MBTA Trims Service On Brookline Bus Route For Winter Season

BROOKLINE, MA — Riders of at least one MBTA bus route through Brookline may see disruptions this winter as the T’s new winter service schedule takes effect.

Officials noted the winter schedule last week ahead of a start date on Sunday. Now in place, the schedule trims service on the T’s 66 bus route between Harvard Square in Cambridge and Nubian Station in Roxbury, among other routes.

The 66 route snakes through Brookline on its way to Harvard Square and Nubian Station respectively. Bus 66 frequency under the T’s new winter schedule has decreased between 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on weekdays, according to transit officials.

The 66 route is one of nine routes across the T’s bus network seeing service reductions this winter. Three routes will see increases. The T has also changed departure times on dozens of other routes while rerouting three buses.

Changes, officials said, come after travel patterns shifted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These service changes aim to support these new travel patterns by focusing on all-day travel, off-peak travel, and weekend service,” T officials continued.

T officials noted prior adjustments to their agency's bus network during the pandemic. Those changes, officials said, involved suspending low-ridership routes and reallocating service to “transit critical communities.”

“This winter, we’ll continue to evaluate how to best allocate service to support riders and their transportation needs,” the T said this month.

The T announced much broader bus network reductions earlier this year ahead of MBTA fall service, which began on Aug. 28.

Officials at the time blamed staffing challenges, in part, for the reductions, with MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak saying the new plan aimed to “better match scheduled service with the actual level of service being delivered.”

The MBTA Board of Directors' Planning Workforce and Development Subcommittee heard an update on hiring earlier this month. While the agency has restructured part of its hiring process and onboarded new bus drivers, hiring efforts across the network are ongoing, officials said.

Beyond buses, the T’s winter schedule launching this week also impacts area subway service.

Weekday Red Line trains will largely run in 6–17-minute intervals throughout the line.

Orange Line trains will run on a 8–12-minute cycle on weekdays.

Blue Line trains will run on a 5–11-minute weekday cycle.

The Green Line will see a 6–12-minute cycle on weekdays throughout its network.

The T slashed subway service earlier this year largely due to a directive from the Federal Transit Administration, which flagged staffing issues at the agency’s Operations Control Center.

Sparing the Green Line, reductions in June impacted the Red Line, the Orange Line and the Blue Line.

“The MBTA continues to make good progress in recruiting, hiring, and training,” officials recently said regarding subway service. “We are working to enhance subway service and hope to make some improvements soon.”

Recently celebrating the completion of its Green Line Extension project in Medford, the T did not escape criticism last week for a series of controversies stemming from safety and service concerns, among other things.

“We need to do better,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren said at a Green Line Extension event at Tufts University.

She called for improved reliability throughout the T, noting federal funding available to help support necessary upgrades.

Warren had previously celebrated news earlier this year that Poftak will step down early next month, calling the pending leadership transition an “opportunity to make needed changes and ensure our public transit system is safe, reliable and first-rate.”

Not alone in her criticisms of the MBTA, Warren has been joined by others including Sen. Ed Markey as well as state and local elected officials.

See the T’s current breakdown of all winter service changes here.