After years of cutbacks and caveats, the MBTA is finally turning the dial in the other direction. The agency is rolling out a spring service package that it says restores bus service to levels above what riders saw before the pandemic while tightening subway schedules across multiple lines. The changes take effect April 5 and include increases on dozens of bus routes plus timetable tweaks on the Red, Orange, Blue and Green lines. Riders can expect more frequent buses on key corridors and new Sunday and evening trips in suburbs including Arlington, Weymouth and Burlington.
What riders will see
Most of the adjustments fall under the MBTA’s Better Bus Project and the regular spring schedule update. The agency says the package boosts service systemwide and pushes bus service past winter 2020 levels. According to the MBTA spring-2026 service notice, 37 bus routes will see service increases and two routes will be upgraded to run every 15 minutes or better. As reported by Boston 25 News, subway trip times will also shift slightly starting April 5 in an effort to improve reliability.
Routes to watch
A few of the changes will be especially noticeable. The crosstown CT2 will be folded into an expanded Route 85 that extends to Assembly and serves all stops between Assembly and Ruggles. The combined evening and Sunday 40/50 pattern is being dropped in favor of fuller standalone schedules on Routes 40 and 50. Route 87 will once again run its full length to Arlington Center, and Route 350 trips will all serve Burlington Mall Road, giving more consistent access to Burlington Mall, Lahey Hospital and Wegmans. Transit-focused coverage has already mapped out the specifics for riders who want to get into the weeds; see Streetsblog Massachusetts for detailed route maps and schedules.
What riders should plan for
It is not all good news for everyone. Passengers on some Red Line trips should build in extra time on certain evenings. Work at Columbia Junction will add about 10 to 15 minutes to trips between JFK/UMass and Ashmont and Braintree. “People rely on the MBTA every day to get to work, school, doctor’s appointments and many of our incredible businesses,” Governor Maura Healey said, adding that riders “deserve service that is frequent and reliable.” Interim Transportation Secretary and General Manager Phillip Eng said expanded bus frequency will make the T more reliable and more appealing to use. Boston 25 News carried the agency’s outline of the changes along with the remarks from Healey and Eng.
Why this matters
The spring update is a reminder that the MBTA is chasing incremental gains, using quarterly tweaks through the Better Bus Project, even as larger network redesign phases wait on municipal cooperation, new garage capacity and long-term funding. Transit watchers note that heavy traffic and delayed infrastructure work have nudged the agency toward smaller, regular improvements instead of one big, dramatic overhaul. The MBTA says riders can find updated schedules, maps and stop-level changes on its spring service page and that the Better Bus Project will continue rolling out quarterly improvements this season, with the MBTA service changes page providing full details.
