MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak speaks at a press conference at Wellington Station in June. Photo: Madison Rogers/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — With MBTA passengers staring down a full shutdown of the Orange Line, the MBTA Board of Directors approved a multi-million dollar contract for shuttle buses to cope with the repair work.
The buses will cost between $27 and $37 million dollars to hire buses for the Orange Line and part of the Green Line. The contract — and the shutdown — begins on August 19th, and lasts until September 18th.
The Board swiftly handed down unanimous "yeas" on the decision in a board meeting took less than ten minutes.
MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak told the Board that the shuttles will be free for riders, and will be run by Yankee Line.
Poftak defended his decision to shut down an entire line during the meeting, saying that "the idea here is that by shutting down a line in its entirety, it allows us to do multiple projects, it allows us round the clock access."
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