Arlington MBTA Riders Face Cuts To Bus Service

ARLINGTON, MA — The MBTA commuter rail is facing major service cuts, but Arlington commuters will have a chance to tell transit leaders what they think at a forum on Thursday, Nov. 12.

Three bus lines serving Arlington will be consolidated if the proposed cuts go through, and two are on the chopping block.

On Monday, the MBTA revealed the extent of the cuts, which are being proposed amid a major drop in ridership because of the coronavirus pandemic. Ridership is at about 26 percent of what it was before the pandemic — 330,000 daily riders in October compared to 1.26 million per day in 2019.

"I want to reassure our riders that these service changes are not permanent, do not include any fare changes, and will not take effect immediately," MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said in a statement Monday. "We are carrying out a comprehensive outreach process and encourage all members of the public to provide comments and feedback, as we want to hear from riders to help us identify and protect the services that support transit-critical populations and communities."

Bus service will stop at midnight, many routes will have frequency reductions, and around 35 routes will be eliminated, consolidated or restructured. In Arlington, the 80 and 351 lines are slated for elimination, the 62 and 76 buses will be consolidated and the 78 bus will be consolidated with the 84 bus.

_{(Map via MBTA)}

See a full list of cuts here.

The Arlington meeting begins at 6 p.m., Thursday. It also covers Bedford, Belmont, Burlington, Lexington and Medford. You can register for the online meeting here. A final vote on the proposed cuts is scheduled for Dec. 7.

Will you be affected by the cuts? Let Patch know by emailing alex.newman@patch.com