no Fitchburg Line commuter rail service on weekends until Thanksgiving

[ron_newman]

from the T service alerts page:

Fitchburg Line: Service suspended btwn North Sta & Fitchburg on Sat & Sun thru Nov 23, 2014, (with the exception of Labor Day weekend, Aug 30-31) due to track improvements. No substitute buses provided

So, no weekend trips to Waltham, Brandeis, Lincoln, Concord, the Nashua River Rail Trail, or anywhere else along this line. I'm surprised the T can get away with not providing any substitute bus service to such a large area.

Comments

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

you can definitely get to Waltham and Brandeis by bus quite easily. I know there are plenty of buses to concord and Lincoln, but I'm less certain of the best routes.

[ron_newman]

Waltham Center yes (route 70 from Central Square), Brandeis no (unless you take a long walk from Waltham Center or somewhere else along US 20). Route 70 is a very long and slow bus route.

I'm not familiar with any buses to Lincoln and Concord; can you give a little more detail?

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

The 70 ends a block or so from Brandeis actually (though opp side from the commuter rail and the campus is relatively big). You can also go to Riverside on the D if you're up for a long walk (about 40 minutes to Brandeis, 30 to the Waltham line, generally pleasant area). There is also a shuttle and another bus stop I'm less familiar with on the edge of Brandeis's campus near the train station (553 I think?). There are several dozen bus lines running through Waltham overall, though the 70/70a are the most direct to Camberville.

On weekends the 70 isn't that bad (it's a nightmare during rush hour). I often take it instead of the commuter rail since it's more frequent and much cheaper.

[ron_newman]

Other than the 70, those other Waltham buses are express routes that don't run on weekends. (And one not very useful Saturday route that goes from Waltham to Newton Corner and doesn't connect to any other T services)

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

I'm a little confused why you're arguing when it's pretty clear you don't take buses in/out of Waltham. There are several bus options that run all weekend.

[ron_newman]

What are the others, besides the 70?

(I have taken the 70 and the commuter rail to Waltham many times. The difference in time between those two options is pretty extreme)

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

Why are *you* arguing, when the indisputable facts disagree with you (and agree with Ron)?

70: 7 days a week, during *almost* all T service hours (the last outbound trip is midnight, about an hour before the last outbound Red Line reaches Central)
70A: Mon - Sat until about 6:30 pm

The express buses, none of which is useful coming from Somerville, and none of which runs all weekend:
505: Mon - Fri, rush hours only
553: Mon - Sat, until 9:45p weekdays; Saturdays until 7:15p and only from Newton Corner
554: Mon - Fri, until 6:10p
556: Mon - Fri, until 6:25p
558: Mon - Fri, AM rush, plus noon to 6 pm

There's also a Brandeis bus to Harvard Square and Back Bay Thurs-Sun. But it doesn't run during the summer. Years ago I heard they didn't ask for a student ID, but I don't know if that's still true. http://www.brandeis.edu/publicsafety/safety/escort/schedule.html

[siderea]

More like four blocks, but who's counting?

Ron's right, though, about time. I worked part time in Waltham, a few years ago, 11am - 7pm some weekdays. The 70 took an hour, vs 10 min for the train. The bus only ran (runs?) every twenty min.

(Also, can I just add: whomever participated in the imposition of the CEMUSA bus "shelters" on the bus users of Cambridge should burn in hell. There is no shelter from the elements while waiting for the 70. Electing to take the bus resulted several times in me showing up at work soaked to the bone. At least the train station provides shade and cover against rain and snow.)

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

The bus ends at Cedarwood. The Brandeis campus edge starts at Summit--1 block away (plus a wee half/cross block since people seem to enjoy being pedantic), about a 3-minute walk. But magically, if you walk in a different direction you could take a longer route, depending on what part of the campus you need to get to. Funny how that works.

The 70 takes about 30-45 minutes on the weekends to go from Waltham common to Central Sq., usually closer to 30. It's every 15-20 minutes on weekdays, 30-40ish on weekends--about 3-4x as frequent as the train (which takes 15 minutes on a good day).

[siderea]

[ron_newman]

I've walked this. It's a really obscure and unmarked route, and I was glad to have a good map with me when I did it. Even still, I got totally lost on the Brandeis campus once I crossed into it.

P.S.

[siderea]

Why not Summit.

P.P.S.

[siderea]

3 minutes?

[siderea]

I'll grant you this: maps.google.com confirms your contention that on weekends the 70 takes 37 minutes from Central Sq to Waltham Center. Porter Sq to Waltham Center by commuter rail is 13 minutes.

[vonelftinhaus.livejournal.com]

I would like to second your comment on the bus shelters (again not completely related to the subject but again relevant to using the transportation system), I have never figured out why anyone in the city(s) would agree to the structures other than "trendyness". They seem to not actually protect from the elements themselves whether it be from side blowing wind or rain- which we get plenty of in this area. Also it is of no bother to me; but I cannot understand that all the advertising on these structures is always for NYC-never once seen local advertising on them.

[achinhibitor.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised the T can get away with not providing any substitute bus service to such a large area.

I'm surprised, too. It'd be interesting to see if you can track down the public commentary on the change. I suspect the problem is that there is very little usage of that line on weekends.

[achinhibitor.livejournal.com]

Here's an article on what the work is:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/07/09/commuter-rail-heat-restrictions-solved/2f4d6K9WcKROM91P2NYq8O/story.html

It doesn't explain the lack of replacement bus service.

[ron_newman]

Is that what you intended to link to? It doesn't mention the Fitchburg line at all.

[achinhibitor.livejournal.com]

Ah, buggers, I mistook Framingham for Fitchburg.

[gruene.livejournal.com]

When asked if the T would provide substitute bus service, MBTA General Manger Beverly Scott replied,
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Hold on... let me catch my breath... Ha ha ha, No."

[achinhibitor.livejournal.com]

And that translates into English as what?

[gruene.livejournal.com]

The T never runs replacement service for the commuter rail. Why do you or Ron think they would do it now?

[kelkyag]

I've taken a bus that was standing in for the commuter rail. That was on the Haverhill line on a weeknight, not Fitchburg on a weekend, but it does at least sometimes exist.

[ron_newman]

I've been on a commuter rail replacement bus at least once, and have seen others announced from time to time. The one I remember was in Waltham, to bridge around a construction project. The train stopped somewhere (Clematis Brook?) that isn't usually a station stop, and we got on buses there to connect back to a train further west.

[achinhibitor.livejournal.com]

It would seem to be the nice thing to do (from the customer's point of view). And I would assume that Ron, being a transit geek, knows what is standard procedure.