Dates announced for Steamship Authority summer vehicle reservations
With the groundhog predicting an early spring, it’s never too early to start thinking about your summer getaway to the islands.
And with that, the Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket Steamship Authority announced on Friday new online opening dates and times for its summer vehicle reservations.
According to a company spokesperson, the general public can start booking reservations for their cars on the Nantucket route at 8 a.m. on Thursday, February 8.
If you fancy yourself the Martha’s Vineyard route, reservations will open at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, February 14.
Both openings will cover travel from May 15 through October 20, according to the Steamship Authority.
After the online openings, customers can make reservations on the phone and in-person at terminals starting at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, February 20.
The new opening dates come after an investigation into failures with the booking system customers experienced on January 18.
Officials say the errors that occurred during the Head Start openings were due to the underperformance of a cloud-based web server, as well as unexpected communication failures of on-premises web servers.
This left customers locked out of time slots to register their vehicles.
“Following more than two weeks of extensive troubleshooting by our IT team and external vendors, we feel confident our systems are prepared to provide a smooth experience for our customers during the reservation opening days,” said General Manager Robert B. Davis.
Utilizing virtual waiting rooms, Davis says, will be the key to managing the number of users allowed on the website, so as not to overwhelm it.
The waiting room will allow customers to see their “place” in line and approximate wait time. The Authority’s Reservation Offic will also be open from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily should customers need assistance.
“I know this delay has been an inconvenience for our customers, and I thank them for their patience during this process,” Davis said.
Click the link to go to the vehicle registration website.
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