Charlie Breitrose Buses in Watertown including the 71 bus will run less frequently starting the fall of 2022.
Changes to the MBTA schedule and service will begin on Aug. 28, and some routes in Watertown will be impacted.
Three bus routes in Watertown — the 70, 71, and 73 buses — will run less often.
The changes will impact the 70 (which runs from Waltham to Central Square/University Park in Cambridge via Main Street and Arsenal Street) on weekdays.
For the 71 (Watertown Square to Harvard Square via Mt. Auburn Street) and the 73 (Waverley Square in Belmont to Harvard Square via Trapelo Road and Belmont Street) will see changes on weekdays and Saturdays and Sundays.
On the 57 bus, the early-morning trip from Haymarket will not serve Cambridge Street and Tremont Street.
There will also be service decreases on the Green Line during certain parts of the day.
See more details by visiting mbta.com/servicechanges.
See the MBTA’s announcement on the Service Changes, and about the Long Term Planning Survey below:
Bus Service Changes
The MBTA today issued its Fall 2022 Bus Service Schedules taking effect on August 28. The MBTA typically adjusts service schedules quarterly to reflect the levels of service being delivered.
For a full listing of all upcoming service changes for all modes, please visit mbta.com/servicechanges.
Bus Service Details:
The MBTA continues its aggressive hiring campaign for bus operators. Hiring outreach has included updated online information, updated information at Registry of Motor Vehicle locations, email blast campaigns, MassHire events, and more. Advertising campaigns specifically targeting bus operator recruitment have been in operation since December 2021 with the latest campaign launching on August 1, 2022, including the promotion of a “One-Stop” bus operator hiring event that took place in April. During the One-Stop event, 109 interviews took place with 18 hiring offers extended on the spot. The MBTA continues to aggressively promote the bus operator position, including the benefits of working for the T and a sign-on bonus of up to $4,500, through both paid and in-house assets, including in-station advertising, outdoor billboards, on-vehicle advertising, community and foreign language print advertisements, broadcast radio, paid social media, and paid search online advertising. The MBTA’s HR Department is also actively working to reduce the onboarding process for new operators.
Because of ongoing difficulties in hiring new bus operators, approximately 3% of scheduled T bus trips did not occur over the summer months. While the MBTA continues its aggressive hiring campaign, the MBTA is adjusting bus service on some routes beginning August 28, 2022, to better match scheduled service with the actual level of service being delivered. Since January 2022, the T has hired 152 bus operators and is in need of approximately 300 additional drivers.
Hiring challenges are not unique to the T. According to a poll by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), nearly three in four transit agencies nationwide said that they have either had to cut service or delay service increases because of worker shortage issues.
MBTA bus route service changes will be made with special focus on maintaining service levels on routes with durable ridership, increasing service on the most crowded routes, adapting service to accommodate school and work trips, and maintaining the T’s flexibility to make changes to schedules as needed. Some routes will operate with more frequency, others with less frequency, and some routes will undergo routing or departure time changes.
If a route or bus stop is affected by schedule changes, the T advises riders to use its Trip Planner to find alternative service.
Two routes will see more frequent service than during the summer months. The Route 455 includes an additional Saturday morning trip and the Silver Line 1 will operate with increased weekday evening frequency.
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.
Riders can visit mbta.com/servicechanges for more information.
For more information, visit mbta.com/servicechanges, or connect with the T on Twitter @MBTA and @MBTA_CR, on Facebook /TheMBTA, or on Instagram @theMBTA.
Long Range Transportation Plan Survey
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is pleased to announce it has launched a new online survey to kick off the second phase of public engagement for the 2050 Statewide Long Range Transportation Plan, entitled Beyond Mobility. Community members across the Commonwealth are encouraged to help continue to craft the plan by submitting feedback through the online survey tool. The survey, which is offered in all major languages spoken in Massachusetts, is available at the following link (https://www.mass.gov/beyond-mobility-survey).
“This second phase of public engagement for the Statewide Long Range Transportation Plan will be critical in helping MassDOT understand the transportation priorities of community members throughout the Commonwealth,” said Transportation Secretary and CEO Jamey Tesler. “The results from surveys and community-centered engagement activities will help inform future capital programming and strategic planning at MassDOT.”
The second round of engagement provides all community members an opportunity to provide views on how to prioritize limited resources across transportation investments. The online survey, which launched today, Monday, August 22, will be open through Friday, October 14, 2022. The results of this public survey will help MassDOT identify the priorities for future transportation investments and determine the most important elements of a seamless transportation system.
In addition, MassDOT will be hosting a series of community-centered engagement activations across the Commonwealth. The community activations, which are designed to meet people where they are, will be in place from August through the end of September across Massachusetts. These community activations will involve outreach street teams setting up a kiosk at various locations across the state, sharing information about the plan, and offering incentives for passersby and others to participate in the Beyond Mobility public survey. A calendar of community activations can be found on the Beyond Mobility website at https://beyond-mobility-massdot.hub.arcgis.com/.
To learn more about Beyond Mobility and to keep current on project updates and ongoing engagement opportunities, please visit: https://beyond-mobility-massdot.hub.arcgis.com/.
For questions related to Beyond Mobility, email: BeyondMobility@dot.state.ma.us.
Please correct the article so it matches what the MBTA says. This article mentions decreased service for 70,71, and 73 on “weekends and Saturdays and Sunday” which makes little sense. After all, weekends ARE Saturdays and Sundays.
If you go to the MBTA site it says decreased service on “weekDAYS and Saturdays and Sundays” for 71 and 73, and on weekdays for 70.
Thank you.
Good catch, I fixed that.