Steamship Authority governors unveiled an ambitious business vision
for the 21st century yesterday that calls for a new emphasis on summer
visitors to both Islands with more passenger service, reduced car
service, streamlined high-speed ferries from distant ports and a price
tag that is potentially sky-high.
And when they exhaled from that, the boat line board voted to ink a
$1.75 million deal to buy the New Bedford passenger ferry Schamonchi.
From the very start it had all the markings of a political campaign
- go heavy on the sales pitch, work the numbers to make them fit
the pitch and filibuster to silence anyone who questioned the
information.
NANTUCKET - Placing a surprise trump card on the table in the
testy and complicated match over opening up ferry service from New
Bedford, Steamship Authority governors announced yesterday that they
will take immediate steps to buy the ferry Schamonchi, a privatepassenger ferry that operates between New Bedford and the Vineyard.
Last week's report calling for high-speed ferry service
between New Bedford and the Vineyard was submitted without any financial
information, and the acting general manager of the Steamship Authority
said yesterday that he will now have to step in to finish the crucial
financial piece of the report.
Island Leaders Act to Block Decisions on Fast Ferry Service to New
Bedford
By JULIA WELLS and JOSHUA SABATINI
In an unexpected move that marks a new turn in the road for the
Steamship Authority, the All-Island Selectmen's Association voted
without dissent this week to tell the Vineyard boat line governor to put
the brakes on plans for high-speed ferry service between New Bedford and
the Vineyard.
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.
Steamship Authority governors will be asked this morning to consider
a mid-season fare hike, as the boat line faces escalating costs from
legal bills, rising debt and projected operating losses on the new ferry
run between New Bedford and the Vineyard this summer.
The proposed fare hike is set for discussion only; no vote is
planned until next month. If it is approved, passenger fares and the
popular auto excursion fares for Island residents will all go up.
The governor's ferry task force that recently staged a
four-month crash course on the Steamship Authority has now opened the
door for a major overhaul of the public boat line that has served the
two Islands for 41 years.
Amid a long list of caveats about assumptions and the need for more data, Steamship Authority treasurer Wayne Lamson told the boat line board of governors yesterday that he is in the neutral zone when it comes to the financial impacts of the new service model for future ferry operations to the two Islands.
"I feel that we should continue to explore the viability of the service model. But a lot more information needs to be gathered, and certain assumptions need to be validated," Mr. Lamson said at the monthly boat line meeting in Woods Hole yesterday.
FALMOUTH - - Adding fresh fuel to the fire that has burned around the Steamship Authority for months, the Falmouth selectmen voted 4-1 last night to take steps to remove Galen Robbins as the town boat line governor.
"Townspeople are in an uproar about this and I recommend we begin the process of removal," declared selectman Edward Marks.
"I believe that what's on the record is significant grounds and we may begin the process," said selectman Virginia Valiela.
