Medford options spark access concerns as MBTA weighs restoring Route 94 versus boosting frequency

MBTA officials presented three alternative packages for Medford on their Better Bus Network amendment docket and heard sharply focused public concerns about access to medical care and equity of tradeoffs.

MBTA said the Medford options are intended to improve frequency and connections along Boston Ave. and to the Red and Green lines. The alternatives include (A) extending Route 80 to Arlington Heights and preserving existing routing for Route 350 to boost Route 80 frequency; (B) retaining Route 94 to preserve direct access for riders on High Street; and (C) rerouting Route 96 to Boston Ave. MBTA staff said the packages can be combined, but resources are finite in the short term and choices to restore one route may reduce frequency elsewhere.

Public commenters pressed the agency on the human impact of those tradeoffs. "The loss of the 94, aside from all... reasons people have given, would be really tragic for him," said Howard, who said his son—who has special needs—depends on Route 94 to travel from the Red Line to medical appointments at Mass General (Howard, public commenter). Howard’s comment framed a broader concern that eliminating a route would impose onerous, sometimes impractical transfer burdens on riders who rely on a single direct trip for medical and caregiving needs.

Asked about specific frequency tradeoffs, Susanna said she understood Route 96 is slated to be high frequency and asked whether Route 80 could reach 20–30 minute service seven days a week if resources were diverted from restoring 94. MBTA staff acknowledged that investing in restoring Route 94 would reduce the buses available to increase Route 80 frequency in the short term; conversely, not restoring 94 could allow MBTA to allocate resources to get Route 80 to roughly 20–30 minute service across the day.

A technical response from MBTA staff noted Route 96 remains planned as a high‑frequency route (15 minutes or better) between Malden and Union Square and that routing choices within the Medford corridor (George St. vs. Boston Ave.) are being weighed to serve different blocks. The agency also said 47 is slated to terminate at Ruggles in the proposals and that Route 42 is proposed to extend to Broadway to cover some Broadway connections, though MBTA staff acknowledged a transfer gap will remain between Nubian and Ruggles for some trips and suggested riders could use frequent Red Line service for parts of certain trips.

What happens next: MBTA will gather feedback in Medford breakout sessions, through the online survey and in open houses this summer. The agency repeatedly emphasized it has a finite pool of peak buses for near‑term changes and that larger fleet investments would be needed for broader expansions.

Provenance: The Medford discussion and public comments appear in the meeting’s Medford package slides and the subsequent Q&A and public comment periods.