MBTA Buses & Infrastructure

I also found that Brookline had posted some design plans that I don't see posted anywhere else on this thread. Here
 
Weekday system bus ridership has stagnated the last few weeks. The week of 4/5/21 remains the COVID-era high-water mark (with much of the OL non-functional), with the 2nd-8th highest ridership weeks having occurred back in August-November, 2020. (When) do people expect to see increases in ridership? The city and state are entering a period of rapid reopening. 50% of Massachusetts (all ages) have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

I am curious to hear people's take. Is the current ridership the "new normal" with remote work here to stay?
 
bigeman312 said:
Weekday system bus ridership has stagnated the last few weeks. The week of 4/5/21 remains the COVID-era high-water mark (with much of the OL non-functional), with the 2nd-8th highest ridership weeks having occurred back in August-November, 2020. (When) do people expect to see increases in ridership? The city and state are entering a period of rapid reopening. 50% of Massachusetts (all ages) have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

I am curious to hear people's take. Is the current ridership the "new normal" with remote work here to stay?
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School vacation week just passed. That likely damped-down the numbers, as work vacations were timed accordingly. You also just had the normal slate of Patriot's Day biz closures, but without the corresponding hordes of Marathon watchers. It unscientifically *felt* emptier out and about last week.
 
bigeman312 said:
Weekday system bus ridership has stagnated the last few weeks. The week of 4/5/21 remains the COVID-era high-water mark (with much of the OL non-functional), with the 2nd-8th highest ridership weeks having occurred back in August-November, 2020. (When) do people expect to see increases in ridership? The city and state are entering a period of rapid reopening. 50% of Massachusetts (all ages) have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

I am curious to hear people's take. Is the current ridership the "new normal" with remote work here to stay?
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I think a lot of the educational institutions seem to be saying that they'll return to on campus education in September. That also means instructors, affiliates, and also all the support staff will return. They all cannot drive so I think Labor Day will be much wilder than typical with moving and new routines.
 
Columbus Ave today:
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Now someone tell me how we've already got utility spray markings on #3, can't possibly be digging it up for utility work already lol
 
HelloBostonHi said:
Now someone tell me how we've already got utility spray markings on #3, can't possibly be digging it up for utility work already lol
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They don't have to be digging up things for the constructors to have marked the location of utilities (especially red - power).
 
The Silver Line Alternatives study presentation from April 29 strongly hints that they’re going to come from today’s CR/Market Basket over to Sweetser and then in on Broadway past the Casino to Sullivan

Silver Line Extension Alternatives Analysis Public Meeting #1 | Events | MBTA

Official website of the MBTA -- schedules, maps, and fare information for Greater Boston's public transportation system, including subway, commuter rail, bus routes, and boat lines.
www.mbta.com www.mbta.com

They have lots of small choices on where they do their Queue jumps, How to get to and through Sweetser in both directions, and how much street running demand they pick up, but this next wedge seems pretty much set.


(it seems also to include a SL spur on Outer Broadway for about a mile north of Sweetser)

...and not going to Wellington, and not getting its own crossing on the CR alignment (greyed out as options)
 
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F-Line to Dudley said:
School vacation week just passed. That likely damped-down the numbers, as work vacations were timed accordingly. You also just had the normal slate of Patriot's Day biz closures, but without the corresponding hordes of Marathon watchers. It unscientifically *felt* emptier out and about last week.
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Good call. This was demonstrated last week: the highest ridership week for the bus system since March 2020.

MBTA_Bus_Ridership_4_26_Week.png


The previous COVD-era high (week of 4/5/21) got a bump from a non-functional northern end of the Orange Line: the last two weeks of the northern OL shutdown remain the highest COVID-era ridership weeks for the 104, for example. Last week's record ridership was more authentic without that factor. The B-branch's bustitution is less likely to drive as many people to non-shuttle bus routes as the Sullivan-Oak Grove OL shutdown was.

In particular, the 66 saw a nice bump. Last week, the 66 averaged 6,895 riders per day, which was its highest ridership week since March 2020:

66_Bus_Ridership_4_26_Week.png


While a small part of that may be due to people shifting away from the temporarily closed Brookline Hills stop and bustitutions on the B-branch, I suspect most of this increase is newly-vaccinated, newly-comfortable riders who had stopped riding, or were riding less, during COVID. This was 86% of the 2019 low water mark (Christmas week) and 51% of the index week (week of 2/24/20). Not to mention a 161% increase year-over-year. Slowly, but surely, ridership is trickling back. The 66 is on-pace to be at Christmas-week 2019 level ridership by the end of June. While that may not happen once more students go home for the summer, ridership is definitely trending up.
 
Another week. Another data dump. Another COVID-era record in system-wide bus ridership!

MBTA_Bus_Ridership_5_3_Week.png


Last week (the week of 5/3), the MBTA bus system averaged 181,299 riders per weekday, surpassing 180,000 for the first time since March, '20. This was 70% of Thanksgiving week 2019, 68% of Christmas week 2019, and 44% of the index week of 2/24/20.

The 66 had another week of increasing ridership:

66_Bus_Ridership_5_3_Week.png


The 66 was the highest ridership route in the bus system last week, at 7,152 riders/weekday. The 66 become the second bus route (after the 28) to average >7,000 riders/weekday for a week since the start of the COVID-era. Last week's ridership for the 66 was 89% of Christmas week 2019 and 53% of the index week (2/24/20).
 
The N. Washington St bus lane is a great project.

The BTD Tweet cuts off the most important route number:111, Which I suspect has more riders than the 92 and 93 put together. But I guess BTD doesn’t sweat that [little cutoff in the retweet] since the 111 is probably 99% Chelsea riders?

Politically, it seems like the 92 and 93 would be supplying the voters (Charlestown) that BTD cares about, both for this lane and the future inbound lane on the new N Washington St bridge (now being built)
 
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Arlington said:
The N. Washington St bus lane is a great project.

The BTD Tweet cuts off the most important route number:111, Which I suspect has more riders than the 92 and 93 put together. But I guess BTD doesn’t sweat that omission since the 111 is probably 99% Chelsea riders?

Politically, it seems like the 92 and 93 would be supplying the voters (Charlestown) that BTD cares about, both for this lane and the future inbound lane on the new N Washington St bridge (now being built)
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I think that's an artifact of the embedding. If you click through to the original tweet or BTD page it's shown in full.
 
Stlin said:
I think that's an artifact of the embedding. If you click through to the original tweet or BTD page it's shown in full.
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Yes sorry to have used the word “omission” that was a careless/unfair way of my saying it. I knew it was more an ironic cutoff not an intentional slight
 
The notice says “we expect work to take two weeks” so it fits that the new material isn’t fast
 
ra84970 said:
That new material seems to take forever to install. I suppose that's why the cities around here seem to be limiting their green bike markings to smaller areas.
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Yeah I've hung around and watched them, in very simple terms they put down a layer of wet asphalt seal then throw red sand on top of it by hand. More time consuming than pure paint, but definitely seems to wear better and has a lot more grip.

As for bike lane markings you'll find some dispute among transportation engineers about where green should be used. Some think that only having it at intersections and conflict points gives it more impact, others think it should be the entire bike corridor, and others think it's all a waste...
 
HelloBostonHi said:
Yeah I've hung around and watched them, in very simple terms they put down a layer of wet asphalt seal then throw red sand on top of it by hand. More time consuming than pure paint, but definitely seems to wear better and has a lot more grip.

As for bike lane markings you'll find some dispute among transportation engineers about where green should be used. Some think that only having it at intersections and conflict points gives it more impact, others think it should be the entire bike corridor, and others think it's all a waste...
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Biking things never have any clear consensus, eh?

I've ridden over the red lanes in Brighton and down toward Haymarket on Blue Bikes and they are very grippy. Almost too grippy. A lot of the green ones are the same - either they're ridiculously grippy (at least at first) or they're kinda slick when wet. Both of those are less than ideal for someone like me who doesn't cycle that often.
 
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