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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority announced on Friday that changes would be coming to weekday subway service on the Red, Orange, and Blue Lines, where trains mirror a typical Saturday schedule.
With the changes taking effect on Monday, MBTA officials say they may stick around for a while, or at least through the summer. The announcement comes after continued staffing shortages within the MBTA, specifically in dispatchers in the MBTA's Operations Control Center. Because there are so few dispatchers, officials say the new timetables allow the MBTA to stay within the directives of the Federal Transit Administration issued earlier in June.
Officials say there have been no changes to the actual service on the Red, Orange, or Blue Line weekend service, and no changes to any Green Line service. The one exception will be during the afternoon and evening of July 4, when the MBTA will resume regular weekday service to accommodate Independence Day ridership.
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The MBTA says some of the steps being taken to bring on more employees will include an aggressive recruitment campaign, offered bonuses, and potentially hiring back former dispatchers.
Officials say as soon as the MBTA has a sufficient number of dispatchers, service will return to its regular weekday service.
WBZ's Shari Small (@ShariSmallNews) reports.
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