Three-part commute

But for a few bumps along Route 1A, Leanne Francis had a smooth commute from Salem to Chinatown by train, bus, and foot.

Francis, a nurse recruiter at Tufts-New England Medical Center, relied on all three yesterday to get to work on time. Normally a train rider, she was forced to switch in Lynn from the train to a bus for a trip to South Station.

It took just 34 minutes for the bus to reach South Station from Central Square in Lynn as drivers stayed off the roads yesterday, and fewer passengers boarded the Newburyport/ Rockport line. The bus's 30 passengers sat quietly, taking in the view of commercial strips along Route 1A in Lynn, Revere, and East Boston, before heading into the Ted Williams Tunnel.

"Everyone's day is starting so much earlier," said Francis, 47, who got up at 4 a.m. yesterday, an hour earlier than usual. "That was ridiculously early, but I didn't know what to expect."

KATHY McCABE