While negotiations for state funding continue, the Vineyard Transit Authority will continue offering free bus rides well into next year and possibly for the second summer in a row. On Thursday morning, Angie Gompert, administrator of the public bus service, told the VTA advisory board that free public bus fares are expected to continue through May. If negotiations go well, the bus service may be able to provide free rides to passengers until next September. And the Vineyard’s public bus line wouldn’t just abruptly halt free rides. She also noted that demand for free public bus rides varied across the state.