BOSTON (WHDH) - As Bostonians roll into their first commute of the month-long Orange Line shutdown, MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said that overall, day one is running smoothly.
7NEWS caught up with Poftak at the Forest Hills station shortly before he boarded a shuttle bus himself.
He said that drivers are getting acclimated to the route, but that the number of riders is fewer than a typical commute.
“We have not seen a huge influx of customers, haven’t come close to filling a bus,” Poftak said, pointing out that he was speaking with 7NEWS at the end of the line, so the buses should have room to pick up additional passengers throughout the route.
He added that the traffic has been relatively light so far, allowing the buses to complete their routes in a relatively short amount of time.
“We’ve got at least the right number of buses, if it’s a little bit overkill, I’d rather err on that side of it than not have enough,” he said.
He told 7NEWS the MBTA will be cautious about reducing the number of buses to ensure that no one is waiting for buses. For now, that wait is only a few minutes at Forest Hills. As of around 8 a.m. Monday, the commute into the city was only around 20 or 25 minutes. Forest Hills riders can also take the Commuter Rail.
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