Ferry official cites rising ridership, new reservation system and fleet upgrades

A ferry operator representative, Alex, told the Nantucket Visitor Services Advisory Committee on May 12 that the system carried roughly 2.9 million passengers and about 674,000 vehicles last year and is preparing new technology and capital investments to handle growth.

“We carried just over 2,900,000 passengers last year, 674,000 vehicles,” Alex said, and described a workforce that peaks at roughly 750 people. He said the operator is largely dependent on fare revenue and that the organization budgets significant operating expenses for 2026. Alex also described three refurbished freight vessels — the Barnstable, the Aquinnah and the Monomoy — as newly in service.

Alex told the committee the operator has contracted with a reservations‑system vendor, Gia (based in Spain), and plans to roll the new system and a redesigned website together to improve the booking experience and operations reporting. “Hopefully, we’re gonna have it launched the end of this year, early next year,” he said.

He described Woods Hole terminal improvements as nearing completion of phase two, with staff moving into a new building soon, and said future phases will add landscaping and solar capacity. The operator is also conducting “hot washes” of recent capital investments, including the three newly acquired boats, to review spending and improve processes.

Committee members pressed on passenger experience. Matt Piel raised complaints about limited food and beverage choices and spotty Wi‑Fi on longer freight crossings. Alex said catering contracts are due for review and that freight boats use vending options; he also noted safety guidance that encourages passengers into passenger spaces where Wi‑Fi is strongest.

Sean Driscoll, who participated in the meeting, said the new website interface will include original content and links to island services, and the committee discussed coordinating that content with local transit and visitor resources.

The committee thanked Alex for the presentation and said members would follow up with suggestions on catering and website content.

Votes and formal actions at the meeting did not relate to the ferry operator presentation.