Shuttle buses replace trains on MBTA Red Line during 10-day shutdown
The MBTA is trying to tame what they call their biggest beast. They are shutting down the stretch of the Red Line between Alewife and Park Street. The section has more riders than any other stretch of the T and has the least amount of access for maintenance crews. The route will be shut down for 10 days, with free buses replacing the trains.
"It does it creates a lot more congestion, and I would much rather take the train," said Allison Carr who was taking the bus with her kids to the New England Aquarium on Tuesday. "It's probably going to take about 45 minutes almost an hour. I was looking and comparatively [to the train] it would probably take about 30 minutes. So, it's going to take a little bit longer."
Mark Baker and his family are visiting from England. They are trying to figure out how to get around on the buses as tourists.
"It's quite difficult, but I think overall Boston is easy to navigate as a city to be fair," said Baker adding that England's public transportation isn't great.
WBZ-TV hopped on one of the buses at Alewife to Harvard to see how long it would take. The trip took about 35 minutes. By comparison, the MBTA says the trains typically take 30 to 40 minutes to get from Alewife all the way to Park Street.
"During morning rush, we saw about an hour to about 70 minutes if you took the shuttle the whole way from Alewife to Park Street, which is what we were expecting," said Deirdre Habershaw, Deputy Chief Operating Officer with the MBTA.
The last time the Red Line was shut down was in 2024 when Boston saw numerous shutdowns across several lines. Kaitlyn Webster was having déjà vu, as she boarded the free bus.
"I feel like you want to keep believing in the MBTA, but they keep letting you down over and over again," said Webster. "What used to be a two-leg journey is now a three or four. It's going to be like a bus to another bus to a train."
Some of her fellow passengers are planning to avoid the buses altogether. "I have the ability to work from home, so that is what I am doing for this particular week," said Debanjan Ghosh.
He had to take the bus on Tuesday for a work meeting but also scheduled an out-of-state trip at the end of the week to avoid the hassle. "Basically, so when I saw 'Blocked for 10-days,' I said this is the week I will go to San Jose," said Ghosh.
Habershaw said the shutdown is a commitment to a good state of repair, and a way to avoid the type of deferred maintenance that led to the 2024 shutdowns. That tough time also taught them how best to provide service during the closure of a line like this.
"One of the most challenging ones to shuttle because we are really constrained for most of it to Mass Ave, and so we are really at the mercy of Mass Ave traffic," said Habershaw.
It's why they implemented an express bus from Harvard to South Station that's seeing 25-minute ride times.
The MBTA says this stretch is also tough because of access. They have limited spots to bring trucks in and fewer spots to drop equipment. Habershaw said they essentially only have the gate at the Longfellow Bridge to gain access to do the work.
