The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority plans to increase commuter rail service to Lynn this fall.
The MBTA’s fall schedule, which would increase the number of trains stopping in Lynn throughout the day starting in November, was presented during Monday’s Fiscal and Management Control Board meeting.
Under the new schedule, the number of weekday trains would increase from 505 to 544, with 32, or 82 percent of those new trains serving either Fairmount, Brockton or Lynn.
In Lynn, which is part of the Newburyport/Rockport line, trains would arrive every 30 minutes during mid-day service this fall. By comparison, last fall, mid-day service had ranged from 30 to 90 minutes, according to the presentation.
Robert DiAdamo, the MBTA’s executive director of the commuter rail, said the schedule changes are aimed at providing a cost-neutral service (to the agency) that accommodates traditional ridership, encourages ridership where routes have changed and becomes a new option for people who had not been taking the T.
“We’re trying to really increase and improve the options we’re providing people,” said DiAdamo. “We think we’re really plugging those gaps where perhaps people didn’t have a great opportunity to use the trains as much as we would want them to.”
DiAdamo said the changes would provide more consistent service throughout the mid-day hours, which would provide more options to riders and promote social distancing.
For example, he said service would increase in Lynn and Brockton, where bus ridership is high, to test whether there is a demand for more frequent and off-peak service in communities with many essential workers and residents who are already transit users.
“We think we can spread the trains out throughout the day and give people more options,” said DiAdamo.
It remains to be seen whether the changes will increase ridership on the T’s commuter rail lines, which has been down significantly during the pandemic, as most downtown Boston work locations remain closed.
The MBTA is still tracking the effect that temporarily reducing fares at the Lynn Commuter Rail Station has had on ridership and mitigating bus crowding.
Commuters have been able to take the train from Lynn to Boston at subway rates since July 1, as part of a pilot program that the MBTA has extended until Dec. 31.
Under the program, Zone 1A fares have been accepted at the Lynn and Riverworks Commuter Rail Stations, which means a one-way ticket into Boston costs $2.40, the same price as a CharlieCard, instead of $7.
According to Laurel Paget-Seekins, the MBTA’s assistant general manager for policy, the agency has seen increased ridership at the Lynn station, but there has not been a big increase in ridership on the Newburyport/Rockport line during the fare pilot.
The increased ridership on the Lynn share of the line could be from new trips due to the reduced fare, shifts from other stations on the line, or changing demand due to the coronavirus.
Overall, there has been no evidence that bus crowding has decreased on alternative bus routes, which was one of the goals of the pilot program for the MBTA, according to Paget-Seekins.
The team will continue to monitor the pilot, she said.
The MBTA’s fall schedule will be finalized by the end of the month and the changes will go into effect on Nov. 2.
