June 14, 2011
by Justin A. Rice, Boston Globe

The MBTA’s Route 1 bus stop at Columbus Avenue is safe — for now — but the Shawmut Avenue stop and 14 others remain on the chopping block as the T proceeds with plans to streamline its fourth-busiest bus line.

As part of a $10 million, one-time federal stimulus fund to enhance 15 of its busiest bus routes, the T proposed major changes to Route 1 in January, including eliminating stops in an effort to prevent buses from “bunching” behind one another.

[...]

At Monday’s poorly attended meeting, Patricia Hayden of Dorchester argued that Shawmut is crucial to nearby senior housing even though the closest stop is 430 feet away.

“They think just because people don’t come out to meetings it’s OK to eliminate their stop,” she said. “You have to go out and talk to people before you eliminate it. You can’t please everybody but you at least have to be fair.”

Residents were disappointed to learn at Monday’s meeting that the latest round of bus stop improvements will not include fare vending machines similar to the ones on the Green Line’s D-Branch or countdown clocks similar to the ones on the Silver Line.

Improved signs, however, will clearly post the stops' unique number so riders can call the T’s customer service line to learn exactly when the bus will arrive.

[...]

And while all the stops will be made long enough for buses to pull all the way up to the curb, Lee Matsueda of the T Riders Union said bus drivers don’t always pull all the way up to the stops that currently accommodate their entire vehicle.

“It’s huge,” Matsueda said of the added space. “Now all drivers need to use it.”

[...]

“Our customers are clamoring for a quicker ride,” T General Manager Richard A. Davey recently said. “One way to have a quicker ride is to have less stops and consolidate stops. What you’re doing is asking folks to walk a block or two farther from their home or somewhere else.

“It’s like anything else, all politics are local, all transportation bus stops are local. People have their own bus stops. That’s why there’s a public process. We’ll work through it with the community.”

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