Bus Network Redesign | Projects

Route 50 bus travels inbound to Forest Hills, with a bus lane in the foreground, some remnants of snow on the sidewalk

Timeline: 2018 – 2022
Status: Planning

Greater Boston has changed significantly in recent years, with shifting demographics, emerging employment districts, increasing traffic congestion, and changing travel patterns.

The Bus Network Redesign completely re-imagines the MBTA’s bus network to reflect these changes and create a better experience for current and future bus riders.

Building a Better T

As part of our $8 billion, 5-year capital investment plan, we're renovating stations, modernizing fare collection systems, upgrading services for our buses, subways, and ferries, and improving the accessibility of the entire system.

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Recent Updates

A bus waiting at Sullivan station. Passengers wearing masks are standing by the bus

July 28, 2021

Take the Bus Network Redesign Travel Survey

We want to create a better and more equitable bus network—to do that, we need your input.

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What We’re Doing Now

This redesign reflects rider feedback collected during one of the early phases of the Better Bus Project. It builds on the work we’ve already done, and guides our recommendations for changes that address route design, frequency of service, hours of service, and coverage area.

In the last year, we examined travel data and analyzed rider feedback to determine the most important changes. Those changes include:

More high-frequency corridors
More midday, evening, and weekend service
Better access to key destinations
New bus routes (rolling out in 2022)

This plan prioritizes riders in transit-critical communities like Roxbury, Everett, Chelsea, Mattapan, and Lynn. It is a once-in-a-generation attempt to make bold, foundational improvements to the bus network for the people who depend on it most.

In the coming months, we’ll host virtual meetings to reintroduce the project and provide updates on the work we’ve been doing.

For More Information

Our Vision for the Bus Network Redesign

This process includes examining the system as a whole to create a network that responds to the changing needs of the region. And, when we look at the entire network, we believe only a full redesign can fix existing problems.

Our plan to create a new bus network map aims to:

Simplify a complicated network

When we implemented the 2019 Route Changes, we learned that many riders feel our network can be hard to understand due to complex schedules, indirect routes and connections, and infrequent service.

The Bus Network Redesign will examine the network as a whole. We will consider the relationship between buses and other modes while looking at ways to improve access and make the network easier to understand.

When we implemented the 2019 Route Changes, we learned that many riders feel our network can be hard to understand due to complex schedules, indirect routes and connections, and infrequent service.

Create a more equitable network

The MBTA’s Focus40 plan concluded that “Bus-only neighborhoods and communities experience much longer and more difficult commutes—and thus poorer and more indirect access to opportunity—than do communities with easy access to rapid transit service.”

An improved bus network can ensure the residents of transit-critical communities have better access to jobs, education, and essential services. Going back to the pre-COVID network is not good enough.

We want to build a better and more equitable network than we had pre-covid. Our process puts the needs of transit-critical riders first. It’s also how we’re measuring success.

An improved bus network can ensure the residents of transit-critical communities have better access to jobs, education, and essential services. Going back to the pre-COVID network is not good enough.

We want to build a better and more equitable network than we had pre-covid. Our process puts the needs of transit-critical riders first. It’s also how we’re measuring success.

Make transit a competitive alternative to driving

Even though people use the bus to travel to a lot of places at different times of day, our current system is primarily designed for 9 AM – 5 PM service. Current ridership patterns also show that people are more likely to use transit that is fast and frequent.

We plan to add significantly more high-frequency corridors with a focus on all day service—not just AM and PM commutes—so riders will have access to transit when they need it.

Maximize access to opportunities

Whether riders are traveling regionally (like to employment centers in Downtown Boston and the Longwood Medical Area), or locally (like shopping areas and community activities), they need a transit system that takes them where they need to go, when they need to be there.

We’re looking at the ways people travel across the MBTA service area to identify better connections to both regional and local destinations.

Building a Better Bus Network Together

We’re counting on riders and area residents to help design the new bus network. The redesign will be based on data we’ve collected about travel patterns, and will be shaped through continuous public engagement.

Hearing directly from bus riders

We’ve been talking to bus riders since 2018, when we started the Better Bus Project. As the pandemic recedes, we’ll be rolling out even more engagement initiatives, including street teams, joint meetings with community groups, and pop-ups at stations.

Partnering with municipalities

Improving bus service is challenging because we don’t control the streets or even most bus stops—our 51 cities and towns do. We are working closely with municipal partners to make change happen. We’re finding places where we can implement transit priority treatments that keep buses moving in traffic.

Identifying where riders need to go and the factors that make bus service competitive

We’re using new datasets to better understand how people in Greater Boston travel, regardless of mode. This data gives us insights we’ve never had before on how low-income residents and people of color (groups that have traditionally been unrepresented in decision making) travel. Using this data ensures the new proposed service reflects everyone and all of their trips.

We plan to gather input on what makes transit a viable alternative to driving. Our travel data shows us what trips people make, but not why they choose to take transit or other modes. So, we’ll be asking you what matters, and your answers will shape our metrics and our plan to design a network that offers better choices for more people.

Project Timeline

2021–2022: Planning

Spring/Summer 2021: As we work towards our proposal for a new network, we’ll continue to talk to riders and stakeholders about the project. We’ll open an online engagement tool to gather rider input on our metrics and on your priorities for a new bus network—it will be available on this webpage.
Fall/Winter 2021–2022: We’ll share our proposal for a new network and gather extensive public feedback on it.
Spring 2022: We’ll incorporate feedback into a final network map for Board approval in early 2022.

2022–2026: Implementation

The new network will be implemented in several phases, starting with the rollout of new routes in summer 2022. We plan to add service over time as we continue to modernize our facilities and expand our fleet.

Our public information efforts during this time will be more extensive than any we’ve ever launched for a route change—we want to ensure that riders can learn and understand the new system before it’s implemented.