MBTA Cuts: Waltham Commuters Say It's A Bad Idea

WALTHAM, MA — The MBTA commuter rail is facing major service cuts, including ending weekend commuter rail service and reducing frequency of the trains during the week. But a number of Waltham residents said they thought it might be a bad idea.

Waltham Patch neighbor poster Jonathan Stangroom said he uses the commuter rail from Waltham to Cambridge and Boston and outbound regularly.

"Overcrowding has not been an issue since the pandemic," he posted in the Waltham Patch neighbor post section. "[The MBTA is] lucky if there's a half dozen riders per car. We NEED weekend service and there should be something beyond 9:00 weeknights."

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 with 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."

For commuter rail service, the MBTA is proposing to stop service at 9 p.m., stop weekend service beginning in January, and reduce the number of peak and midday service trips from 505 to 430. The MBTA may also close some commuter rail stations due to low ridership, though none along the Framingham-Worcester line which has two stops in Waltham.

Some Waltham neighbors said they were most worried about overcrowding amid the pandemic.

"I could tolerate the change if weekday service prior to 9 PM was increased," Waltham Patch poster M. Wyson said in response to our question. "I would be more likely to use the train if crowding was lessened. I used the train daily before the pandemic, but have not used it since, worried about over-crowding."

But Curt Schroeder, who is considered an essential worker and uses the train to commute into Cambridge about once a week to do work that cannot be done remotely said over-crowding wasn't really the issue right now.

He said there has been plenty of room to social distance on the commuter rail when he uses it, noting the number of cars could potentially be reduced and still maintain distancing.

"But the T would need to start collecting detailed ridership analytics to know which specific trains could be tweaked," he said. "They should have been collecting this data before the pandemic to optimize their service. How many times must we endure standing room only before another car is added to a train?"

Schroeder said he doesn't think it's a smart move to eliminate service completely on the weekends or to reduce Red Line train frequency.

"I disagree with reducing the Red Line trains. Currently, they are just frequent enough to maintain decent social distancing most of the time I ride them. Reduce the frequency and the subway will instantly feel less safe for use during the pandemic."

He offered a solution, though.

"The T needs to be subsidized during this difficult time, because it is an important public service," he posted to Patch.

Eric Olson said a Cambridge friend who doesn't have a car takes the train to hang out in Waltham regularly.

"Ending weekend train service is a bad idea," he said, and offered another potential solution.

"We could easily afford a mass-transit supporting fee on gasoline sales, that might also serve to nudge people into electric cars and more efficient gas cars (= cleaner air)," he wrote.

The MBTA held one of 11 public meetings on the topic this week and discussed the commuter line.

Watch the meeting here:

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how .