Charlestown commuter Tim Ivers put up with the Orange Line for the better part of two years.
Ivers, who works as a conference center specialist at a local law firm, would take the train from Community College to Back Bay. It was never without hassle.
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"If I was on the train, I'd text my friends and say, 'What are the chances the train breaks down today?' And then, 15 minutes later, it would," he said.
About three months ago, Ivers threw up his hands. Frustrated with schedule cutbacks, delays and increasingly public safety incidents, he decided to just start walking.
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"I just got sick of it," Ivers said. "As long as the weather was good enough, I was like, 'Screw it. I'm just going to walk to work.' At least I knew I would get to work on time."
Now, with the Orange Line shut down for an entire month for repair work, Ivers may be justified in his choices. He is one of hundreds of thousands of commuters who live or work along the subway route and are now desperately seeking alternatives. The MBTA has hired shuttles to operate a replacement service, but they won't stop at Tufts Medical Center, Chinatown or Downtown Crossing, leaving behind thousands of people who work near those stops, ride north or south of them or make connections.
