MBTA

Staffing Shortages Lead to Longer Wait Times at MBTA Stations

The longest wait time only extends by five minutes, but is still enough time for commuters to be aware when planning their trip to work

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The MBTA has announced extended wait times at stations on the Blue, Orange and Red Line.

Trains on the Blue Line are expected to arrive at stations every seven minutes compared to the previous five.

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The Orange Line will run every 10 minutes in the morning, and 11 minutes in the evening compared to the previous seven minutes.

The most extensive changes to arrival times will affect the Red Line. The MBTA expects arrival times at Ashmont and Braintree Stations to extend from 10 minutes to 15 minutes, and for arrival times at Alewife and JFK/UMass stations to extend from six minutes to eight minutes.

The MBTA says these arrival changes will remain in place until the transportation authority can increase the number of dispatchers on staff, which they say they've been attempting with an aggressive recruitment campaign.

There are some though who don't think the response from the state government shows an aggressive attempt to fix the issue, such as John Ostroff, member of the Transportation for Massachusetts Coalition.

"This is a huge concern and we really believe that the governor and legislative leadership are not prioritizing transit investment to the level they should," said Ostroff. "We're just seeing the results of this now, when the federal government gets involved. It shouldn't have to come to that.”

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