The Vineyard could see a sharp increase in the number of tour busses this summer, as three new companies are seeking permission from the six Vineyard towns to offer Islandwide tours for day trippers coming off the Steamship Authority and Island Queen boats in Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven.

Three different applicants recently made the rounds of selectmen: Ron Minkin of Martha’s Vineyard Transport LLC, Barry Lopes of Native Island Tours and Jason Correia of Castaway Coach.

For years Island Transport has been the only tour bus company on the Island, along with charter services from out of state, and the potential change has already drawn concern from the Vineyard Transit Authority.

Mr. Lopes, an Oak Bluffs resident, is seeking to operate four Sentra 217 busses with 52-seat capacity, as well as four trolleys with a 44-seat capacity. Native Island Tours would operate May through November, offering either a two-and-a-half hour bus tour of the whole Island, or one-hour trolley tour of Oak Bluffs or Edgartown.

Mr. Correia, a Brockton resident, is seeking to run a six-hour tour around the Island using a larger coach bus with climate control, rest room and space for luggage. In his written proposal to Oak Bluffs selectmen, Mr. Correia states each coach will be driven by experienced drivers with a separate tour guide to give commentary.

The tour would include stops in Oak Bluffs, Edgartown and Aquinnah, departing from the Steamship Authority terminal in Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven.

Mr. Minkin submitted a brief application to Oak Bluffs selectmen, stating simply that his company, Martha’s Vineyard Transport, would operate as a livery business and also a home business based out of Oak Bluffs. He also said his business is interested in renting spots from the town near the SSA pier and the Island Queen landing.

The company would use smaller transports — similar in size to medical vans — that hold either 14 or 24 passengers.

All three companies need street licenses in the six Island towns; each applicant so far is in different stages of acquiring the necessary permits.

Aquinnah selectmen have awarded Mr. Correia of Castaway Coach a limited permit to use State Road and the circle at the Gay Head Cliffs, but prohibited the company from driving down Moshup Trail because of the larger busses. Selectmen also granted Mr. Minkin of Martha’s Vineyard Transport permission to use State Road and Moshup Trail; they have yet to hear the application from Mr. Lopes’s Native Island Tours.

Chilmark selectmen have granted Mr. Correia a street license for South Road, State Road, Crossroad and North Road, and have awarded Mr. Lopes a street permit for those same roads except North Road, because of the larger busses. Mr. Minkin was scheduled to appear before selectmen in December but did not show up.

West Tisbury selectmen initially awarded street licenses for all three companies to use State Road, South Road, Edgartown-West Tisbury Road and North Road. But after learning that Chilmark had denied Mr. Lopes a license for North Road, they went back and voted to remove that roadway from the previous street license.

If Chilmark selectmen also choose not to award Martha’s Vineyard Transport a street license for North Road, selectmen in West Tisbury will likely remove that road from the street license already approved.

All three companies have had less success with selectmen in the down-Island towns, where there are more pedestrians and motor vehicles, and also where the tour busses are likely to spend the most time.

Tisbury selectmen heard Mr. Minkin’s application but took no action and told him to come back with more details; Mr. Correia didn’t show up for a scheduled public hearing. Selectmen granted a street license to Mr. Lopes, but only allowed him to go into town, pick up passengers from the ferry, and use State Road to leave town.

Mr. Lopes had requested a street license allowing him to take the tour busses through town, including Main street and West Chop, but selectmen said they needed more information.

Oak Bluffs selectmen recently held public hearings for applications submitted by Mr. Lopes and Mr. Correia, but took no action on either. Selectmen asked both applicants to submit more detailed information, including travel routes, bus stops and notices of approval from Tisbury and the steamship authority. Selectmen also referred both applications to the town roads and byways committee.

Edgartown selectmen met with Mr. Minkin and Mr. Lopes but took no action on their applications and said both companies need to produce street licenses from their departure towns, Oak Bluffs and Tisbury, before any Edgartown vote on the proposals. Mr. Correia has yet to go before selectmen in Edgartown.

For several years the only tour bus company on the Island has been Island Transport LLC, owned by Scott Dario, which offers a two-and-a-half-hour tour that covers the six Island towns with a half-hour stop at Gay Head and downtown Edgartown.

Several larger corporations run charter tours of the Vineyard, but these companies are often based outside of Massachusetts and book large groups in advance, usually as part of regional tour of New England. They also use larger coach busses that carry between 45 and 55 passengers.

Charter tours do not require street licenses from towns.

The three new tour bus proposals already have drawn opposition.

Vineyard Transit Authority administrator Angela E. Grant recently sent a letter to the Oak Bluffs selectmen challenging the sightseeing license application from Native Island Tours. She said the drop-off and pick-up nature of the tour was too similar to the transit services provided by the VTA.

“It will be in direct conflict and competition with the existing transit services provided by the publicly funded VTA . . . [this] service . . . would need to be approved by the VTA,” she wrote.

In a telephone conversation, Ms. Grant said towns should tread carefully when considering new street licenses for tour companies.

“Even though the towns are hearing the same things from all the applicants, overall I think this is a regional issue. I think many people on the Vineyard have worked hard to address traffic congestion on the Island, and it’s something we still need to talk about and work to improve,” she said, adding:

“By adding more busses we may be adding to the traffic problems, without actually addressing a need.”