With Long-Awaited New Reservation System On The Horizon, Steamship Wants Nantucket Residents To Test It

The Steamship Authority is looking for Nantucket residents and visitors to help test its new reservation system, which will replace the current system that has struggled to handle high demand in recent years.

The Steamship Authority already has a beta group testing the reservation system, developed under its True North Initiative, but Nantucket is underrepresented in the group.

“This Beta Group serves as an important forum for informing both the customer and operational experience prior to launch,” said chief operating officer Mark H. Amundsen, who is serving as the project sponsor for the Authority. “We have a dedicated group of Beta Group members, but thus far they are predominantly based on Martha’s Vineyard, and we want to ensure Nantucket has a strong voice in this important process.”

Developed by Italian software company E-Dea SPA, the new system is intended to perform better in periods of peak demand, and the Steamship Authority plans for it to be online by the end of the year. E-Dea SPA, selected over eight other companies in June of 2025, was paid $5.78 million for a five-year contract that includes the development and operation of the new system. E-Dea SPA manages software for a number of ferry companies.

The Steamship Authority has long discussed the need for a new reservation system, but initially chose to prioritize an overhaul of its outdated website instead of improving the reservation system, a decision that was sharply criticized by the state Inspector General in a scathing report that also accused the website redesign project of wasting millions in public dollars.

New Steamship Authority general manager Alex Kryska has emphasized that the new reservation system will preserve features of the old system that are important to Nantucket residents. In addition to changing the reservation system, the True North Initiative will also change several other Steamship Authority policies in an effort to upgrade how the Authority books and manages trips.

According to a Steamship Authority press release, the beta group members provide operational insight, user feedback, and testing support of the new reservation system.

The group, which has already met once, is set to meet roughly once a month via Zoom, usually on the last Tuesday of the month, and will also have occasional independent work to complete. The next meeting is July 28th at 5:00 p.m., and interested islanders can sign up here.