Massport shelves plan to end Logan shuttle

Facing a North Shore public outcry, Massachusetts Port Authority officials said yesterday they are backing off plans to shut down the Peabody Logan Express bus service and will keep it going for at least another year.

Separately, Massport, which runs Logan International Airport, said it expects to begin enrolling travelers in a new on-airport reserved parking program in August and launch it in the first week of September.

Massport's board of directors had moved this spring to shut down the Peabody Logan Express bus. Officials cited a $1.4 million annual operating deficit for the service, which has drawn far fewer riders than similar operations that bring travelers from suburban parking lots in Braintree, Framingham, and Woburn to airline terminals at Logan and back.

Last month, Massport cut the Peabody bus operations to once an hour instead of twice hourly and planned to shut it down June 30. But Logan business manager Jack Hemphill said yesterday that after strong lobbying from North Shore public officials and a round of discussions with Plymouth & Brockton Street Railway Co. , which operates the bus, Massport officials have decided to keep it going for at least one more year.

Service will continue to be only once per hour, at 15 minutes past the hour. But Hemphill said under the revised pact, Massport expects to lose only $400,000 to $500,000 on the service in the year beginning July 1. State environmental policies require Massport to support mass-transit measures to reduce automobile travel to Logan and mitigate air pollution. Logan Express charges $11 a day for parking plus $20 round-trip for the bus to the airport, with kids under 12 free.

State Senator Frederick E. Berry, a Peabody Democrat who as majority leader is also the chamber's second-ranking member, said, ``I probably got more calls on this than any issue since gay marriage," a reference to the proposed state constitutional amendments affecting same-sex marriage and domestic partnerships.

``I give them credit. It's not easy to change your mind in business," Berry added.

Meanwhile, Hemphill said Massport will test its reserved parking program this month with 200 select frequent flyers. The general public will be able to sign up beginning in August. For a $5 daily premium, plus a $200 annual fee, participants will be guaranteed a space in the Terminal B parking garage, near American Airlines and US Airways and a short walk to Delta Air Lines' Terminal A.

Initially some officials expected the program would require people to call or use the Internet a day ahead of time to reserve a space. But Hemphill said Massport officials have studied parking patterns carefully and will use signs to earmark enough spaces each day to serve the number of people expected to use reserved parking, with some spaces held outside the ground-level reserved-parking zone in case they fill up.

``We hope to roll it out in the central garage later in the fall," Hemphill said, but cautioned that a specific date has not been set.

Peter J. Howe can be reached at howe@globe.com.