The VTA Bus

You can get around Martha's Vineyard without a car, and in 2026 it costs nothing. The Vineyard Transit Authority (VTA) runs buses all year between all six island towns, and right now every ride is free, with no ticket or pass.

VTA buses are free to ride in 2026

VTA's fare-free program, launched in November 2024 and funded by Massachusetts' Fair Share Amendment, has been extended through June 30, 2027 in the state's FY27 budget, so 2026 was the second free summer in a row.

There are no passes or tickets to buy and no cash to carry. You board any VTA bus and ride, whether you are going one town over or all the way from Vineyard Haven to Aquinnah.

"If there's ever a time for folks to try transit, now's the time."
Angie Gompert, VTA Administrator

The fare-free program is funded on a rolling basis, so it is worth checking vineyardtransit.com/fares-passes before your trip, especially if you're visiting later in the season.

VTA bus schedule 2026: off season and summer

Off-season schedule (October 4, 2026 to April 15, 2027)

The VTA's off-season timetable runs October 4, 2026 through April 15, 2027, and every ride stays fare-free. We read it off the VTA's own printed route map (PDF, revised September 25, 2026); first and last buses for every route are in the table further down. In brief:

• Down-island stays frequent: Route 1 (Edgartown to Vineyard Haven) and Route 13 (Edgartown, Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven along Beach Road) both run every 30 minutes for most of the day, from around 6 AM until about 10 or 11 PM.
• Up-island runs every two hours: Routes 2 and 3 alternate, so Vineyard Haven to West Tisbury is still hourly, but Route 4 makes five round trips to Menemsha and Route 5 six to the Gay Head Lighthouse. Last bus out of Menemsha: 5:01 PM. Last bus off the cliffs: 6:05 PM.
• The airport: Routes 7 and 9 have new routings and stops and between them run hourly from the airport to Oak Bluffs, each stopping at the hospital in one direction; Route 6 links Edgartown, the airport and West Tisbury about every 90 minutes.
• South Beach and a new loop: Route 8 keeps running with four loops a day from Church Street, and the new Route 14 Meshacket Loop circles from Church Street past Morning Glory Farm every 90 minutes. Routes 11 and 12 are summer routes and are not on this timetable.
• Sundays and holidays, December 27 to March 7: a handful of early and late trips do not run (the timetable shades them white). New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day and Presidents' Day get Sunday service, and there is no service on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day.

As the VTA's riders guide puts it, schedules are subject to change without notice, so the live tracker has the last word on the day. The full route map and each route's timetable are on the VTA's site:

• VTA Route Maps: vineyardtransit.com/route-maps
• VTA Bus Route Schedules: vineyardtransit.com/bus-route-schedules

Summer schedule (April 10 to October 3, 2026)

The summer 2026 timetable ran from April 10 to October 3, with a high-summer book through August 22 and a lighter one from August 23 to October 3. At the peak, some routes came every 15 to 20 minutes. We keep the summer times below for reference until the VTA publishes the 2027 summer timetable.

The official schedule page will have the 2027 times closer to your visit: vineyardtransit.com/bus-route-schedules

Summer 2026 timetable at a glance (ended October 3)

Read off the printed VTA route map on the bus in September 2026 (season April 10 to October 3). Times are the base timetable; the black-shaded late-evening trips on Routes 3, 7 and others are the ones the VTA canceled for 2026. In summer a few trips after 9 PM ran on some nights (the 10:05 PM Saturday Route 5 from the Aquinnah cliffs was one); the off-season times are in the table further down.

• Route 2, West Tisbury to Vineyard Haven via Old County Road and Lambert’s Cove Road: nine round trips a day, roughly every 90 minutes. Leaves West Tisbury Town Hall at 6:28, 7:51, 9:21, 10:51 AM, 12:21, 1:51, 3:21, 4:51 and 6:21 PM (34 minutes to the Vineyard Haven terminal); leaves the Vineyard Haven terminal at 7:22, 8:52, 10:22, 11:52 AM, 1:22, 2:52, 4:22, 5:52 and 7:22 PM, reaching the Lambert’s Cove Beach stop 14 minutes later.
• Route 3, Vineyard Haven to West Tisbury via State Road: hourly, leaving the Vineyard Haven terminal at 7 past the hour from 6:07 AM to 9:07 PM and reaching West Tisbury Town Hall at 36 past; back from Town Hall at 36 past (first trip 6:26 AM), arriving Vineyard Haven at 59 past. The same bus carries on from West Tisbury to Edgartown as Route 6, and the 6:26 AM trip is timed to meet the 6:55 AM Route 13 to Oak Bluffs.
• Route 7, Airport to Oak Bluffs via Barnes Road and County Road: hourly, leaving the airport at 55 past (6:55 AM to 8:55 PM) and reaching Ocean Park at 19 past; back from Ocean Park at 28 past (7:28 AM to 9:28 PM), 22 minutes to the airport. Route 7 and the Edgartown-bound Route 6 meet at the airport for a timed transfer.
• Route 11, Downtown Edgartown loop: always free for everyone; ran May 22 to September 7 in 2026, every 20 minutes from both stops between 11 AM and 1 PM and again from 1:30 to 6 PM, with first departures from the Park and Ride lot at 7:35 AM. After Route 11 stops for the day, Route 1 buses leaving Church Street will pull into the Park and Ride lot on request.
• Route 12, Chilmark in-town and the Menemsha sunset bus: ran June 19 to August 30 in 2026, about every half hour between the Chilmark Community Center, Menemsha Beach and the Tabor House Road lot through the day, then the sunset bus every 20 minutes from Menemsha Beach from 5:25 PM, with the last bus 30 minutes after sunset. It meets Route 5 to Aquinnah across from the Community Center at 47 past the hour.

Service all year

The VTA runs every day of the year except Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Last winter the Steamship Authority itself ran the Tisbury Park and Ride shuttle on those two days; the 2026-27 timetable simply says there is no VTA service, so if you plan to park there on a holiday, it is worth checking with the Steamship Authority first.

This is our Route 10 ride from the Park and Ride lot into downtown Vineyard Haven:

The latest printable schedules and route maps are on the official VTA Bus Route Schedules page.

VTA bus routes on Martha's Vineyard

The VTA runs more than a dozen bus routes across the island and they connect the towns, the ferry terminals, the beaches and the main sights. These are the main lines; the seasonal Routes 11 and 12 come further down.

Full stop listings and downloadable PDFs for every route: vineyardtransit.com/route-maps

Off-season first and last buses (October 4, 2026 to April 15, 2027)

First and last departures for each route, read off the VTA's off-season route map (revised September 25, 2026). For every stop in between, open the PDF or the VTA's schedule page.

A few things the timetable notes:

• Sundays and holidays, December 27 to March 7: trips shaded white on the timetable do not run, mostly the first and last of the day. New Year's Day (January 1), Martin Luther King Day (January 18) and Presidents' Day (February 15) get that Sunday service.
• Christmas Eve: the evening trips marked x-Eve on Routes 1 and 13 do not run.
• Late Route 13 trips (9:55 and 11:10 PM from Edgartown, 10:45 PM from Vineyard Haven) run Fridays and Saturdays only, plus Sunday, October 11, 2026. Sunday to Thursday, Route 13 riders may ask for the 10:38 PM Route 10 bus to continue to Oak Bluffs after its Park and Ride trip.
• "SB" transfers: stay on the same bus; it changes its route number at the transfer point, usually West Tisbury Town Hall.
• No service on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day.
• Schedules can change without notice; vineyardtransit.com posts the updates.

Where the bus will and won’t stop

The VTA is a flag-stop system: besides the posted stops, drivers will pick you up or drop you off anywhere along the route where it is safe to do so. The VTA's printed Riders Guide spells out the exceptions (the same rules appear in the summer 2026 edition and the one for October 4, 2026 to April 15, 2027), and they save you from waving at a bus from the wrong corner:

• Five minutes early at the stop is what the guide asks for. It also says departure and arrival times and connections are not guaranteed, and the VTA is not responsible for missed appointments or ferries.
• The side of the road matters: wait on the side for your direction of travel, because a bus cannot stop for someone flagging it from across the street.
• No pick-ups or drop-offs on curves or at intersections, anywhere on the island, at any time.
• Edgartown: on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road (Route 1) and on Main Street, posted stops only. Route 8 at South Beach stops at the Right Fork, at the changing station between the forks and at the Left Fork, which the summer guide had listed as inaccessible because of erosion; the off-season guide adds that stop locations may change with conditions. Route 13 at State Beach stops at the crosswalk at Bend in the Road and at the posted stops by each bridge.
• Vineyard Haven: no stops anywhere on Water Street. Routes 1, 2, 3 and 10 make no stops before the MV Savings Bank when leaving town, and none between Causeway Road and the town parking lot next to Cumberland Farms coming in. Route 1 makes no stops from the bottom of Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road to the first crosswalk when heading out to Edgartown. Route 13 makes no stops between the Citgo station and the Steamship Authority circle in either direction.
• Oak Bluffs: Routes 7, 9 and 13 make no stops between the designated stop at Sunset Lake and Ocean Park in season, and none between the ocean-side stop and Our Market. Off season, none from the ocean-side stop to Nancy’s.
• Bikes: most buses have a front rack for two or three bikes, first come first served; when the rack is full the bike waits for the next bus, because bikes never go inside. Once your bike is off, the rack goes back up into its upright position.
• On board: no eating, drinking or smoking; drinks may be carried in resealable containers only. Standing passengers stay behind the white line and hold on.
• Boarding: everyone boards at the front door, and strollers and scooters ride folded, out of the aisle.
• Crossing the street: once you are off, it is safest to let the bus pull away before you cross, so you can see traffic in both directions.

Tracking your bus in real time

The VTA's real-time tracker shows where each bus is and when it should reach your stop, on every route:

vta.mytransitride.com: VTA's official live bus tracker

The off-season printed map points riders to a second address, maps.tsl.tech, which shows the same Martha's Vineyard Transit Authority buses.

You can also track buses and plan trips using third-party apps:

• Transit App: real-time departures, route maps and alerts
• Moovit: step-by-step navigation with VTA schedules

The VTA also sends E-Alerts, text or email notices about schedule changes and service problems. You can sign up at vineyardtransit.com.

VTA fares in 2026 (currently free)

All VTA services are fare-free for now, paid for by Massachusetts state funding, so there is nothing to buy.

For reference, these are the last fares the VTA printed before it went fare-free (its 2024-25 map). Massachusetts has since moved fare-setting away from the VTA's advisory board, so if fares ever return they may not match:

When fares applied, passes were sold on board every bus and at the Edgartown Visitors Center. For full fare details: vineyardtransit.com/fares-passes

Accessibility and special services

For riders who need extra help, the VTA has:

• Every fixed-route bus has a ramp or lift, a kneeler that lowers the bus, a securement area for wheelchairs and other mobility devices, and priority seating, according to the VTA's accessibility page.
• The LIFT and Medivan: Door-to-door ADA paratransit service by appointment for passengers with disabilities; the off-season map confirms paratransit stays fare-free too.
• Help with planning: large-print schedules on request, a TTY line (508-693-4633), and travel training, where a VTA trainer walks you through the timetable, the tracker, wheelchair securement and the bike rack.
• Bike racks: most buses carry a front rack for two or three bikes (first come, first served), so you can ride one way and take the bus back.
• Electric fleet: the VTA's annual report for fiscal 2025 counts 28 electric buses and three electric minibuses, about three quarters of the bus fleet, charged with help from solar canopies, battery storage and in-ground inductive pads such as the one at West Tisbury Town Hall.
• On the ferry: all five of the Steamship Authority's big ferries have elevators to every passenger deck; the SSA asks you to arrive 30 minutes early and tell the terminal agent. More in our accessibility guide.

Paratransit and accessibility questions go straight to the VTA through vineyardtransit.com.

Why take the bus on Martha's Vineyard?

Parking on Martha's Vineyard is tight, especially in peak summer, and between Vineyard Haven, Oak Bluffs and Edgartown the bus is often faster than sitting in traffic. A few more reasons visitors leave the car behind:

• It costs $0 to ride anywhere on the island right now.
• You skip the hunt for a spot in Edgartown or Oak Bluffs.
• The buses meet the ferry terminals in Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs.
• They reach the beaches, including State Beach and Aquinnah.
• The fleet is mostly electric: 28 electric buses and three electric minibuses, about three quarters of it.
• Plenty of people ride: more than 10,000 riders a day in August 2025.

VTA links

• VTA Official Website
• Route Maps
• Bus Route Schedules
• Fares and Passes
• Live Bus Tracker (vta.mytransitride.com)
• Transit App: VTA

Disclaimer: MV Vacation does not operate VTA services and is not responsible for changes to schedules, routes, or fare programs. Always verify current information directly with the VTA at vineyardtransit.com before your trip.

Connecting services and their phone numbers

These come from the summer 2026 VTA map, with Hy-Line’s and SeaStreak’s numbers from their own sites, for the day an app lets you down. Most of the boats are seasonal: in 2026 the Island Queen and SeaStreak’s New Bedford run sail through October 12, the Vineyard Fast Ferry ended on September 27, and Hy-Line’s last Hyannis–Oak Bluffs run of 2026 is October 25, while the Steamship Authority sails all year.

• Ferries: Steamship Authority reservations 508-477-8600 (Woods Hole, cars and passengers); Hy-Line Cruises 800-492-8082 (Hyannis to Oak Bluffs); Island Queen 508-548-4800 (Falmouth to Oak Bluffs); Seastreak 800-262-8743 (New Bedford to Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs); Patriot Party Boats 508-548-2626 (Falmouth to Oak Bluffs); Pied Piper 508-548-9400 (Falmouth to Edgartown); Vineyard Fast Ferry 401-295-4040 (Quonset Point, Rhode Island, to Oak Bluffs).
• Air: Cape Air 508-771-6944; JetBlue 800-538-2583; Classic Aviators 508-627-7677; Martha’s Vineyard Airport 508-693-7022; American Airlines 800-428-4322; Delta 800-221-1212.
• Mainland buses: Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority 800-352-7155 (the Sea-Line between Woods Hole and Hyannis stops anywhere along Route 28, including Cape Cod Hospital and the ferry docks; the WHOOSH runs Woods Hole to Falmouth center from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day); Peter Pan 800-343-9999 (Woods Hole to Boston, Logan Airport, Providence and New York); Plymouth & Brockton 508-746-0378 (Woods Hole and Falmouth to Boston South Station and Logan Airport, listed by the Steamship Authority); Nantucket Regional Transit Authority 508-228-7025.

Common trips by bus

For turn-by-turn directions, our How to Get There by Bus page walks every big trip from Vineyard Haven, Oak Bluffs and Edgartown, with a live map.

These are the connections readers ask us about most:

• Ferry to the Gay Head Lighthouse (Aquinnah), October 4 to April 15: Route 3 leaves the Vineyard Haven terminal at 7:07, 9:07 and 11:07 AM and 1:07, 3:07 and 5:07 PM; at West Tisbury Town Hall the same bus carries on as Route 5 and reaches the lighthouse at :02, about 55 minutes with no change of bus. Coming back, buses leave the lighthouse at :05 every two hours from 8:05 AM; the last one is 6:05 PM, reaching Vineyard Haven at 6:59 PM. From late October to mid-March the sun sets before that bus leaves. (In summer it was hourly, with the last Saturday bus off the cliffs at 10:05 PM.)
• Ferry to South Beach: Route 1 from Vineyard Haven to Edgartown, then Route 8 from Church Street. Off season it runs four loops a day (8 and 11 AM, 2 and 5 PM), reaching the beach in about 10 minutes, so a beach stop means coming back on a later loop.
• Oak Bluffs to Edgartown along the water: Route 13 via Beach Road; it runs right past State Beach, so you can hop off at the sand.
• Menemsha for sunset without a car: the summer Route 12 Chilmark In-Town and Menemsha Sunset Bus ran from the Tabor House Road lot June 19 to August 30 in 2026, with the last bus from Menemsha Beach 30 minutes after sunset. Off season, Route 4’s last bus leaves Menemsha Beach at 5:01 PM, and from November through January the sun sets before it does.
• Ferry to Menemsha, October 4 to April 15: Route 2 leaves the Vineyard Haven terminal at 8:07 and 10:07 AM and 12:07, 2:07 and 4:07 PM; at West Tisbury Town Hall the same bus carries on as Route 4 and reaches Menemsha Beach on the hour, about 53 minutes. The last bus back leaves Menemsha Beach at 5:01 PM.

Every ride is free through June 30, 2027, with nothing to buy before you board.

Ride the route first

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