How The MBTA's Cuts Will Affect Arlington

ARLINGTON, MA — The MBTA's Fiscal Management and Control Board voted Monday cut service as part of its Forging Ahead initiative. Fewer cuts were approved than were originally proposed, but they still impact service in Arlington and nearby communities.

Bus service in Arlington will be significantly affected by the approved service changes. The following changes are expected to become effective in spring (March/April 2021) or later following other state reviews (i.e. Title VI and MEPA review/approval):

• Suspend service on Route 79 (Arlington Heights to Alewife Station);
• Suspend service on Route 80 (Arlington Center to Lechmere Station), contingent upon completion of the Green Line Extension;
• Consolidate Routes 78 & 84 (Arlmont Village to Harvard Station and Arlmont Village to Alewife Station);
• Consolidate Routes 62 & 76 (Bedford VA Hospital to Alewife Station and Hanscom Air Force Base to Alewife Station); and
• The remaining bus routes within Arlington may operate 20% less frequency compared to baseline service levels: 67, 77, 87, 95, and 350.

The following additional changes to services that may affect Arlington residents include:

• 20% reduction in frequency on the Red Line. During peak travel periods, this means that times between trains will increase to 5 ½ minutes from the current goal of 4 ½ minutes. This also applies to the Green and Orange lines, while the Blue Line will only have up to a 5% reduction in frequency. These changes may go into effect as early as March 2021.
• Weekday service on the Commuter Rail will be reduced and end at 9 pm. In addition, weekend service will be suspended on lower-ridership lines, which include the Fitchburg Line serving Belmont and the Lowell Line serving West Medford. These changes are expected to become effective starting in January 2021.
• For the RIDE, some trips will need to be booked 40 minutes from request time instead of the current 30 minutes. In addition, some RIDE trips may become premium trips, though the RIDE service boundaries would not change, and the premium service hours will be adjusted to match Commuter Rail hours of operation. These changes are expected to become effective in spring.

The MBTA will continue to run service after midnight and have the same hours of operation for bus and subway/rapid transit. It will also maintain the Suburban Subsidy program for services in Bedford, Beverly, Burlington, Lexington and Mission Hill.

The cuts were made following a sharp drop in ridership during the COVID-19 pandemic. In October, ridership was about 330,000 trips daily, which was 26 percent of the previous October's ridership.

The MBTA has continued to run service at 2019 levels, even though it does not match current demand. The agency said most changes are not meant to be permanent, and service will be restored depending on public health guidance and the timing of the state's post-vaccine re-opening plan.

See the MBTA's Forging Ahead page for more information on the service changes. For questions regarding the changes in Arlington, contact Daniel Amstutz, Senior Transportation Planner in Arlington’s Department of Planning & Community Development at 781-316-3093 or damstutz@town.arlington.ma.us.