The deadly collapse at the Government Center garage on March 26 caused major disruptions to MBTA service near the site — but now the Orange Line is back up and running, leaving just the Green Line with temporary workarounds.
Service through Haymarket is completely shut down, and the MBTA is telling Green Line riders going through downtown to transfer to the Orange Line and then back onto the Green Line. So for this week's edition of Spill the T, Morning Edition host Jeremy Siegel went to North Station with a recording device and a stopwatch to see just how significant of a disruption commuters are experiencing.
The T says a usual ride from North Station to Park Street takes 6 to 8 minutes. To test out the disruption, Siegel took the Green Line to North Station, transferred to the Orange Line and rode to Downtown Crossing, where he transferred back to the Green Line at Park Street.
What would have been a standard 6 to 8-minute trip took Siegel twice that — more than 15 minutes to go three stops.
He ran into mother and daughter Mia and Diana, who were taking the same detour-ridden route to get to the mall, and maybe catch a movie.
“Normally, we would’ve stayed right on all the way to Downtown Crossing,” Mia said. “So it's going to take a lot longer. I just said to my daughter, I'm glad we didn't have an appointment. So it really feels like a much more time-consuming trip than it ever used to be.”
Next week’s Spill the T will preview the Boston Marathon. What are the best stops to spectate from? Tweet @GBHNews with the hashtag #ParisandJeremy to let us know.
A full transcript of the Spill the T segment is below:
Jeremy Siegel: It is time to Spill the T.
[Spill the T theme plays]
Siegel: From the GBH newsroom in Boston, I'm Jeremy T-iegel. This is Spill the T, our regular segment where we dish with you about the T — the MBTA.
Last time, we opened up our inbox to hear from you, and one thing that is affecting a lot of you is the T closures due to the recent Government Center garage collapse in Boston. This initially shut down service on both the Green Line and Orange Line near the collapse, forcing people to shuttle through downtown.
Now the Orange Line is running again, but the Green Line isn't. Service through Haymarket is completely shut down, and, as a workaround, the MBTA is telling riders headed through downtown to transfer to the Orange Line and then back onto the Green Line to avoid that closure.
I wanted to find out how much that's affecting people's commutes. Usually, the T says a ride from North Station to Park Street takes six to eight minutes. So I went out for a ride on the Green Line to test out how much longer it now takes with the Orange Line transfer. Here's what I found.
[segment begins, with Steve Miller Band’s “Time Keeps On Slipping” playing in the background]
Siegel, recorded, speaking from North Station: All right, so I'm outside, about to get onto the Green Line — testing out what it's like to ride while Haymarket is closed and the T is asking you to transfer to the Orange Line. So right now, I'm going to get off at North Station on the Green Line, get onto the Orange Line there, and then get off the Orange Line at Downtown Crossing and then transfer back to the Green Line at Park Street.
[“Time Keeps on Slipping” musical interlude]
Siegel: It was a wild ride at North Station. I got off the Green Line to make my transfer to the Orange Line. There were T officials there telling people what to do, but overall it was confusing and a bit time consuming. And I wasn't the only person who thought that.
Diana: I’m Diana.
Mia: I’m Mia, M-I-A.
Siegel: All right. Mia and Diana were on a mother-daughter day. They were headed to the mall and maybe to see a movie. But the closures on the team made things a little tough for them.
Mia: Normally, we would’ve stayed right on all the way to Downtown Crossing. So it's going to take a lot longer. I just said to my daughter, I'm glad we didn't have an appointment. So it really feels like a much more time-consuming trip than it ever used to be.
Siegel, to Mia: I was surprised getting off here that the train was still four minutes away, and then you have to factor back in like having to transfer back to the Green Line.
Siegel: So anyways, we eventually made our way onto the next train.
Siegel: OK, so the Orange Line train is finally arriving here at North Station and looking at my timer right now, we're already at four minutes and 55 seconds. We'll see where we end up.
[musical interlude]
Siegel: Time did keep slipping and slipping and slipping, as Steve Miller Band would say, but let's fast forward a bit to see where we end up.
Siegel, recorded: OK, I am here at Park Street, finally able to get onto my Green Line train — my southbound Green Line train. Final time: 15 minutes, 29 seconds total. So that's at least double the amount of time you would usually be spending.
Siegel, in studio: So overall, 15 and a half minutes total, meaning commuters who usually take the Green Line through downtown Boston are losing about seven-and-a-half minutes of their day to the train.
I should note people are understanding — I am, too, given what happened at the Government Center garage, but still — to reiterate — that is 15 minutes to go three stops. You could consider walking, that's an 18 minute walk total.
That is Spill the T for Monday, April 4, 2022. Next week, we are previewing the Boston Marathon, which is just two weeks away. What are the best stops to spectate from?
Tell us what you think and how you're planning your Marathon Monday on the T. Hit us up on Twitter by tweeting @GBHNews with the hashtag #ParisandJeremy. I'm Jeremy Siegel, you're listening to GBH News.
