Steamship Authority Reports Strong Summer Season

Steamship Authority photo:

WOODS HOLE – The Steamship Authority is reporting strong vehicle and passenger traffic between the Cape and Islands during the summer tourist season.

According to the ferry service, it was a record breaking season on the Vineyard route from June through August for both passenger vehicles and trucks.

For the year-to-date, the service is having its third busiest year for passenger traffic on the Vineyard route and the fifth highest for the Nantucket route.

“Overall through August we are looking at the fourth highest passenger totals that we have carried historically,” said Steamship Authority General Manager Bob Davis.

The vehicle and passenger numbers reflect the strong current economic situation for the region.

“For the truck traffic we are still seeing a lot of the building materials being taken over,” Davis said.

“With the automobiles – obviously, with the great weather we had this summer it was a good time for people to take a trip to the Cape and to the Islands.”

Davis said the SSA will continue to meet the demand for workers and builders traveling to the islands as long as they are needed.

Steamship Authority spokesman Sean Driscoll says the ferry service has normalized the mechanical issues that hampered travelers throughout the spring.

Before the summer, hundreds of ferry trips were canceled due to mechanical issues.

There were only 10 trip cancellations during the summer months, which is a similar figure to the same months in 2017 and 2016.

“Overall, the crews and our employees did a great job making sure we stayed on top of anything that needed to be taken care of,” Davis said.

Davis expects the trend of strong ridership numbers to continue through the shoulder season.

“Here in the fall it is typically a busy time period as well as the Cape sees traffic on the weekends,” Davis said. “It’s still a great time of year to be taking a boat ride.”

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