US dismisses discrimination complaint against MBTA

Federal transit officials have dismissed a discrimination claim against the MBTA alleging that Silver Line bus service through Roxbury and South End is inferior compared to service in predominantly white communities.

But the Office of Civil Rights of the Federal Transit Administration is requiring the MBTA to provide quarterly reports on service problems with the line.

T General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas said yesterday that those concerns have been or will be solved on the line, which goes from Dudley Square in Roxbury to Downtown Crossing. Ridership has jumped from 7,600 on the average weekday when it started in 2001 to 14,700 this year.

"They should be monitoring us so that we're maintaining service," he said. "But the bottom line is after more than five years of challenge by the Washington Street Corridor Coalition making claims of civil rights violations against the T, this very through and lengthy review thoroughly and completely vindicates the Silver Line against any claims."

The ruling was issued Nov. 6 after a formal complaint was filed in 2001 by activists at the Washington Street Corridor Coalition, which continues to oppose the Silver Line and push for trolley service. The group and others, who refer to the bus as the "Silver Lie," say it's a poor and inefficient substitute for faster light rail.

Robert Terrell, executive director of the Washington Street Corridor Coalition, declined to comment on the ruling yesterday, saying he had yet to receive a copy. South End community groups plan a forum on the Silver Line issue Monday and another on Dec. 14.

The T must now provide federal transit officials with data on ridership, how often the buses run on time, how often the buses are cleaned, and how well the T is keeping the line's dedicated lanes free of parked cars and snow, a frequent complaint from riders.

Grabauskas said a system that holds green lights and speeds up red lights for Silver Line buses has been working on Melnea Cass Boulevard, Massachusetts Avenue, and East Berkeley and Herald streets since March.

At bus stops, monitors that count down the minutes until the next bus arrives were working this week. The T has come up with a winter weather plan to clear the bus route of snow and traffic, using its own plows and staff, Grabauskas said.

Several Silver Line passengers who crammed into the extra-long buses at Temple Street near Downtown Crossing yesterday had mixed reviews of the service.

"I don't really have any gripes about the bus system," said Nikki McCarter of Roxbury, who said she rides the line downtown twice a month. "But I don't think they should continue picking people up when it's full."

Patrick Thermitus of Dorchester said line is inefficient. "I'm always late to work or close to it," said the senior at the University of Massachusetts at Boston.

April Simpson of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Mac Daniel can be reached at mdaniel@globe.com.