Revised MBTA Bus Redesign

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A robust, affordable, and effective public transportation system provides essential services to residents and directly helps the city achieve goals of reducing emission pollution and increasing equity and economic prosperity; and

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) proposed the second

iteration of their plans for a bus network redesign on account of shifting demographics, emerging employment districts, increasing traffic congestion, and changing travel patterns within the Greater Boston Area in recent years; and

These changes will impact routes that operate within the City of Cambridge, as was discussed during a recent Transportation and Public Utilities Committee hearing and the City Council has gone on record in support of more bus service in the Alewife region as well as in East Cambridge not included in the first bus network redesign; and

The MBTA revised their original proposal based on over 20,000 comments in order to improve access to hospitals, senior centers, and other destinations; reduce walk distances for riders; preserve existing one-seat rides; and balance resources and stays within the limit of buses available during peak times; and

The October redesign has made several improvements to bus access in Cambridge, including extending Route T47 to Union Square from its original terminus in Central Square and reinstating Route 87 near Lechmere, extending service to 1:00am; and working to address high frequency routes across the system; and

While the October redesign has addressed many of the issues brought forward by the community, many notable concerns still exist, namely: Routes 68 and 78 should extend rush hour schedules from 3:00pm - 8:00pm to better serve students in afterschool activities; The cuts to Route 78 also reduce access to Neighborhood Nine, Cambridge Highlands, Concord Ave between Huron and Blanchard Rd, including the assisted care and medical facilities; it is also the only connector between West Cambridge and Arlington; The frequency of Routes 69 and 83 are being cut drastically; the frequencies of both Routes should be increased to account for rush hour needs of the population including vulnerable populations; Changes in routes west of Harvard Square, including #74 and #75 need to be assessed carefully in light of new housing units including affordable housing for many residents without cars who rely on public transportation more than others o As of right now, the MBTA has restored service on Route 74 from Belmont Center to Harvard via Concord Ave; o There have been no changes to Route 75 in the newest proposal which is essential for many CRLS students; These routes should be reconsidered to better account for the needs of Cambridge; and

The dedicated CRLS Route 75 bus on school mornings provides essential transportation services for high school students to get to school on time and should be reinstated and additional dedicated CRLS routes considered for other areas of the city; and

Without further changes to address these concerns, the plan could have an adverse impact on the city’s goals of increasing public transit overall to reduced emission pollution, and on residents who rely on public transit and who cannot afford vehicles, including senior citizens and other residents of limited mobility, students who rely on public transportation for school and afterschool activities, and many public housing residents who will be further isolated if public transit options are reduced, instead of increased; now therefore be it

That the City Council go on record in support of the changes that improved access and in support of further changes to address the concerns of residents as summarized above; and be it further

That the City Council hereby requests that the City Manager reach out to the MBTA to discuss the need for further amendments to the proposed plan for bus routes and to strategize on how the MBTA can keep their promised 25% increase in service and double the number of high frequency corridors considering the challenges they face hiring new drivers; and be it further

That the City Clerk be and hereby is requested to forward a suitably engrossed copy of this resolution to representatives at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and to the Cambridge state delegation on behalf of the entire City Council.

In City Council November 7, 2022. Adopted by the affirmative vote of nine members. Attest:- Diane P. LeBlanc, City Clerk

A true copy;

ATTEST:-

Diane P. LeBlanc,

City Clerk