and frankly unacceptable.
If we had a nickel for every time we posted about the ridiculous line at a L + Broadway for the #7 bus….well, we’d have a lot of nickels.
It seems to be a weekly occurrence. Dozens and dozens of commuters waiting in line to get on the #7 to get downtown.
But a video of this line in action was posted on Wednesday morning by the Southie Line Girls and it’s bananas. You can watch it here via Instagram.
For several years (yes, years), South Boston residents have been asking for a solution to our bus “situation.” With lots more development on the rise, plus more people moving into the neighborhood, thanks to the creation of new office buildings in the Seaport, what’s a neighborhood to do? Evidently, get in line and wait for the next bus you can board.
There have been numerous MBTA bus meetings and statements from local politicians over the past several yes but there doesn’t seem to be a solution on the horizon. Could an express #7 help? Senator Nick Collins thinks so. A dedicated express bus/bike lane on L/Summer Street has also been thrown out there as a potential solution.
The Better Bus Program was announced by the MBTA over a year ago – ironically the #7 was not even included the system-wide bus planning initiative.
Back in May, officials from the MassDOT and the MBTA launched the MBTA’s new draft network map as part of Bus Network Redesign. It was revealed that there would be some changes to the #7, #10 and #11. And the neighborhood went nuts.
The neighborhood deserve a better bus system and we need it like yesterday. Enough is enough.
Line in photo was captured in May.
Maureen Dahill is the editor of Caught in Southie and a lifelong resident of South Boston sometimes mistaken for a yuppie. Co-host of Caught Up, storyteller, lover of red wine and binge watching TV series. Mrs. Peter G. Follow her @MaureenCaught.
WU wouldn’t let that happen in other areas. They get free service
So Sad but true. She is part of the problem.
And these are paying customers!
Wu and the City of Boston don’t care about South Boston, Charlestown or East Boston
At least there’s a portapotty.
It’s a disgrace they need to help southie people
Well, wait until they take the #7 off Broadway all together which is in their plans. Then you will have 300 ppl waiting at L & 1st St. The T seems to think this is a better solution, so it can save the 3-4 minutes stopping at
P, N & L Sts. They also want the #7 bus to go to North Station and possibly into Charlestown. You think you are waiting long now? Yes, it is a disaster and yes I agree with everyone, they just don’t care.
The more ppl who show up at meetings and express their concerns, maybe the T will listen.
I would just walk to the train station. Along the beach Rte. Would be nice.
The mayor needs to be fired she don’t care about anybody look at the homelessness on S. Hampton St. Disgraceful and now we wait for the bus all the working people around waiting and the people that do bad get rewards MBTA is outta control excessive spending trains break down good infrastructure also why does a transit police need cars why ain’t they station at the stations so when is the crime they can grab the people instead of driving to the crime Politicians do nothing but do excessive spending at the taxpayers cost wake up America
Get all our politicians. the mayor and the Governor involved. This is a major problem. With all the new tax revenue coming out of South Boston, the taxpayers should have a MBTA plan that services their needs.
The old guard has fought every possible bus service improvement like bus lanes and express service in the past. Saying you deserve better is misinformed or disingenuous given the history.
I lived in Southie from about 1979ish, and the bus routes were fine in those days, you also didn’t have all these outsiders aka millennial’s taking up all the housing. People actually cared for their neighbors and neighborhood, there would NEVER have been an incident like that one this past week, with those miscreants beating that musician almost to death! I used to take the #11 & #9 bus into Boston all the time, and had no waiting or anything. Add more buses to our routes! And tell Wu to try taking care of that neighborhood! And not just where all the minorities live! Sorry, that’s just how it looks. So glad my family moved to the south shore, and I moved north of Boston. And one last thing, you don’t get to just call it Southie, you have to have been living there more than a couple years! All you millennials need to find a yuppie city and move there, I heard Cambridge is nice, so is Newton.
you do realize that those “miscreants” were from original from southie families… sounds like your understanding of the issue is a little skewed..
You are complaining about the yuppies? You sold and moved, those yuppies are now living there. You selling your house is the reason Southie isn’t Southie anymore. Don’t come back and preach when you don’t even live hear any more!
Why can’t our “local elected officials”, that should be going to bat for all of our needs, do something??Look at this situation and also the fields for kids and the disgrace they are always in, unless there is a city wide mayors cup, They either do not say anything or they have no power (probably no power….). Lots of good things happening in other parts of the city – great new fields in Dot, etc.
In the old days, the people in line would talk to each other. Today everyone looks at their phones or pretend they do not see anyone. I got to know many of my neighbors when I took the #7 in the 90’s. Times have changed.
Marjorie hello, yes, it’s sad but I took a strip of Velcro put it where my kitchen phone used to be, and a strip on back of my evil iphone….. slapped it on the wall and it don’t go anywhere….ever !
Don’t need these phones to drain my attention….if I need to answer a caller I’ll look and get back to whoever if I feel like it, just like the old days.