Seasonal & Holidays
Salem Halloween: Commuter Rail Bans Bikes, Offers Kids' Goody Bags This Weekend
With large crowds expected to head to the Witch City, bicycles are not allowed on commuter rail trains on the Rockport/Newburyport lines.
SALEM, MA — While those braving a visit to the Witch City are strongly encouraged to take public transportation this weekend as nice weather is almost assured to draw record crowds to Halloween's unofficial hometown, among the things they cannot bring on the commuter rail are bicycles or scooters.
Because of the large crowds expected on the expanded rail service, the MBTA is banning bicycles and scooters from all commuter rail trains along the Rockport/Newburyport line on the weekends starting Saturday and continuing until Oct. 27.
The full expanded schedule can be found here:
Find out what's happening in Salemfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
But while bikes are prohibited — the city of Salem does have a BlueBikes rental program for those who want to pedal around the outskirts of downtown away from the massive crowds — the MBTA is providing a treat for young early risers.
The first 50 kids will receive a free goody bag on both Saturday and Sunday service at the commuter rail station in Salem this weekend.
Find out what's happening in Salemfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Passengers can utilize the $10 weekend Commuter Rail pass to and from Salem on weekends, Indigenous Peoples' Day (Oct. 14) and Halloween. Riders can also utilize a special $5 round-trip ticket from Beverly to Salem.
Salem officials said late last month they expected to meet or exceed the record 1.2 million visitors that descended upon the Witch City in 2023.
To help alleviate the car crunch downtown in October, the city for the seventh year will offer free shuttle service from Salem State University, Salem High School and the lot on Jefferson Avenue behind Salem Hospital on weekends in October, as well as Indigenous Peoples' Day on Oct. 14.
The three lots total nearly 800 parking spaces with shuttle service to and from Riley Plaza from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. each weekend day.
(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
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