MBTA beefs up service to airport

Service on the Silver Line between South Station and Logan Airport on Sundays is being expanded in response to an increasing number of passengers, the MBTA announced yesterday.

Effective today, from noon to midnight, the number of departures per hour on Sundays will be increased from five to 7 1/2, reducing the average time between buses from 12 minutes to eight.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority said it was acting to decrease waiting time, add more capacity, and make the service more reliable.

"As we monitored ridership, it became clear that Sunday was the day we needed to focus on, because more and more people were showing up," said Joe Pesaturo, a spokesman for the authority.

"It's traditionally a big travel day for business people," he said.

Launched in June 2005, the South Station-Logan section of the line has an average daily ridership of about 3,500 people.

Ridership peaks on Sundays, when 3,800 to 4,000 people use the line.

In addition to those who already use the service to get to the airport, new customers will be drawn by the increase in reliability, officials hope.

According to the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates the airport, around 30 percent of travelers take public transportation to Logan Airport.

"Logan is second only to San Francisco nationally for such a high percentage for public transportation use to get to the airport," said Richard Walsh, spokesman for Massport.

"Sunday is certainly a busy day and additional Silver Line service would be an important alternative," Walsh said.