Somerville and surrounding towns avoid MBTA service cuts

[ron_newman]

The MBTA's final recommendation includes a fare increase, but does not cut ETA: eliminate any bus, subway, or commuter train service in Somerville, Cambridge, Arlington, or Charlestown.

Medford loses one bus route, the privately-run #710 which goes to, among other places, Lawrence Memorial Hospital. It is the only bus route serving that hospital.

ETA: In Cambridge, bus #351 to Burlington and Bedford Woods will have some reduction in service frequency.

Comments

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

Losing the 710 will make some of my neighbors unhappy, since it's the bus that many retired folk use to get around. It goes places that no other bus goes, not just the hospital, but it runs a route through a long neighborhood with no other bus routes within a mile or so, in the hills. However, I never totally understood the bus, since it's more of a largish-van style bus, and it's run by another company. You can't even use a charlie card to get on it! But retired folk got to use it for the retired-folk rate.

[gruene.livejournal.com]

Losing the bus couldn't make them *that* unhappy seeing as it only gets an average of 22 riders per day... (2 per trip).

http://mbta.com/uploadedfiles/About_the_T/Fare_Proposals_2012/S3%20-%20Bus%20Route%20Elimination%20Facts%20v2.pdf

[gingicat]

Hopefully the Ride will become more reliable for them.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

The 351 starts at Alewife (in Cambridge), and will run every 45 minutes instead of every 30.

[ron_newman]

You're right, I overlooked that. I should have said "does not eliminate" rather than "does not cut".

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

A few years back, someone suggested during the T's service planning process that the 351 should allow passengers in the reverse direction, when it currently deadheads (Bedford to Alewife in the AM, Alewife to Bedford in the PM). The T responded that it was a good idea, though they'd need to find a place for parking, since it wasn't within walking distance of residential areas.

But nothing ever came of it.

It's too bad that the T would rather cut the service than find ways to increase fare revenue.