An MBTA Orange Line shuttle bus driver mistakenly transported morning commuters from Medford to Stoneham on the North Shore instead of North Station in Boston on Thursday, sparking passenger panic, impromptu GPS navigation, and an immediate agency apology on the first day of an 11-day transit shutdown.
Commuters navigating the first morning of an 11-day Orange Line suspension between the Oak Grove and Back Bay stations found themselves on a chaotic detour when a transit shuttle bus missed its urban destination entirely. Instead of carrying passengers toward the city center, the driver headed approximately 10 miles in the opposite direction to Stoneham on the North Shore, according to local reporting.
How a Downtown Boston Commute Turned Into a North Shore Trip
The journey began at Wellington station on Thursday morning, where free and accessible shuttle buses were running between Oak Grove and North Station during the shutdown to ferry stranded riders. Passengers quickly grew uneasy as the driver took back roads that started to worry commuters before merging onto Interstate 93 heading north. Commuter Yaseen Sajjad described the experience as one of the worst ones that I’ve ever seen in my life
after boarding the packed vehicle, noting that he was hoping it would be a good commute.
Panic set in once passengers realized the bus was traveling away from Boston, and the vehicle was packed to the brim.
We were suddenly going north on I-93. And he’s asking us ‘Am I going the right way?’ No, no, everyone is saying no.
When the driver continued, passengers had to direct him and tell him where they were going. At one point, the driver told passengers he had never even been to the city of Boston in his life and that he was driving the bus for the first time. Alex Rodde, another passenger heading to work, stepped up to assist the driver by providing manual navigation. Rodde explained that he felt a little nervous about it because if he was being relied upon for instructions, he should probably give good ones, but he did his best and they got where they were going to go.
Commuters Take the Wheel and Direct the Lost Driver
Passengers took charge of the vehicle’s logistics. Another commuter yelled out, It’s 135 Causeway Street,
while the driver was driving on the highway and putting the location on his GPS. Eamon Marchant recounted that the driver asked them what the address was, and they told him North Station—that’s it.
Marchant said the driver eventually turned around, but the trouble did not end there. Marchant noted that the driver was not using the HOV lanes and was not using the bus lanes, adding that they kept having to direct him to a point where it was absolutely ridiculous, and for all of them who had to deal with that, it was a little ridiculous. Sajjad added that it is a crazy, crazy frustration to get to Boston, which it shouldn’t be, and that they just want to fix this issue so they can have a good commute.
Transit Agency Response and Vendor Action
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority issued a formal statement addressing the blunder on Thursday morning, acknowledging the disruption caused to riders during the scheduled 11-day suspension between Oak Grove and Back Bay stations. Transit officials noted that the passengers were eventually brought to North Station, the shuttle’s intended destination, after the mistake was discovered, though officials did not specify how long the passengers were on the wrong route.
The MBTA apologizes to these shuttle bus passengers for this inconvenience. The matter has been addressed with the shuttle bus vendor, and the driver of this shuttle is no longer working on this service.
