A new bus route will begin operations later this month to serve vacationers and Island residents living along Meeting House Way and Meshacket Road.
The Edgartown select board on Monday approved the proposal, which is expected to begin on June 19, based on assessments made by the Vineyard Transit Authority (VTA) to maximize access for passengers along the proposed route.
According to Angie Gompert, the VTA administrator, the service will be provided every half hour for 12 hours a day during the peak season. After the summer months, the route will be evaluated further and adjusted if needed.
The request came to the VTA from the board due to residential growth along Meshacket Road and the recent Meshacket Commons affordable housing project, said Ms. Gompert.
“With [this] option, we will serve West Tisbury Road much better,” said Eddie Marques, an employee at the VTA. “Right now, we only have route six, which [runs] every half hour, and this option will also [run] every half hour serving Meshacket Commons.”
This new route will take passengers on a short loop up West Tisbury Road, making a left at Morning Glory onto Meshacket Road followed by a right onto Road To the Plains and another right onto Meeting House Way leading back to West Tisbury Road and returning to the bus terminal in Edgartown so passengers can connect to other transit routes.
Additionally, the select board signed off on a proposal by Andrew Nilson, vice president with Child Engineering, to rehabilitate Osborn Wharf, which is situated near the Edgartown Yacht Club.
The project was proposed in an effort to curb future issues related to rising sea levels which are expected to rise significantly by 2050, said Mr. Nilson. In addition to raising the pier by a little over two feet, the project would regrade the parking lot as the area often floods at high tide and during storms.
“We know that these structures need to be raised up, so they’re not becoming submerged during high tide cycles, but we want them to be useful in 30 years,” said Mr. Nilson.
During a survey conducted in 2020, inspectors took bathymetric and topographic data of the area. They assessed 50 per cent deterioration of the wharf and recommended that improvements be made since much of the structure had reached the end of its useful life, said Mr. Nilson.
With approval from the select board the project can now move forward and, over the next year, begin procuring funds and permitting as required before hiring a contractor. Extrapolating from the costs of past projects, Mr. Nilson expects the project to cost anywhere between $7 million and $8 million dollars.
Editor's note: a previous version of this article incorrectly identified Eddie Marques. It has been corrected.
This article appears in June 5, 2026.
Waste of taxpayers money.
What’s a waste? This route? The VTA? Public transportation in general?
Hmmm lots of late models SUV’ s in that parking lot. Not sure how much bus demand will be ..
I have noticed that!
As new homeowners at Meshacket Commons, we are so grateful for this new bus route as we have someone with macular degeneration who can no longer drive! We’d also love to walk to town or morning glory, but it’s far too dangerous with someone who is visually impaired and with a two and a three year old. The road is staked out for a sidewalk and we hope the sidewalk process begins soon. But for now, we are so happy to have this new bus route.
A ridiculous waste of money and a huge inconvenience and quality of life issue for the people who live on Road to the Plains. Were those homeowners forewarned of this and did they have any input? Hard to believe that anyone on that block would have signed up for this.
As a resident on Road to the Plains, it would have been nice to be notified and given a chance to speak. Road to the Plains, a small winding road has become a constant speedway these past years with vehicles traveling well over the posted 25 MPH. Adding buses to an already dense area with no sidewalk and speeding cars, large construction trucks, a barrage of landscaping vehicles, and town highway trucks just adds to the danger to the children, pedestrians and homeowners who live on this neighborhood road. DO BETTER selectmen. I vote NO to this proposed route.
I am very curious to see how many people from the affordable housing development actually get on that bus.
Hi John! My family uses the new bus daily. We are new homeowners in Meshacket Commons.
Fred— nope, as a resident of Road to the Plains, this is the first we are learning of this, and I am appalled. It is a narrow, winding neighborhood road on which there are many walkers and cyclists, and no sidewalks or lanes. How anyone can think that this is a safe route for buses is beyond me. Not to mention, this will severely and adversely affect our enjoyment of our home. We specifically added a large porch because we love to sit out front and watch the world — not buses — go by. I am devastated and can’t understand why anyone thought this was a good idea, much less a necessary one.
Glad the VTA is doing this, and I’m genuinely confused as to why giving residents choices about how to get around, with the friendly and free VTA, is a “quality of life issue” that should somehow be deemed a nuisance.
I also fail to see why homeowners should have been “forewarned.” If the VTA projects that ridership is sufficient to launch the route, then that should be that. No reason for NIMBY meetings.
I happen to have seen one of the buses when I was taking a walk… It’s a small shuttle bus not a full-sized bus. It’s very depressing and disheartening to see how many people in these comments lack empathy! You’re all definitely coming off as elitist who like to step on the poor and want to ruin their quality of life! Shame on you!