BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — If you're planning on catching the train into the city this weekend, you might want to rethink your plans.
James from Gardner, Mass. said he was hopping on the Commuter Rail to go visit his girlfriend in Boston.
"It's a nice ride, it's pretty calm," he said. "It's never overcrowded or anything."
And while that might be nice for James, who gets a whole row to himself, it's not so great for the MBTA.
The T says ridership is down to about 10 percent of what it was this time last year. For that reason, the agency had to cut weekend service entirely to seven commuter rail lines; Fitchburg, Franklin, Greenbush, Haverhill, Plymouth, Lowell, and Needham.
That leaves only five active lines on weekends; Worcester, Middleborough, Fairmount, Providence, and Newburyport/Rockport.
Luckily for William from Framingham, he is still able to ride the MBTA's Worcester Line to Wellesley for work.
"I feel bad for the cities that are getting cancelled, really," William said.
The MBTA said the decision to reduce weekend service on most of its Commuter Rail lines was partially based on which communities it determined to be "transit-critical."
WBZ NewsRadio's Matt Shearer reports:
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Written by Brit Smith
(Photo: MBTA/Twitter)