Boston mayor ‘pleasantly surprised’ with first weekday commute during Orange Line shutdown

BOSTON — There were no major problems reported Monday during the first weekday commute of the Orange Line shutdown after weeks of preparation and talks of many concerns.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu took two buses and a subway train to get work, telling reporters that her first commute went “pretty smoothly.”

Wu boarded a southern Orange Line shuttle, rode it to the Green Line, and then headed over to City Hall. She noted that she was “pleasantly surprised” with the availability of shuttle buses.

“When I got off at Forest Hills and eventually made my away over to where the shuttle buses were, there were five lined up and ready to go,” Wu said during a 9:30 a.m. press conference at City Hall. “Everyone had a seat, it was spaced out, and it was comfortable on the shuttle buses.”

Wu added that her commute was just a couple of minutes longer than what she is normally used to, but she noted that traffic was moving throughout the duration of her trip.

“It went pretty smoothly. It was a little bit longer than usual commute, but no real bottlenecks or traffic along the way, buses and trains coming very shortly at each stop,” Wu explained. “It seems like much of the planning and all the details that we have discussed have been implemented and so far, so good.”

Wu said the true test for the city will come when Boston Public School students return to school after Labor Day.

The Orange Line is closed through Sept. 18 for five years worth of repairs.

Service on the Green Line, including the newly-opened Union Branch, will be unavailable in both directions between Government Center and Union Square stations during this same time period.

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