Changes in office habits have pushed Seastreak to stop running its summer ferry route from New York City to Martha’s Vineyard.
The five-hour ferry ride to Oak Bluffs was designed for weekend getaways, leaving New York on Fridays and returning on Sundays.
The company, which has run the service going back almost 10 years, decided to stop the route this year because of low passenger counts in 2022. Seastreak vice president James D. Barker chalked it up to changes in New York commutes and more flexible work schedules, allowing people to travel during the middle of the week.
“We aren’t seeing as many people going to their physical offices on Friday,” said Mr. Barker. “They can now leave on Thursday nights. When that route was successful in the past, there was a really peak travel time.”
Seastreak also has ferry service to the Vineyard and Nantucket from New Bedford, and Mr. Barker said the company has seen more people take advantage of that route throughout the week, instead of historic travel days.
“More people are more spread out on more boats,” he said.
The decision to not run the New York City ferry was made in the past few weeks, but Seastreak has vowed to take a hard look at the commuting environment to see if there is any chance of bringing it back in the future.
“We’re disappointed,” Mr. Barker said. “We hope to bring it back next year. If there’s a way to do it, we’ll figure it out.”
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