Thursday, 4:30 PM
T says bus route improvements will mean faster trips
By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff
The MBTA announced this morning that it will add buses and make other changes on 13 of its busiest routes, promising riders less crowded buses and faster trips.
The T is also adding a route between Dudley Station and Franklin Park that should reduce crowding on other routes serving the area.
More buses will be put on the 13 routes to provide more frequent service. Also, inspectors and standby buses will be stationed in the middle of the routes so that they can be dispatched if there are backups.
The changes will take effect Dec. 30 on routes serving neighborhoods including Allston, Arlington, Belmont, Brighton, Cambridge, Chelsea, Chinatown, Dorchester, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, South Boston, and Watertown. The 13 bus routes, out of 170 total, carry 41 percent of all riders, the T says.
Similar changes several months ago on a route between Everett and Haymarket led to vast improvements, said Daniel A. Grabauskas, general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
Grabauskas said the T also plans to buy 155 buses to replace some of the oldest in the fleet.
