Residents protest suspension of the ‘critical’ 55 city bus line

Fenway residents on the first day of a new round of MBTA service cuts gathered to wait for a bus that never arrived, calling on the agency to reverse course and bring back the “critical” Boston bus line.

The residents and City Councilor Kenzie Bok on Sunday waited for the 55 bus to protest its suspension by the MBTA.

“We’re having the standout to show we’re waiting for the 55 bus because we need it,” Bok said ahead of the protest. “It’s really a critical bus line for the residents here.”

“This neighborhood is not going to let the 55 disappear,” she later added.

The MBTA’s new bus schedules took effect on Sunday. That included the suspension of the Route 55 bus, which goes from Queensberry Street at Jersey Street (where the Fenway residents gathered) to St. James Avenue at Dartmouth Street in Copley Square.

The cuts come amid the coronavirus pandemic and lower ridership levels, resulting in massive budget deficits.

“The MBTA and the Control Board welcome comments and feedback from its customers,” a T spokesman said Sunday. “In addition to considering public comment, the MBTA will continue to carefully track commuting trends, and if there is a need to restore service in certain areas, the T will have the ability to do that.

“Today, Route 55 ridership remains well below prepandemic levels,” the spokesman added. “Users of the Rt. 55 have multiple alternative transit options, with subway stations and other bus routes less than N of a mile from Route 55 bus stops.”

But Bok said that residents, especially seniors and those with disabilities and mobility challenges, rely on the 55 bus to get around to appointments and other resources.

“They have planned their entire lives around the existence of this line,” the councilor said.

“Most of the seniors and disabled folks say if they have to, they will plan their lives differently with a less frequent schedule, but to have the line disappear altogether is just untenable,” she said.

The line suspension comes after a year of hunkering down at home amid the pandemic.

“It’s a cruel irony that as seniors are getting vaccinated and they’re looking forward to riding the bus, the bus line out of the neighborhood is being shut down,” Bok said. “It’s infuriating.”

JiM MicHaud / Boston Herald SAVE THE 55! Local resident Charles Martel protests with other area residents, joined by some elected officials objecting to the suspension of #55 bus route at the corner of Jersey Street and Queensbury Street in the Fenway section of the city on Sunday.

C’MON, MAN! Local resident Chris Cullitty, who says he's over 65, claims he will be homebound without the bus.