BOSTON (WHDH) - Commuters experienced another smooth commute during the second morning of the Orange Line shutdown.
Many riders braced for a tougher commute and looked to Tuesday as the true test of its impacts after a day of smooth sailing on Monday.
“Not a lot of people still come into the office on Mondays, so I think the real test will be Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday,” said Orange Line rider Charlie Brennan.
Monday was the first weekday workday of the closure and for many, it was an easier ride than expected. Despite having 180 shuttle buses throughout the area, many riders said their commute did get longer than usual.
“I would have already been at Back Bay if I took the train, I don’t know what time I’m gonna get there, but I do think it will take about an hour or more,” one rider told 7NEWS on their Monday commute.
Some Orange Line riders have decided to drive into Boston because they don’t want to risk the longer commute during the shutdown, but MBTA officials urge everyone who can to ride other public transportation options or work from home.
“If you’ve stopped driving because of this, please continue to stop driving,” said MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak. “Please continue to avoid these diversion routes.”
Boston’s Traffic Control Center is also back up and running today with engineers watching the feed from street cameras all over the city so they can adjust signal lights or dispatch police to any trouble areas.
One engineer said he was expecting worse on Monday.
“I was expecting Armageddon,” said traffic control engineer Alfredo Vilar. “Been on vacation for the last two weeks and from all the media reports I heard and the plan I saw I thought we were gonna have a lot of trouble.”
Commuters aboard the buses said they were happy with the comfortable seats, air conditioning and wifi, but they’re still not happy they have to do this to begin with.
“I don’t know what they use all these taxed for,” said commuter Anthony Gray. “I use the trains and buses and we aren’t getting what we pay for.”
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