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A coalition of MBTA riders, transit advocates and elected officials are calling on the T to extend hours on a bus line that has experienced major service cuts over the past five years.
The MBTA completely suspended service on the 55 route — which connects the Fenway neighborhood to the Back Bay and downtown Boston — in 2020, at the peak of the COVID pandemic. Service was restored the next year, in June 2021, but with limited hours, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Since then, the MBTA has promised advocates that it will, eventually, restore the 55’s pre-COVID hours of 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. But the agency has not offered a concrete timeline on when that will happen.
On Thursday, a small group of riders, led by the 55 Bus Route Coalition, gathered outside of the T’s headquarters near Boston Common, urging the agency to immediately restore the line’s previous hours. They held signs that read “55 HOURS NOW” and “The Fenway is still waiting for the bus!”
Among the demonstrators was Bill Han, a resident of the West End, who uses the 55 to commute to work in the Fenway area. He said the restricted hours can be a major problem when he has to work late. “I’ve spent like $30 a week on Ubers!” he said.
An MBTA spokesperson told GBH News that the agency doesn’t have enough buses to restore the 55’s old regular schedule right now — and, even though the T still hopes to expand the line’s hours, there are no immediate plans to make it happen.
The spokesperson noted that the 55 largely duplicates service on the Green Line and said that the agency plans to focus on expanding other bus routes with higher ridership.
But some riders, like Conrad Ciszek, argue that the 55 is a lifeline for older adults and people with disabilities who may find it difficult to access the Green Line.
“The Green Line, while it accesses the West Fenway, is not a viable option for all the passengers, because it is not 100% ADA accessible and it’s overcrowded,” he said. “It requires many who are seniors and people who have disabilities to travel a great distance to the Fenway stop. That’s particularly challenging in the winter months.”
Ciszek, a longtime Fenway resident, said that the 55’s reduced hours aren’t just an inconvenience, they’re embarrassing — especially in a neighborhood like Fenway that draws large numbers of tourists for Red Sox games and concerts.
“This is not a rural, backwoods location,” he said. “I’ve spoken to tourists who say they can’t believe there is a bus that stops around 3 o’clock in the afternoon in a big city like Boston.”
