BCAT News

Due to a difficulty hiring the necessary drivers, the MBTA is decreasing the frequency of service for 43 bus routes in its system, including three that have stops in Burlington. 

“Because of ongoing difficulties in hiring new bus operators, approximately 3 percent of scheduled T bus trips did not occur over the summer months,” the agency said in a press release. “While the MBTA continues its aggressive hiring campaign, the MBTA is adjusting bus service on some routes beginning August 28, 2022, to better match scheduled service with the actual level of service being delivered. Since January 2022, the T has hired 152 bus operators and is in need of approximately 300 additional drivers.”

The routes in Burlington that will be affected are as follows: 

Route 350 – Frequency decreases in the outbound direction in the morning and the inbound direction in the evening on weekdays. This route 

Route 351 – Frequency decreases throughout the day on weekdays.

Route 354 – 8:30 AM outbound and 9:40 AM inbound weekday trips are eliminated. 3:00 PM outbound and 4:10 PM inbound weekday trips are eliminated.

Click here to see all the routes that will be impacted.  

Route 350 starts at Alewife Stations and enters Burlington through Cambridge Street. It then splits and both runs down Cambridge Street to the Town Center, ending at Chestnut Avenue and goes down Mall Road and makes a loop around the Northwest Park development. 

Route 351 is made up of five stops and runs from 3rd Ave. down Middlesex Turnpike ending at Bedford Woods Drive. 

Route 354 is the express bus to and from Boston with stops in Medford and Woburn. In Burlington it enters via Cambridge Street and ends at Chestnut Avenue. 

As reported on BNEWS, the MBTA is currently in the midst of its  Bus Network Redesign, a part of the broader $8 billion Better Bus Project. The MBTA says the redesign is based on surveys and studies it has conducted, and the proposed new routes are designed to keep up with the times and offer the best service. 

We did a full episode of BNEWS In Depth on local transportation initiatives, including the Bus Network Redesign, that you can watch here.