The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is shaking things up with a slew of service updates that kick in on December 14, as per a recent announcement on their website. Good news for bus riders—the Better Bus program is amping up frequencies on 21 routes, with 10 prime lines now running every 15 minutes or so, which should be music to commuters' ears. They're nudging folks to peek at schedules in advance and to lean on the MBTA's Trip Planner and the MBTA Go app for the freshest info.
Subway fans, take note: the Orange Line is tweaking operations to ease up congestion at Oak Grove, meaning trips should get snappier and more reliable, while the Blue Line schedule might nudge by a minute or two here and there between noon and 2 p.m. to make room for essential maintenance and inspections, all in the name of service dependability. Piercing through the urban tapestry, these alterations orchestrate a wider rhythm for the Boston commute, as reported by the MBTA.
Steering back to buses, the MBTA's overhaul spotlights routes 32, 39, 57, 66, 71, 73, 77, SL1, SL3, and SL5 which have been crowned Frequent Bus Routes; expect them to strut their stuff every 15 minutes, if not sooner, catching up with the brisk pace of city life. Route 64 is tweaking its itinerary too, ditching the deviation to University Park on weekends and instead extending its embrace to Kendall/MIT every day—Central Square remains the go-to spot for University Park access. Meanwhile, routes 112 and 114 are nudging a stop at Chelsea Market Basket over to the west side by Carter St., dodging construction hurdles, and Route 7 is bulking up its frequency to shoulder peak-time passenger loads.
Routes 9, 21, 26, 45, 64, 69, 83, 116, 215, 225, and 245 are also lining up for a frequency boost, turning the choreography of urban transport into a more fluid dance of schedules and stops, if you're skimming through Boston's veins, this might be the time your commute gets a whole lot less crummy. As for ferry riders, the Hingham/Hull and Charlestown services are plugging away year-round, with the East Boston Ferry sailing through till November 30, and Lynn Ferry, Winthrop Ferry, and Quincy Ferry anchoring weekday service until November 26—for the winter, weekends are a no-go on these routes. Sift through the full lineup of changes soon at mbta.com.
