New cutbacks to ferry service on South Shore

HINGHAM, Mass. — As ridership continues to fall, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is cutting back on ferry service. The changes include temporary suspension of all Charlestown service, along with suspension of direct Hingham ferry service, and reduction of weekday Hingham/Hull service. The changes are being made as part of the Forge Ahead plan to preserve access and quality of service to transit-critical customers, according to the MBTA.

Ferry ridership is down to 12 percent of what it was before the pandemic, according to MBTA records.

“The ‘T’ was originally going to cut all ferry service,” said Martha Bewick, a longtime supporter of the ferry in Hingham.

Bewick disagrees with removing direct service to Rowes Wharf in Boston, but is not faulting the bulk of the changes given plummeting ridership.

“I think everybody has to make cutbacks so I think everyone agrees that there should have (been) cuts, but we would like to have seen some residual service from Hingham to Rowes Wharf,” Bewick said.

The MBTA reports ridership in October 2020 was down to 26 percent of what it was in 2019.

Commuter Rail Service is also being cutback with the only weekend service available as of Saturday on Newburyport/Rockport, Framingham/Worcester, Fairmount, Providence and Middleborough Lines.

Ridership on the commuter rail is 10 percent of pre-pandemic levels, said an MBTA spokesperson.

Decisions to cutback service were made after months of gathering public input, according to the MBTA.

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