Early Indicators Point to Another Busy Summer

Harbor reservations are at an all-time high, ferries have robust bookings and the airport is bracing for its annual onslaught of private and commercial planes.

Read More

Steamship Sees January Ridership Jump

The Steamship Authority saw last month's Martha's Vineyard passenger traffic rise nearly 26 per cent compared to January 2022.

Read More

Steamship Authority Traffic Goes Into Freefall

Automobile and passenger traffic on Steamship Authority ferries plunged into steep decline this month, just as the coronavirus pandemic began its spread into Massachusetts.

Read More

Summer Traffic Triggers Talk of Tipping Point
Holly Pretsky and Louisa Hufstader

Summer vehicle traffic numbers from the Steamship Authority are on track to match last year’s record-breaking figures, and backups continue to snarl Island roads in July and August.

Read More

Boatline Breaks Record for Vehicles Carried on Vineyard Route
Landry Harlan

For the third straight year the Steamship Authority carried a record number of cars and trucks on the Vineyard route this summer.

Read More

All Ashore: Steamship Bookings Are Up
Olivia Hull

The Island may be busier this summer, if advance reservations on the Steamship Authority are an indication.

Reservations for vehicle passage from Woods Hole to the Vineyard are up 3.5 per cent over last year, and bookings in the other direction are up 4.6 per cent, according to data collected by the Steamship Authority at the end of April.

Read More

SSA Traffic Down Slightly, Summer Holds Promise
Sara Brown

April Steamship Authority traffic was down slightly from the same period last year, though summer numbers are showing improvement.

At the Steamship Authority board of governors meeting Tuesday in Nantucket, general manager Wayne Lamson said April passenger traffic was down 3.3 per cent from April 2012.

Read More

Summer Steamship and Airline Traffic Up
Sara Brown

As the Island starts to transition from summer crowds to autumn quiet, the Steamship Authority is reporting that traffic was up compared with last year.

“The summer was good; the traffic has been good,” Steamship Authority general manager Wayne Lamson told the Gazette this week.

June passenger traffic to the Vineyard was up by 4.7 per cent; July passenger traffic saw a decrease of 1.9 per cent; and August traffic was up by 7.2 per cent compared with 2011, according to Steamship Authority data. Passenger traffic is up 4.6 per cent for the year to date.

Read More

Boat Line Figures Show Traffic to Island Up for July, August and Down for Year

Overall traffic on Steamship Authority ferries is either flat or down slightly for the year, but in fact peak-season summer traffic on ferries to the Vineyard - both passenger and automobile traffic - has been healthy.

Also, the patchwork of parking lots in Falmouth and Bourne that are used to service boat line ferries to the Vineyard were never completely filled this summer, raising some question about the recent statements by the boat line general manager about the need to shift passenger traffic to New Bedford.

Read More

Measuring the Summer: Seasonal Pace Slows a Bit; Is Vineyard in Transition?

Traffic was down, but parking tickets were up. The weather was changeable; ditto for the restaurant and retail business. The wild blueberries were not so hot, but the fishing was great - lots of big bass and small bluefish, and on the full moon in July the fluke were so thick in some places you could practically throw out an old shoe and catch one.

These are the benchmarks of the summer of 2003, and as the official summer season came to a close this week, the people of the Vineyard took a quick look back, and most could agree on two things:

Read More

Pages