Islanders are speaking out against a set of rate hikes which take effect this week at the Steamship Authority. An online petition had collected almost 2,400 signatures by Thursday morning.
Conrad Shipyard will build the ferry in Morgan City, La. The steel ferry, which has already been named Woods Hole, is being called a super freight boat, with a capacity for 384 people and 55 vehicles.
Donated to the Steamship Authority by Bill and Sue Ewen of Oak Bluffs, the whistle comes from the ferry Brinckerhoff, a sidewheeler built in 1899 to serve on the Hudson River.
The Steamship Authority said they anticipate ferry service disruptions Wednesday because of the weather; a high wind advisory is in effect from 2 p.m. Wednesday until 3 a.m. Thursday. Extra ferry service was added Tuesday for the Martha's Vineyard route.
So the ferry rates are being raised. That is an accepted fact of life on the Vineyard and one of the increased expenses we pay for the lifeline to our beloved Island home (the Vineyard, not the vessel, per se).
Islanders who have trouble getting their cars off-Island in the early fall will see some relief next year. Steamship Authority governors agreed this week to modify the fall schedule for earlier trips out of Vineyard Haven.
Islanders and day trippers alike will spend a little more to travel on the Steamship Authority beginning early next year. Parking fees in the off-site ferry lots in Falmouth are also slated to go up in January.
A package of rate hikes for the coming year will be on the table for discussion, including increases to excursion fares. The meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. in the Oak Bluffs library.
Increases in passenger fares and excursion rates for Island residents are among a set of proposed rate changes. But the boat line will now reconsider increasing the popular excursion fares, general manager Wayne Lamson said.
