MBTA to increase service, reroute buses for Celtics parade

June 18, 2008 12:27 PM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

The MBTA will increase subway service Thursday and reroute some bus lines for the Celtics' victory parade.

Daniel A. Grabauskas, the general manager, is expecting big crowds, including many riders who do not use the T on a regular basis. He pledged to keep employees on overtime shifts to help direct riders and keep lines moving.

"I think we're all looking forward to a crowd, but I think it's going to be a happy and celebratory crowd," Grabauskas said.

Grabauskas is encouraging riders who are coming into town for the day to buy $5 preloaded Charlie Cards so they will not have to wait in line at the end of the celebration for a return ticket. Extra employees will be selling stacks of the cards at Quincy Adams, Braintree, Alewife, Riverside, and North and South stations.

The T said buses on several routes would be diverted due to the parade.

The T is not planning extra service on commuter lines, but Grabauskas encouraged riders who want to avoid traffic to park at the Anderson Regional Transportation Center in Woburn on the Lowell Line or at the Route 128 parking garage on the Providence/Stoughton Line.

Grabauskas said T employees have ample experience with sports celebrations, given the recent success of the Red Sox and Patriots.

“The good news is that we have been extremely fortunate in Boston,” he said. “Our standard operating procedure is becoming pretty standard.”