“Shocked,” “frustrated” and “wicked annoying” were just a few of the words Tufts University students used to describe news that portions of the T’s Red Line will shut down during weekend hours soon.
The MBTA announced this week that beginning Nov. 5, trains north of Harvard Station won’t operate Saturdays and Sundays and will be replaced with shuttle services instead.
Work will be going on underground to make “critical” repairs through March, according to the T.
Despite bus supplements, some students who rely on the Davis Square stop to trek into Boston were fuming when they found out.
“That sucks,” said Wade Hauser, who was hearing about the lack of service for the first time. “I have friends [in the city], it’ll be almost impossible to get out there and see them.”
Will Glazier, a freshman, said the shuttles won’t stop him from going to certain Hub spots, but it’ll be “a huge pain” he will try and avoid.
“I can’t see it working out very well,” he said.
The announcement was even enough to keep Kate Nye, 21, away from the tracks until March.
“I doubt I’ll be taking public transportation anymore,” she said. “I don’t want to have to deal with crowded buses and traffic congestion. It’s too bad.”
The Tufts student paper published an editorial criticizing the T’s lack of communication with riders, calling them out for announcing the project plans just two weeks before closures.
The editorial said “trips to Boston are about to get a lot more inconvenient,” but the paper sympathized with the need for the track upgrades.
Follow Steve Annear on Twitter @steveannear.
