New Boston bus routes under consideration as MBTA vows improvements

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is looking at revamping its bus routes, with new ones possible to service traditionally underserved areas and ones where the population of commuters has grown.

The agency does not plan to touch 15 key routes among the 175 that the MBTA operates now. Otherwise, though, everything else seems up for debate, per the Globe’s Adam Vaccaro. That means those new routes are possible, and current routes could be tossed in the dustbin of transportation history—or at least adjusted.

The MBTA hopes to roll out a new plan for its bus network by the middle of 2020. The deliberations inherent in a big change like this will likely prove contentious. Who wants to lose his or her route to work?

In the meantime, the agency is seeking feedback from riders, advocates, and municipalities. And the bus route changes are happening alongside a slew of mass-transit adjustments in the Boston region, including implementation of a tap-and-go fare system and new train cars, never mind already-extended bus service.

• MBTA plotting a bus map of the future [Globe]
• All-electronic fare collection on the T: MBTA moving toward London model [Curbed Boston]
• New Green Line cars would boost capacity, speed up service: MBTA [Curbed Boston]
• Boston area’s late-night bus service extended to aid off-hour workers [Curbed Boston]