A Call For Free Rides On All MBTA Subways, Buses During Shutdown Month

BOSTON — Following months of delays, derailments and multiple fires, and with weeks of shuttle buses ahead amid construction and repair shutdowns on the Orange and Green lines, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley are calling for MBTA riders to catch a break as well.

The two members of the state delegation issued a joint statement saying that all subway lines and bus lines should be free during the 30-day Orange Line shutdown between Aug. 19 and Sept. 19 in exchange for riders having to take shuttle buses and to make up for the overall aggravation that has been everything MBTA of late — especially for low-income and minority communities who more apt to rely on public transportation.

"This disruptive decision is yet another consequence of the historic underinvestment and mismanagement of the T," the statement said, "and it is shameful for the first public transportation system in the country to be forced into decisions like this.

"Riders should not have to carry the burden."

Read more: Orange Line 30-Day Shutdown: 'We've Never Had To Do This'

MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak did offer the alternatives of commuter rail service — which will be essentially free in Zones 1, 1A and 2 with showing a Charlie Pass or Charlie Card — during the Orange Line shutdown, the shuttle bus service through the city and taking advantage of any opportunity to work from home. But neither the MBTA nor Gov. Charlie Baker has given any indication they are considering giving everyone a free pass on all lines for a whole month.

"Implementing fare-free transit will help ensure that transit-reliant riders — including those whose commutes will undoubtedly indirectly be impacted by this disruption of service — are not financially impacted," Markey and Pressley argued, "while also promoting connectivity, accessibility, sustainability, and addressing the transit gaps that have deepened the racial and economic disparities in our communities.

"In addition, fare-free transit would also help lower costs during a time of rising inflation."

The MBTA said on Friday that shuttle buses will replace MBTA Green Line service on the newly opened Green Line Extension beginning this month as crews perform "final-phase construction work" on the extension's Medford Branch.

The new branch is now expected to open in late November.

This shutdown on the Green Line will begin on Monday, Aug. 22 and run through Sunday, Sept. 18.

It will impact stations between Government Center and Union Square.

The mayors of Melrose, Malden and Medford joined together on Thursday to call for express shuttle bus service and additional commuter rail trains in their communities during the MBTA's upcoming 30-day Orange Line shutdown.

"Sadly, the Orange Line shutdown is necessary, but it should never have come to this," U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton said. "Simply taking the T to work should not be a gamble. We need many years' worth of MBTA maintenance backlog solved in about 30 days."

The recent troubles are not contained to runaway and burning subway cars either. On Thursday, two MBTA employees were taken to the hospital after the back of a bus caught fire in the middle of record-breaking heat in Jamaica Plain.

Just last month, an Orange Line train caught fire over Mystic River in Somerville. The panic caused passengers to kick out the windows in an effort to escape and one person even jumped off the bridge into the river below.

"We know that any diversion — particularly one like this — will be frustrating to riders," Gov. Baker said in announcing the Orange Line shutdown on Wednesday. "We appreciate their patience as the T implements the short-term work that can result in long-term benefits in a much shorter time frame. And get to the place we all need to get to a lot more quickly."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)