Free Bluebikes?
You’ve acquired to be kidding.
With only a week left earlier than the Orange Line and a piece of the brand new Green Line shuts down for a month, the MBTA and metropolis of Boston lastly revealed how they intend to get greater than 100,000 riders a day across the metropolis and northern suburbs.
While the T’s essential different is shuttle buses and chopping down bushes to create new lanes, the ultra-woke Wu administration put out a panoramic launch suggesting individuals take these ubiquitous, ungainly Bluebikes in the course of the shutdown — which will likely be freed from cost for 45-minute journeys.
“Biking can be a great alternative for some people during the shutdown,” mentioned Boston’s “chief of streets” Jascha Franklin-Hodge. “Opening up and enhancing Bluebikes service is just one of the ways we’re helping residents access good alternatives to their normal transit routes.”
Great different for who? Disabled or bodily impaired riders? People who don’t need to get mowed down by an SUV whereas pedaling their little bike?
Just what Boston wants — hundreds of novice bike riders wheeling across the metropolis attempting to determine get the place they need to go. An ideal different for individuals who need to arrive at work exhausted, stressed and drenched with sweat.
Taking a motorbike across the metropolis is already troublesome sufficient for courageous and skilled riders, not to mention newcomers who haven’t set foot on the pedals for years.
In a 4 p.m. Friday information dump, the T additionally put out their “diversion” plan for the month-long Orange Line shutdown scheduled to begin Aug. 19, however no T officers have been accessible to elucidate it.
The plan was brief on particulars and very optimistic. The metropolis and T try to steer individuals away from taking their automobiles to work, which is precisely what most individuals will attempt to do, and offering free shuttle buses and free commuter rail service to switch the Orange Line.
T “ambassadors” will likely be in any respect the stations pointing individuals the place to go (hopefully). And don’t fear, there will likely be “highly visible feather flag banners” directing individuals to shuttle bus boarding areas.
The query of how hundreds of Boston Public School college students are going to get to class on time whereas the Orange Line is closed was handled in just a few brief paragraphs on town’s web site, and there’s no particular plan but.
“In addition, BPS is surveying all staff, with more than 700 respondents to date, to assess the impact of the Orange Line shutdown,” town mentioned. “BPS will continue working closely with the city and MBTA to ensure students and staff receive the support they need in the weeks to come.”
The metropolis additionally launched a brand new e-mail handle, [email protected], for “establishing an open line of communication between city officials and MBTA riders.”
The metropolis is inviting riders to “submit concerns, ideas and questions” concerning the shutdown. That needs to be a enjoyable e-mail to observe.
And the T launched a useful “Riders Guide to Planning Ahead” for these in search of weekend studying.
“All travelers across all modes are strongly encouraged to avoid driving through the area altogether, work from home if possible, consider rescheduling trips through the area that are not absolutely necessary, or for necessary travel, expect significant traffic congestion and travel delays,” the T mentioned.
In different phrases, you’re screwed.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”