Commuters may notice longer wait times for the MBTA after holiday weekend

BOSTON — Now that many people are going back to work Tuesday after the holiday, they may notice longer wait times for the T.

The MBTA is reducing service on the Red, Orange and Blue lines to weekend schedules all summer.

This means riders could wait an extra several minutes between trains during the week.

“I think I might have to leave for work earlier just in case because my work, if you’re late too much you can get in trouble,” said Benita Boatswain, who rides the Orange Line.

The change comes after the Federal Transit Administration found the MBTA to be short staffed to the point where the trains were not safe for riders.

The report found dispatchers working up to 20 hours with only a few hours off between shifts.

So now this new schedule should be at safer staffing levels, but with fewer trains.

“They definitely need to get their act in order,” said Ansh, who rides the Orange Line. “I think there’s a lot of different things taking place and hopefully this is a good wakeup call, you know, getting the feds involved.”

The MBTA says it’ll launch a recruitment campaign, offering bonuses to hire more workers.

The Green and Mattapan lines will not be changed for the summer.

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