When the MBTA closed the Orange Line for a month beginning last Friday, thousands of Boston commuters were left to find other ways to get around the city.
To meet demand, the MBTA, in partnership with Boston-based A Yankee Line, has assembled a hodgepodge of about 200 commuter buses to shuttle people around the city free of charge. The effort is costing the state “no more than $37 million,” according to a statement made after a vote by the MBTA board of directors earlier this month.
Dozens of companies from all over the country have been subcontracted to provide buses, many doing so through A Yankee Line. Companies in Texas, Florida, Illinois, and Maryland have sent shuttles to the Boston area.
A Yankee Line has partnered with the MBTA in the past to provide shuttles during service stoppages. Seventy-five of Yankee’s distinctive large yellow shuttles are currently in service. The other 125-odd buses have been subcontracted from dozens of companies, including Anette bus lines, Dattco shuttle services, Candies Coachworks, and HTI Haymarket.
One shuttle provider is Bailey Coaches, a family-run company based in Spring Grove, Pennsylvania. John Bailey, the company’s president and founder, agreed to send two of his largest shuttle buses (adorned with “Bailey Coach” and “Explore York”) to Boston.
Accompanying the buses are their respective drivers, many of whom will be driving daily for the duration of the shutdown. Bailey said that two drivers were sent to Boston and are often working up to 10 hours a day.
“This contract calls for transporting people seven days a week,” Bailey said in a phone interview. But some drivers “don’t want to go for 35 days, and most people have a life that they want to stay home for, they’ve got their kids, they’ve got their grandkids, their spouses... So, you know, some of it is based on availability.”
Drivers are provided with lodging as part of the contract, and given breaks throughout the day, according to Bailey, but the commuter demand means they could be driving from dawn until dusk.
The overall fleet consists of about 110 buses on the north side of the Orange Line, 70 buses on the south side of the Orange Line, and 20 buses providing Green Line service from Union Square to Government Center.
Each bus is in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires that buses be wheelchair accessible. Bus capacity varies depending on the company, but larger shuttles can carry approximately 55 people at a time, according to Bailey.
The MBTA’s primary contract with A Yankee Line was hammered out “two to three weeks leading up to the start date,” according to the MBTA. A Yankee Line then subcontracted for additional buses throughout the country.
“They reached out to us and said, ‘Hey, we need vehicles,’ and I wish I could have sent more,” Bailey said. “From what my one driver told me, it’s the largest and longest-length contract for individual privately operated motor coach companies in the history of the United States.”
According to the MBTA, ridership on the shuttle buses so far has been “moderate to heavy,” and the number of shuttles has matched demand.
Collin Robisheaux can be reached at collin.robisheaux@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @ColRobisheaux.