MBTA says some Orange Line slow zones will continue into December
BOSTON - The commute on the Orange Line won't be speeding up any time soon.
In a letter to Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey Wednesday, MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said some of the slow zones will remain in place into December. That's more than two months after the zones were scheduled to be eliminated when the 30-day shutdown ended in September.
Poftak said crews are still working on the tracks in several areas. The MBTA promised commuters faster rides after the shutdown, but the slow zones mean the rides actually take longer now.
"As riders continue to return to the system, I understand the frustration many of them feel," the general manager wrote. "We acknowledge that safety incidents have occurred and that our service levels aren't where we want them, in part due to staffing challenges, that have forced us to make hard decisions that represent prioritizing safety above all else."
The letter was a follow up response to the Senate hearing on the MBTA held in Boston earlier this month.
Poftak also mentioned that the T is currently in the "development stage of designing a Travel Time dashboard" that riders will be able to find on the MBTA website. They hope to have it up and running this winter.