Melrose Notes Shuttle Bus Traffic During Orange Line Shutdown

MELROSE, MA — Shuttle bus routes for the MBTA’s ongoing Orange Line shutdown largely avoid Melrose. But bus traffic has still crept into some parts of the city as drivers travel to and from shifts that start or end at Oak Grove station in Malden.

In Melrose, some quickly took notice as the shutdown began last month, with City Councilor Ryan Williams then saying this week that he brought the topic up in a recent meeting with the MBTA.

“Their answer: once the buses are done with a shift, we don't tell them where to go or know where they go,” Williams wrote in a message on Twitter.

The Orange Line shutdown began on Aug. 18, setting into motion a series of transit alternatives that includes close to 200 shuttle buses temporarily driving on Greater Boston streets.

Writing on Friday, an MBTA spokesperson told Patch that the agency leaves the task of determining routes to and from various shuttle staging areas to its contracted bussing company.

While the T also does not track specific shift information for shuttle drivers, the T's spokesperson said there is a stated expectation that the MBTA and its contractor, A Yankee Line, make best efforts to be as non-intrusive as possible when traveling through communities around shuttle routes.

Finn McSweeny of the Melrose Pedestrian and Bicyclist Committee has posted publicly online about local shuttle bus traffic in Melrose.

He urged caution in a statement on Friday in light of heightened bus traffic while the Orange Line shutdown continues.

“It’s important that residents, especially people walking and biking, are aware that these shuttle buses will be driving around Melrose during the shutdown,” he said. “While the drivers are professionals, they are likely to be unfamiliar with our streets, and may not know which areas are frequented by people on bike or on foot.”

The Orange Line shutdown is scheduled to continue until the morning of Sept. 19. Two weeks into the disruption, MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said this week that work is progressing on schedule, with roughly 50% of planned projects completed.

In addition to planned track work, Poftak said 56 new Orange Line cars are available for service, allowing the system to operate with predominantly new cars once service resumes.

While buses are only part of the MBTA’s network of Orange Line alternatives, the Boston Herald recently reported that Poftak told the MBTA Board of Directors that limits on when buses were available were a driving factor prompting officials to schedule and rollout the Orange Line shutdown when they did.

While the Boston-based Yankee Line has helped gather buses, drivers and buses are also coming from across the country on a subcontracted basis, according to the Boston Globe.

Poftak said in a press conference last week that there had been around 100 shuttle buses running on the north side of the Orange Line, where ridership is higher, with 60 buses running on the Orange Line's southern branch. Additional buses are in service for riders of the Green Line, which is also partially shut down due to work between Government Center and Union Square stations.

While the shutdown has gone "relatively smoothly" to date, as described by Poftak, both MBTA and municipal officials are eyeing an expected uptick in traffic and congestion on area roads in the second half of the Orange Line shutdown as students return to school and as post-Labor Day commuting increases.