Weekend MBTA Service Cuts On South Shore May Last Months

BRAINTREE, MA — South Shore commuters may have to wait months before they can take a Commuter Rail train or ferry on the weekend again.

Weekend services for both modes of transportation were cut in January because of low ridership amid the coronavirus pandemic. Low ridership hurt the MBTA's budget, forcing cuts on several lines, including Kingston/Plymouth and Greenbush lines. Before halting weekend service, ridership was at about 26 percent of what it was before the pandemic — 330,000 daily riders in October 2020 compared to 1.26 million per day in 2019.

And according to a new plan presented by MBTA officials Monday, weekend service cuts to the Kingston/Plymouth and Greenbush lines, will last at least through spring and possibly even through summer and fall, the Patriot Ledger reported.

This will affect commuters in several South Shore communities, including Plymouth, Kingston, Halifax, Hanson, Whitman, Weymouth, Braintree, Quincy, Hingham, Scituate, Hull and Cohasset.

Weekend ferry services could be off the table through summer and fall as well, officials said. However, the Middleborough/Lakeville line, which runs through Quincy, Braintree, Randolph and Brockton, will retain its weekend service.

Richard Prone, the MBTA Advisory Board member for Duxbury, criticized the MBTA's weekend cuts, saying they make it more difficult for people from southern towns closer to the Cape to get to the Red Line in Braintree, especially with increased traffic on Route 3 in the summer.

"I can't understand why the MBTA has decided to ostracize the South Shore once again," Prone said.

MBTA officials said they will revisit the measures before summer to prevent overcrowding, but how much ridership will increase throughout the year remains unclear at this time.