Chappy Residents Fume About Their Ferry

Noah Asimow Tuesday, February 4 2020 - 3:46pm

A crowd of Chappaquiddick residents filled every seat of the Ted B. Morgan meeting room Monday to protest rate hikes.

A crowd of Chappaquiddick residents traversed the Edgartown harbor Monday afternoon, filling every seat and lining the hallway of the Ted B. Morgan meeting room to protest rate hikes and advocate for greater oversight of the Chappy Ferry service.

The meeting of the Edgartown selectmen began with a Powerpoint presentation from Rick Biros, who outlined the four major concerns of the approximately 50 Chappy residents standing wall to wall and spilling out the door behind him.

“Our concerns are with your oversight and the governance of the Chappaquiddick ferry,” Mr. Biros told the selectmen. “Not with the service — the service is very good.”

The ferry is a quasi-private service licensed by the selectmen, and co-owned by ferryman Peter Wells, providing daily service between Edgartown and Chappaquiddick on a small three-car barge. According to the ferry’s charter, Mr. Wells is obligated to provide a bond to the state treasurer to ensure quality of service. Even though selectmen have oversight over maximum cash rates, other special discounted rates for Chappaquiddick residents have traditionally been left to the discretion of the ferry owner.

Last May, selectmen approved a $1 rate hike from $12 to $13 for a round trip with a car and driver. Walk-on passenger fees of $4 round trip were unchanged.

But a recent increase in the discounted rate offered to year-round residents has apparently caused simmering concerns about oversight and management of the ferry to reach a boiling point.

There are different tiers of discounts, one for books of tickets that can be purchased by anyone, and a more deeply discounted tier for people who live on the small island at least 11 months a year. Mr. Wells notified the selectmen by letter on Oct. 18 that the price for year-round book tickets increased 50 cents, while year-round passenger tickets increased 25 cents. He said the most recent increase to year-round prices had been five years ago. A letter signed by 12 Chappaquiddick residents expressed concern about the rate increase without a public hearing and oversight, as well as about the long-term viability of the ferry service considering the recent loss of captains and threats from climate change.

In response, Mr. Wells defended the operation of the ferry service and said he still offered discounted rates approximately 50 per cent lower than the maximum rate. He said any advance notice of the rate increase would have prompted people to buy and hoard tickets before the price change.

“Administering the program is a constant headache,” Mr. Wells wrote. “The program is a really bad deal for the ferry and a good deal for residents. The offering of any discounts by the ferry is voluntary.”

At the meeting on Monday, Mr. Biros requested that selectmen review the rates and provide a definition of residency, determining who can qualify for the year-round rates, and form a governing board that would provide oversight, similar to the Steamship Authority. He also asked the selectmen to obtain legal advice on the proposals.

“It’s the residents who we feel need a voice,” Mr. Biros said.

Others felt the concern was broader.

“This is a long-term issue that we need to deal with for the future of Chappaquiddick and for the residents,” said resident Dana Strayton. “This is our lifeline.”

After hearing concerns, selectman Art Smadbeck agreed it was time to take a deeper look at the ferry operation.

“It would seem to me that we ought to be able to work out a process of reviewing all the rates, because that seems to be the crux of it,” Mr. Smadbeck said. “[Mr. Wells] and the board need to work toward looking at that for the future. Because the system that has been in place, has caused a lot of consternation.”

Selectmen and town counsel Ron Rappaport suggested that residents communicate with town administrator James Hagerty to hone questions before they send them to Mr. Rappaport and special counsel attorney Jeffrey Swope.

Meanwhile, they moved to form a five-to-seven member town steering committee that would focus on the specific concerns of the ferry operation. Mr. Wells said he would be available for the discussions.

“I’m happy to hear any suggestions to help the ferry run better,” Mr. Wells said.

Selectmen set March 2 as a date for written applications for the committee. They said applications should be sent to Mr. Hagerty, and that Chappy resident Peter Getsinger and Mr. Wells would participate.

“We just don’t want this to disappear,” said Chappy resident John Dropick. “And we want to move through this expeditiously.”

Comments

WOW. Peter Wells and crew

TJ Hegarty West Tisbery

WOW. Peter Wells and crew members have done an outstanding job serviceing Chappy.
And to see and here the crying and whining over a 25 to 50 cent increase in ticket prices the first in 5 years. WOW. Get real people.
look at what the SSA JUST DID TO PRICES. WHERE WERE YOU TO PROTEST THAT OR DEMAND A STEARING COMMITTEE.
My hat is off to Peter Wells and crew members for there fine service at affordable and stable prices.

Does this go out to bid? It

disugusted edg

Does this go out to bid? It must be quite a cash cow as other owners made a nice buck on an essential service without any competition

TJ you're taking things out

Rick Biros Chappy

TJ you're taking things out of context and the rate increases you state are incorrect. It is not 25 and 50 CENT increase, it is 25 and 50 PERCENT (%) increase! At the meeting, we stated there are 3 dynamics of the Ferry: Quality of Service, Rates and Sustainability. We gave credit where credit was due... the quality of the service is good. Based on a survey we conducted in January 2020 in which we received 198 responses, the average annual spend on ferry tickets had been $1,670 for a family before the rate increase. While the individual cost per ticket might not seem much, over the course of a year, the rate increase represents a $750 additional expense for the average household to travel on the ferry. At the meeting, we requested that the Selectmen conduct their fiduciary and legal responsibilities (which they agreed was lacking) in the governance of the Chappaquiddick Ferry to ensure the long-term sustainability of the lifeline to and from Chappaquiddick. Thus, the concerns are much more than just rates and if you were at the meeting you would understand that the major concern is the long sustainability of the ferry.

The prices of the tickets

Chappy

The prices of the tickets were increased by 25% and 50% not $0.25 and $0.50.

To clarify, the year-round

Editor

To clarify, the year-round car and driver’s rate increased by 50 cents, from $2 each way to $2.50 each way, a 25 per cent rate hike. The year-round passenger rate was raised by 25 cents, from 50 cents each to 75 cents each way, a 50 per cent increase.

The Town receives state funds

Ron Monterosso Chappaquiddick

The Town receives state funds under Chapter 90 to maintain state roads. This ferry is considered a state road but the Town does not allocate ten cents from those Chapter 90 funds toward the maintenance of this ferry. If the Town made a fair allocation of those Chapter 90 funds to this road/ferry there would have been no need to raise the rates — at least not by 50% . The Town needs to stop treating Chappy residents as second class citizens.

I don’t live on chappy but I

Jim H WT

I don’t live on chappy but I have to agree with TJ. It seems like people are overreacting. If the SSA were run as good as the chappy ferry we’d all be better off.

CPIU increased over 9% in the

Bruce Woodstown

CPIU increased over 9% in the last five years

The issue is clear. It is

Joe C Chappaquiddick

The issue is clear. It is unreasonable to increase rates for local residents by 50% for a pedestrian and 25% for an auto for this of us that use the ferry every day, often multiple times per day. Don’t confuse people by stating it is only 25 or 50 cents. Multiply that by the number of family members in any given household (for me it is 9) and hundreds of trips per year and that adds up to a big number.
Furthermore, to raise rates without any notification or oversight is wrong by any standard. This Chappy Ferry is our lifeline, our public road if you will. In essence this additional huge increase is a tax that many Chappaquiddick families cannot afford.

How long is the line for

AnnieP

How long is the line for potential competitors to this service? It’s never a surprise how so many assume that someone else is responsible for their comfort at no cost to themselves. I suppose when all those protesters began residency on Chappy there was no ferry and another way to get back and forth? And the ferry was a surprise to all when it started? Have any of them considered what might happen if Mr Wells becomes incapacitated or otherwise no longer wants to run the ferry? This showing really doesn’t do the protestors any good.

So it’s your lifeline and

Brian Chappy

So it’s your lifeline and critical to your existence but you don’t want to pay for it

Should Peter pay ?

The sense of entitlement from

James PI3 Edgartown

The sense of entitlement from Chappy residents that comes through in this article is really astounding

The answer is simple, no

Jack Edgartown

The answer is simple, no discounted resident rates. The ferry was not a surprise when you moved there, or chose to stay there. It’s the same as paying a toll or bridge fee in any other part of the world. The ferry has a substantial overhead, that must be paid for out of the owner’s pockets, they receive no state or federal money for upkeep or repairs.

The recent turnover of staff was an extremely needed one. It was also handled in an amazing manner with NO disruption to service nor inconvenience to island “residents.”

Ron, if you view yourself as a second class citizen, I guess the same could be said for us main islanders that must purchase non-resident tickets to use the service. As a resident of Edgartown (which contrary to the Chappy mentality, IS part of Edgartown) I guess we all have felt SCC when we choose to visit Chappy, so welcome to the real world!

And remember, you can always take the beach :)