While a Green Line D station virtually at the School’s doorstop holds its advantages for commuters, recently, ongoing delays and slow service have been the culprit for an uptick in students’ tardiness.

“This year, the T is causing a lot of commuting problems for students, and we’re trying to be as compassionate as possible when it comes to how we count tardies,” Dean of Students Paul Murray said. “Lateness is certainly frustrating for the students, and it’s frustrating for us, too.”

Nov. 1, heavy winds caused a tree to fall on the tracks of the D line train. Shuttle buses were ordered by the MBTA, but they took longer than advertised and caused many students to arrive late to school.

The MBTA’s website regularly alerts its passengers when it expects delays, but little information is provided and students often don’t have the opportunity to plan ahead.

Jacob Mejia Levy ’21, a T-commuter who relies on both buses and trains to get to school, has a “love-hate relationship” with the T.

“Sometimes, it can be a great and reliable mode of transportation to get to school in a timely manner, but most days it isn’t—especially during the rush hour time that I often commute to and from school,” Mejia Levy said.

Mejia Levy thinks that the School should be lenient when it comes to not just major weather events, but also other delays, impacting the T.

“If you’re late from everyday traffic, it’s not your fault, but if there’s an issue with the train system I think the school should be more tolerant towards that because it’s out of your control,” Mejia Levy said.

Other students agree.

“The Riverside trains never comes on time, which makes it incredibly hard to plan when to leave to get to school,” Ayanna Jefferson ’22 said. “Although returning home is easier, it’s still not consistent.”

Weekend and evening service has also been impacted by construction and track repairs, scheduled to be completed by the end of 2019.

“The D train is extremely unreliable due to parts of it being down because of maintenance. I’ve noticed disruptions not only when communing to school but when traveling on the weekends,” Martin Maynard ’22.

In 2015, The Gator published an article exploring why 2015 was a particularly bad year for MBTA delays.

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