Orange Line Shutdown: How Boston Is Preparing

The sudden announcement that the MBTA will shut down the Orange Line for 30 days starting in a few weeks has commuters wondering how they'll get around and officials trying to help them.

Much of the Orange Line's route goes through Boston, and Jascha Franklin-Hodge, the chief of streets for the city of Boston, outlined on Wednesday the city's early plans for how to help riders get around -- though he stressed it could change.

"This is an extraordinary situation that came about quickly. Many basic details, like shuttle routes, are still in flux," he said in a Twitter thread.

The plan will involve adjusting Boston's streets and beefing up Blue Bikes, Franklin-Hodge said. He wasn't available for an interview Thursday, but according to the city, temporary bus lanes are possible, as well as increased enforcement of bus stop curb space.

It's the longest service diversion of an entire MBTA line in the T's history, Gov. Charlie Baker said, and will upgrade infrastructure that would have taken five years of night and weekend service changes

Boston Public Schools will be affected -- the first day of class for most students is Sept. 8, with the shutdown expected to last between Aug. 19 and Sept. 18 -- and the city expects to coordinate with the district as well.

"We don’t have the luxury of time for planning, but we must make sure our changes deliver benefits for riders, don’t create safety issues for those on foot or bike, and let businesses continue to function," Franklin-Hodge wrote. "There is no playbook for this, so we're going to write one as we go."

We are committed to supporting riders during the Orange Line shutdown and are working with the T to implement temporary shuttle bus priority on City streets. This is an extraordinary situation that came about quickly. Many basic details, like shuttle routes, are still in flux.
— Jascha Franklin-Hodge (@jfh) August 3, 2022

Implementing bus priority isn’t just throwing out cones and hoping for the best. It requires materials, enforcement, signage, public communication, planning for things like accessible parking, business loading, and intersection safety. We are building that plan.
— Jascha Franklin-Hodge (@jfh) August 3, 2022

We don’t have the luxury of time for planning, but we must make sure our changes deliver benefits for riders, don’t create safety issues for those on foot or bike, and let businesses continue to function. There is no playbook for this, so we're going to write one as we go.
— Jascha Franklin-Hodge (@jfh) August 3, 2022

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu was one of many officials working in cities served by the Orange Line who sounded off on the closure, announced by the Baker administration Wednesday amid persistent problems on the line and elsewhere on the MBTA.

"The truth is we’ve been past the point of small fixes for the T for years at this point, and you can ask any commuter," said Wu, an Orange Line rider herself.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who regularly rides the MBTA's Orange Line, weighed in on what a 30-day shutdown means for commuters and the system as a whole.

Wu and incoming Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper noted that the shutdown will go into the school year, and affect students who take the train to work as well as staff and families.

"Our staff comes from everywhere. In some areas where schools are, parking is very difficult," Skipper said, noting that the district would be looking to make sure "classrooms are staffed properly."

The Orange Line has shut down for nights and weekends before, and parts of MBTA lines have closed for maintenance work, but the 30-day shutdown is unprecedented for the beleaguered transit agency, which is currently under federal review.