Route 1 Bus Could Lose Six South End Stops

The popular Route 1 bus currently stops in 69 locations between Robxury’s Dudley Square and Harvard Square in Cambridge. By the year’s end, that number could be chopped to 50 in an effort to improve service, MBTA officials announced.

The MBTA held its second community meeting Monday night to update the neighborhood on revised recommendations for the Route 1 bus, which travels through the South End on Massachusetts Avenue. Approximately 15 residents showed up to the meeting along with state Rep. Byron Rushing.

On hand to explain the proposed changes were MBTA official Greg Strangeways and Ralph DeNisco, an associate from Nelson Nygaard, the consulting firm working with the MBTA on its Key Bus Route Improvement Program. The Route 1 bus is the only route affected in the South End.

Goals of the program, which is funded through $10 million in federal stimulus funds, include increasing reliability by eradicating “bus bunching,” offering faster service, enhancing accessibility for the elderly and handicapped and adding amenities like bus shelters, benches and trash cans.

To help streamline service, plans are in place to move certain bus stops while consolidating or eliminating others. Changes proposed Monday night would reduce the number of Route 1 stops from 69 to 50.

In the South End, bus stops targeted for elimination include inbound and outbound stops at Albany and Northampton streets, Mass. Ave. and Shawmut Ave., and Mass. Ave. and Columbus Ave.

The stops were selected for closure for a variety of reasons; among them were low ridership, proximity to other stops causing bus bunching, or both.

At Monday’s meeting, Rep. Rushing expressed concern that eliminating the Shawmut Ave. stop would create too much space between stops. The resulting distance of 1,460 feet between stops on the outbound route to Cambridge would be longer than the approximated maximum length of 1,325 feet that should be allowed, he said.

Strangeways acknowledged that while ideally bus stops should be between 750 and 1,325 feet apart, not every proposed change fits into this range.

“It’s a great case of a borderline situation,” Strangeways said. “The ridership is not that high…but it’s a balancing act.”

Rushing also asked that the Columbus Ave. stop be preserved based on its character.

“Mass. and Columbus is a thing, it’s a shrine,” he said. “Bus stops can be a cultural thing.”

But despite some concerns raised by members of the audience, most of the changes, including smaller fixes to make sidewalks handicap accessible and move stops a few feet to add parking or increase safety, were well-received.

“It’s a lot of little things you have to keep in mind,” DeNisco said of the process.

A third meeting will be held once the changes have been finalized, he said. At that point, the plan will be at the 30 percent design level. Click here to submit comments or learn more about the proposal.