orange line

Commuters Ponder Alternate Ride to Work During Orange Line Shutdown

The Boston Cyclists Union will be relying on volunteers during the month-long T shutdown to lead daily convoys during weekdays

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Monday marks the first commuting day of the MBTA’s shutdown of the Orange Line.

With repair crews working this weekend on tracks and T stations along the Orange Line, all eyes are on Monday’s commute as a section of the Green Line also shuts down for nearly a month.

In anticipation of what’s to come, the Boston Cyclists Union held a practice group ride from each end of the Orange Line to Downtown Boston on Sunday. The purpose is to offer an alternative to the Orange or Green Line shuttles and the commuter rail to try to avoid what’s expected to be heavy traffic on the roads.

Commuters like Nicole Jacob will opt for a two-wheel alternative to the shuttles and the commuter rail. Jacob, who’ll cycle from Malden to downtown Boston, joined the cyclists on a trial run Sunday to map out a route from one end of the Orange Line at Oak Grove to Downtown Crossing, hoping for a safe ride by cycling in numbers.

“I felt like this was the perfect venue to get down there and feel safe, because you don’t want to go down and not know the route and be worried about cars and things like that,” Jacob said.

The Boston Cyclists Union will be relying on volunteers during the month-long T shutdown to lead daily convoys during weekdays.

Steve Jenal, an Orange Line user who lives across from the Sullivan Square station, says he will be biking to downtown Boston for work during the shutdown.

“I’m in the fortunate position that I can go in with my bicycle, a lot of people are not in the position to be able to do that and those are the people who are really impacted by this,” Jenal said.

Most of these group rides will be taking place around 8 a.m. on weekdays, departing from several stations along the Orange Line corridor. You can check the Boston Cyclists Union website for details.

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