Photo: Madison Rogers
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The MBTA has announced that service cuts on the Red, Blue, and Orange subway lines will continue through the fall, as an incoming population of students is expected to greatly increase ridership.
Earlier this summer, the T announced the Red, Blue, and Orange subway lines would scale back to a weekend service schedule on weekdays, meaning about 20% less trains run per hour.
The plan has been expected to last through the summer season, and officials have cited a critical lack of dispatchers on staff as the reason full service isn't possible. The Federal Transit Administration ordered the MBTA to increase its dispatcher staff, among a list of safety directives.
General Manager Steve Poftak says the MBTA has initiated a hiring push, but they still haven't gained enough employees to staff to the Operations Control Center.
Dozens of bus routes will also be subject to service cuts starting at the end of this week. The MBTA released its Fall schedule, and says 'forty-three routes will operate with less frequency during varying times of day.
'Nine routes will experience some routing changes and over thirty routes will see departure time changes." There are two routes that will see increased service, the 455 and the Silver Line 1.
The T is citing a staffing shortage in the bus cutbacks as well. A press release reveals "because of ongoing difficulties in hiring new bus operators, approximately 3% of scheduled T bus trips did not occur over the summer months."
The FTA's full safety investigation is expected to be completed this month.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Jim Mackay (@JimMackayOnAir) got reaction from riders Thursday:
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