties travelers and SSA employees faced in the aftermath of the storm that halted ferries for more than two days.

“We carried 5,000 passengers out of Woods Hole Saturday before noontime,” he said, while automobile reservations were being honored in the order they were booked — though many drivers endured long and anxious waits before they could even get into line for a boat.

“We just don’t have the real estate to stage that many vehicles,” Mr. Davis said.

The monthly board meeting was held at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center in Vineyard Haven. Fewer than a dozen members of the public attended.

Fare increases will account for $5.1 million of the SSA’s $111.6 million operating budget for the coming year, SSA treasurer Mark Rozum said.

While the lion’s share of the increases will come from visiting motorists, Vineyard drivers will also see year-round rate hikes of $5 for their round-trip excursions off Island.

As part of his budget presentation, Mr. Rozum defended the boat line’s advertising program, which has come under criticism from Islanders and Falmouth residents for encouraging people to bring cars to the Vineyard.

“Our advertising targets passengers,” Mr. Rozum said. “We do not target vehicles.”

The $1.3 million advertising budget, which will not increase in 2020, is split three ways, he said: between the M/V Iyanough’s high-speed service between Hyannis and Nantucket, the traditional Nantucket route, and the Martha’s Vineyard route, which accounts for about $500,000 of the total.

“We do face a competitive market, especially on the Nantucket route,” Mr. Rozum said.

In other business Tuesday, governors voted unanimously to offer free passenger travel on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, to all military veterans and active duty service members with valid military identification.

It marks a first for the SSA, according to marketing director Kimberlee McHugh, who said staff looked at the websites of about 50 U.S. ferry lines and found only five that offered a military discount.

“I hope this adds a precedent for the rest of the ferry companies to take heed,” said board chairman Robert Jones, identifying himself as a Vietnam veteran.

SSA general manager Robert Davis also said next month’s meeting will include a full presentation of a new design for the boat line’s permanent ticket office in Woods Hole.

Unveiled in Falmouth early this month, the conceptual design from BIA Studio replaces a widely reviled two-story, multi-purpose structure with a single-story one, accompanied by a nearby utility building.

“We’re hoping it will open up some additional views of the harbor,” Mr. Davis said.

Molly Cabral, a Vineyarder with Woods Hole roots and an outspoken critic of previous designs for the building, thanked boat line management for the turnaround.

“This is the first time in my experience, which is long, that I can remember the Steamship making any kind of concession and listening to the Vineyard and Woods Hole,” she said. “It’s really a wonderful thing.”

Falmouth governor Kathryn Wilson said her constituents were also enthusiastic about the new direction.

“Many people in Falmouth have asked me to thank the Steamship Authority,” Ms. Wilson said.

“They feel we’ve made a big turn on this, and it’s appreciated.”

The design shown is posted on the SSA website.

SSA governors meet next on Nov. 19 in Falmouth.