"I'm hoping for the best": MBTA rider remains optimistic after first day of Orange Line shutdown
BOSTON - When Matthew Ford finally boarded a bus in Charlestown Monday evening -- bound for his apartment in Everett -- it was the only normal leg of his daily commute.
"Actually," he says, "I was surprised this morning that it wasn't as bad as I thought."
By the time we met Matt at what is now shuttle bus central in front of Boston City Hall -- he had already digested his morning commute -- and was now trying to reverse it to get home.
"Yeah, it's annoying," he admits. "I contemplated just getting an Uber and taking it home instead."
But he didn't, even though his normal Green Line trip from Arlington to North Station -- followed by the Orange Line to Sullivan Square -- were both not possible due to the shutdown.
"I know with the MBTA you've just got to accept what's going to happen," Ford says, "and try to keep optimistic about it."
So, he climbed on a shuttle bus at Government Center, after walking from his Beacon Street office to bypass the Green Line.
He says directions from "T" staffers on the ground really helped, and his four-stop trip north was more pleasant than the practice run he made over the weekend.
"On Saturday it was crowded," Ford says. "There were no seats available and there were actually people standing in the aisles."
Matt says his bus ride to Sullivan Square was slower than the train.
But he's okay with it -- even as he suspects a surge in riders as the month plays out.
"Fingers crossed," says Ford. "I'm hoping for the best -- but it's not ideal obviously."