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Time flies when you're having shuttle buses

It seems like only yesterday that the T shut down service past North Station, doesn't it? The T reports trolley service all the way to Lechmere is scheduled to resume the weekend of Nov. 5.

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As I recall, the original estimate was December... mid or late December. The timeline kept getting scaled back and now they're practically opening in October. Awesome job. Can't wait to see the renovated station. This coincides well with the Red Line shutdowns, now people can avoid crowded shuttles and hop the 88 (I think?) if going to Davis.

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they wont. The Metro today had a front page story about how Tufts students are a bit miffed about the buses. They claim about 'crowds' and how its going to 'seriously effect their social life'.

Gotta love the 'white whine' about this one. They'll soon realize that the shuttle buses run more frequent than the red line itself. And its the weekend in the winter, they wont be dealing with summer crowding like they normally would.

Plus to be honest, half these kids already ride the 96 to Davis (if they live beyond powderhouse square), so uh, stay in the 96 a couple of more stops to Harvard.

PS I can't wait to see the new station too! and glad its open just in time for the holiday season at the Galleria.

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The Metro article today left me infuriated with the stupidity of the Tufts students they interviewed. That girl who said she won't be going into the city anymore to see her friends UNTIL MARCH was the real kicker. The shuttle buses are faster than the lines they replace almost always.

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What magical shuttle buses do you ride? Red Line shuttle buses usually turn a 10 minute trip into a 45 minute trip. And there are also delays on the train trip, since stations like Kendall and Harvard are not designed to turn trains quickly or process full trainloads at a time.

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I just don't understand why people in Boston have a phobia about riding buses. I mean OH MY GOD.. THE WORLD IS ENDING WE MIGHT HAVE TO RIDE A BUS.!!!! WHITE WHINE, WHITE WHINE.

Sheesh people get serious. Today I was in Davis. And I live in Malden. I didnt want to deal with standing room only on the Orange Line North. So I took the 96 to Medford Square, Switched to the 101, then switched to the 106 (I live in Maplewood). It took about 50 mins, LESS time than it would have if I had gone Red -> Orange -> bus. Go figure. I had a seat on all three.. not so crowded buses..

Regardless, its not the 88. (It comes close to it, but not directly to Davis (It goes thru Powderhouse Square which is nearby). The 87, however, goes from Lechmere to Davis (then to Arlington Center).

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maybe you're thinking of the 89? Though that also often goes to Davis.

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Arlington, West Medford, Medford Hillside/Tufts and then Broadway down to Lechmere.

Cybah, what you did made sense. HOWEVER bus lines that follow along train corridors are horrendously slow compared to using the trains. That is the problem - unless they are going to institute some special traffic restrictions, the bustitution on the Red Line will be a nightmare because weekend traffic on that corridor ALREADY is a nightmare. As it will be winter, fewer people will have alternatives like walking and biking unless they get totally strict about snow removal, too - not plowing, REMOVAL.

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yes and no

When I lived in Medford, I often took the 96 to Harvard Square. On weekends the traffic wasn't THAT bad. I found it worse during the summer than in the winter. And I appreciated the one seat ride from Medford Square to Harvard. The traffic problems are really contained to Harvard Square itself, traffic moves Mass Ave north.

I lived in Porter too for a few years and it only sucks during rush hour during week and on warm summer afternoons. I often found it to be faster to just take the 77 from Porter to Harvard (only because it takes like 15 minutes just to GET to the Porter platform)

I also wonder where the shuttle bus stop will be located, and if it will use the bus way. Its been a while since there's been a bus diversion on that section so I can't remember how it was done the last time.

If it used the bus way, it avoids a ton of lights at in Harvard square. If it doesn't....ugh.

At least if it uses the Harvard bus way passengers won't be waiting in the cold wont be an issue, and same with Davis & Alewife (as people can wait inside).. Porter is the really where waiting for that shuttle is going to suck because there's just no shelter and you're just kinda out on that plaza, cuz there's no protection at all.

However, besides the shuttle buses, there are other normal bus routes too. the 77, 96, and others that bypass the red line all together. (i.e. 88, 87, 89 etc)

Just remember folks, people managed to do this for 75 years prior to that extension being built, and they had to deal with just buses. The T wants us to do it on a weekend for a couple of months. Seriously we'll survive, it'll be ok!!!!!

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Like I said - traffic in that area is horrendous on weekends during the school year, with exception of early January.

Those traffic problems go all the way to Porter and beyond. They are not confined to Harvard. This is not 1998 ... it is 2012.

Also, not only is traffic lighter in the summer, people have more escape options during the summer. They should have done this during the summer.

A lot more people live in the area now who don't have cars and don't have housefrau to do their shopping on weekdays. Instead of elders and students, now the areas are full of people who work regular weekday schedules and shop on weekends.

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oops :) the 88 does go thru davis. I thought it missed davis and went to Clarendon Hill via Powder House Square. Thats the 89 though. damn bus routes.

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Shuttle buses dont handle the snow all too well.

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They are using about 30-40 40-ft buses from Charlestown/Bennett Garage, not articulated buses from Southampton for this shuttle. CNG buses are restricted from the overhang at Alewife and the Harvard bus tunnel, many of the articulated buses ae CNG, and the hybrid ones are required for Route 28. With 30-40 buses, they should be able to run shuttles about every 2 minutes.

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I didnt just mean the articulated.

Snow = narrower roads = more traffic = bus issues.

Snow = accidents = traffic

Snow = people getting stuck = traffic.

Take the B line. The 57 is faster 99% of the time. But if theres snow? Heeeeell no. You can take the B from kenmore to BC and back before re the 57 reaches packards corner.

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I suspect it's no coincidence the Red Line diversion starts at the same time -- they probably don't have enough buses to run that many shuttles.

Blessing or curse?

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There are oodles of buses on hand, especially on weekends. Somerville Garage (where the Lechmere Shuttle and Alewife-Harvard Shuttle are being operated from) has only so many operators to provide the service. There just isn't enough manpower to run both.

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Wow, I can't believe they're already wrapping this up. I have nothing but positive things to say about these past months of the shuttle busing. I never experienced a single issue with the shuttles and it was very smart of the T to keep trains designated as "Lechmere" even though the trains were terminating at North Sta. It definitely avoided mass confusion of tourists.

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I wish that North Station trains also said Lechmere... that way, people who are unaware can hop on a North Station train which might arrive sooner than a Lechmere train.

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to make announcements about the bus shuttles in the first place. Based on my observations riding trains signed both North Station and Lechmere, this was more the exception than the norm.

And running the robo-voice "The destination of this train is Lechmere" announcement when the trains were tying up at North Station didn't exactly help the situation.

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I really hope the station robo-announcements for the Alewife-Kendall shuttle this weekend don't announce trains as Ashmont or Braintree, like they've done in the past.

For that matter, why do the Blue Line's announcements say Bowdoin even after 6 pm and on weekends, when Bowdoin is closed and trains end at Government Center?

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to alter the robo-voice so it would inform the riders of the need to take a bus to get to their final destination (or in your example, that Government Center - and not Bowdoin - is the final stop). After all, isn't that part of the reason the T installed robo-voices, to provide the riders with more reliable announcements than the human operators were giving?

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