May 1, 2002

Dear North Suburban Area commuters,

Transportation Services has recently completed time trials for a North Station Shuttle route to Harvard and wanted to give you advance notice of a news item that will appear in the May edition of the Resource, which should be distributed tomorrow:

The results of the survey you completed last fall regarding a direct shuttle link between Harvard University and North Station, as well as several shuttle time trials have demonstrated that a shuttle bus would only reduce travel time to Harvard Square by 5 to 8 minutes (best-case scenario) compared with current MBTA service. This is because the MDC does not allow the use of buses on Storrow and Memorial Drive due to inadequate overhead clearance. While the University could use shuttle vans instead of buses, their capacity is limited to twelve passengers. The number of vans and drivers needed to provide an acceptable level of service would significantly increase the cost. No convenience added to the commute. The 5-8 minute time savings would only be realized if you were to catch a shuttle immediately upon arrival at North Station, and it would be impossible to time the shuttle routes to meet every train.

We appreciate your participation in this study. It was a very worthwhile investigation that raised many issues warranting further investigation. Harvard's CommuterChoice Program is committed to finding solutions that improve the cost and convenience of your commute to Harvard.

Below are the possible transit links from North Station to Harvard:

• MBTA Green Line (North Station) to Red Line (Park Street)
• Walk from North Station to Red Line (Charles/MGH)
• MBTA Green Line (North Station) to Lechmere, change to 69 Bus
• MBTA Commuter Rail (Fitchburg Line) westbound train to Porter Square, then walk or take the Red Line to Harvard Square

For MBTA route and schedule information, visit www.mbta.com, or call 617-222-3200

Best regards,

Holly Bogle
Harvard University
CommuterChoice Program
c/o Transportation Services
175 North Harvard Street
Boston, MA 02134
PH (617) 496-5354
FAX (617) 496-1634
www.commuterchoice.harvard.edu