The Tufts administration will provide a free weekend shuttle service from campus to Harvard Square in order to mitigate the impact of the impending Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Red Line repairs, according to Executive Vice President Patricia Campbell.
MBTA earlier this month announced that starting Nov. 5, the Red Line north of the Harvard Square station, which includes the Davis Square station, will not operate on weekends until March to complete $80 million in overdue repairs.
"We're planning on adding a free shuttle from campus to Harvard Square on weekends and are still working out the details of the exact locations and times of the shuttle," Campbell said.
Campbell explained that the university will front the cost for additional shuttles to Harvard Square provided by Joseph's Transportation, the company that runs the Joey shuttle between campus and Davis Square.
"We have lots of students who travel between our campus and Boston, and we are sensitive to that," Campbell said. "We think [this shuttle] is in the interest of the students' safety."
Sophomore Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senator LiaWeintraub, co−chair of the Services Committee, supports the administration's decision to offer the shuttle.
"I admire how proactive this administration was and how they really took into account the students desire to get into Boston and worked on behalf of the student body," Weintraub said.
The MBTA will send weekend crews to repair tunnel leaks, damaged rubber slabs and power lines on which the Red Line runs, according to Paul Regan, Executive Director of the MBTA Advisory Board. Regan said that although the need for repairs to the Red Line have been expected for some time, the scope of the project is significant.
"Every tunnel in the world leaks and needs to be repaired," Regan told the Daily. "You plan for it when you build it. These repairs were anticipated, but they are not routine. This is a big deal."
According to Regan, the MBTA will provide free shuttles that stop at Red Line stations affected by the repairs.
"We're going to do everything we can to keep the same schedule and stop at the same locations at the Red Line," he said.
Regan said that the free shuttle service is possible because the MBTA uses fewer buses on its regular routes during the weekend.
"We would have never been able to do this on a normal weekday during the normal rush hour," he said.
Regan lamented the fact that the several year delay in the Red Line repairs was caused by extreme constraints to the MBTA budget.
"This section of the Red Line is a classic example of deferred maintenance," Regan said. "It's not only fiscally silly, but it has an impact on service and liability."
The MBTA currently has approximately $4.5 billion in backlogged repairs, Regan said. The Red Line repairs are part of $420 million being spent this year on such projects.
"All tunnels have wear and tear," Regan said. "That's not a surprise, but the trick is to find the money to do it. MBTA must have its financial crisis solved so that it can find the money for these projects."
In 2009, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick ordered an independent report to be conducted to provide a comprehensive assessment of the MBTA. The results of the study stressed the danger of unfunded safety projects, such as the Red Line repairs.
"In addition to the potential of derailment, if the situation exacerbates, speed along the portion of the Red Line could slow to 10 mph. This will have a residual service impact with delays along the entire Red Line," the report said.
Regan said that the Red Line on a typical weekday serves 241,603 commuters, and the high volume of passengers forced the MBTA to limit repairs to the weekends.
"We can't shut down the Red Line completely," Regan said. "It services the most customers. The idea of doing service during the weekday was not an option because there aren't enough buses to compensate [the Red Line commuters]. A weekend moratorium lets us get it done in three months."
