Boston students return for first day of class amid Orange Line shutdown
BOSTON - The commute is a bit more challenging for students Thursday as they return for the first day of school amid the Orange Line shutdown.
School officials say about 5,000 students in Boston regularly took the Orange Line to school, and now 28 schools are being impacted by the shutdown.
The MBTA has been asked by the city to have "red shirt ambassadors" available at all T stops to help students to get to where they need to go.
One 7th grader from East Boston told WBZ-TV he would be leaving the house early on Thursday.
"I used to go on the [school] bus, but now I use public transportation," he said.
Jessica Tang, the President of the Boston Teachers Union, said taking a car might not be a better option.
"We already have a parking situation problem at so many of our schools," Tang said.
Some city municipal lots will be open for teachers and staff, educators that are ticketed can give them to their school principal to appeal at City Hall.
"It's not going to go perfectly," said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. "Our pledge to families is we're going to be monitoring the situation."
Ambassadors will help students along the route. Five hundred students have also opted into yellow school buses, and more bus drivers have been hired to expand capacity.
Educators still hope nothing goes wrong with the Orange Line work, as they are concerned about students being late.
"There's going to be some grace and forgiveness, especially with the first week," Tang said.
The Boston School District said it will not mark students as tardy, and any student who misses breakfast will have it provided to them.