Boston and T tweak as Orange Line shutdown continues

Boston - Week two of the orange line shutdown is getting a new round of tests. College students are converging on the city as summer winds down. Soon after, public schools will be heading back.

Outside North Station, you can watch as traffic, duck boats and hundreds of charter busses compete for road space. John Costa has it down a week into the orange line shut down. “One bus, one train and one of these big busses,” said Costa.

To provide the best shuttle service possible, the MBTA tells Boston 25 they have has been collaborating with its transportation partners in Boston, Cambridge, Malden, Medford and Somerville.

“Since early August, the MBTA has been working with its municipal partners to identify areas with increased congestion that can cause longer travel times. As part of this collaborative process, the MBTA and its partners have developed and implemented various measures of mitigation, such as temporary bus lanes, updates to traffic signal timing, or positioning law enforcement to assist with traffic management,” a spokesperson told 25 in an email.

Riders we talked to on Monday told us they have not had any major issues

“It ain’t bad. It could be a lot worse. A lot worse,” said Costa.

The next big hurdle many people say is more people. Northeastern student Sonel Cutler like many students just moved back to the city this week. “I use that a lot to get around to get to back Bay, Mass Ave and it being closed is going to mean a lot more walking for us,” said Cutler.

It’s unclear if more people are using the temporary shuttles as college students come back because the MBTA says there is no charge to use it so they is no official count.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW

©2022 Cox Media Group