By Dan Murphy
A community effort lobbying for extended service on the MBTA’s 55 bus route continues to pick up momentum in the aftermath of a well-attended, grass-roots rally on Oct. 2 spearheaded by the 55 Bus Route Coalition.
Nearly 30 participants joined the rally, which started with a 55 bus ride along from Queensberry Street at Jersey Street to St James Avenue at Arlington Street and concluded at the MBTA headquarters at 10 Park Plaza. Attendees included Fenway residents and bus riders; Fenway Forward organizer; elected officials, including Sen. Lydia Edwards and Rep. Jay Livingstone; and representatives from the offices of other elected officials, including from District 8 City Councilor Sharon Durkan and City Councilor at-Large Henry Santana’s respective offices.
“I was thrilled to have almost 30 supporters of the 55 bus join the 55 Bus Route Coalition for our ride along and rally earlier this month,” said Jamie Culbertson, a Fenway Forward community organizer who facilitates the 55 Bus Route Coalition, in a statement. “We hope this show of community support for the planned longer bus hours convinces the MBTA to address the hardship the current hours have caused for many residents by implementing the longer hours right away. The coalition will be watching to see which route changes get rolled out this December – we’d love to be able to celebrate then, but we’re ready to keep advocating for the longer hours until they get implemented.”
Also, the collation’s petition in support of getting longer hours implemented immediately on the 55 bus line has garnered 65 signatures as of the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 21. Visit
https://c.org/GfhRns8bNJ to sign the petition.
The MBTA suspended service on the 55 bus route when the pandemic hit. Service on the line was later restored in June 2021, although the daily hours were reduced to 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., from the previous hours of 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. The last stop on the line was also changed to Copley Square from Park Street at that time.
But the 55 line could see its hours of operation expanded, including during weekday peak hours, while connecting the West Fenway neighborhood to Copley Station, however, as a component of the MBTA’s ongoing Bus Network Redesign program.
To learn more about the 55 Bus Route Coalition, email Jamie Culbertson at [email protected].