MBTA to hold Lynn meeting

LYNN – The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), acknowledging a boost in ridership, will hold a public meeting in Lynn on Sept. 22 to discuss possible changes in service schedules.The Lynn meeting is one of 10 the MBTA plans to conduct statewide between Sept. 8 and Sept. 29. It will be at the Lynn Community Minority Cultural Center, 298 Union St., from 6-7:30 p.m.According to MBTA spokesman Lydia Rivera, the meetings will be run as community workshops and consist of a presentation by MBTA staff followed by an informal discussion regarding the Preliminary 2008 Service Plan. Rivera noted that the service plan is designed to reallocate resources more effectively within a fixed operating budget.A full version of the plan is available on the MBTA Web site at www.mbta.com and clicking on the projects link.Written comments should be addressed to MBTA Service Planning Unit, 45 High St., Boston, MA 02110.In an effort to address the increase in ridership, the MBTA announced that additional vehicles would be added on overcrowded routes. Among them are Route 116/117 services from Wonderland to Maverick, which will use one additional vehicle to reduce crowding.The MBTA in July capped a 7-month streak of consecutive ridership increases. July marked the single best month for MBTA ridership in at least a decade, Rivera said.Ridership on subway, bus, commuter rail and the RIDE continues to grow as customers choose public transportation as a viable option to driving, she said.Comparing July 2007 to July 2008, ridership spiked 10 percent from 31.4 million to nearly 34.7 million.On the Blue Line, the average weekday ridership jumped from 53,424 customers in December to 66,933 customers in July. The MBTA has introduced six-car train service to alleviate crowding on the Blue Line.The six-car train will begin operation Sept. 15. Fourteen trains equal to 62 Blue Line cars will operate along the line, reflecting an 11-percent increase in capacity, according to Rivera.As the new vehicles become available, six-car trains will replace the current four-car trains.”We’re making every effort to maintain our growing customer base with enhancements that prove useful to the customer,” said MBTA General Manager Daniel Grabauskas. “Improvements to service whether tweaking a bus schedule or introducing six-car trains as we are on the Blue Line will significantly improve the quality and reliability of service.”