Dorchester to Get Better Blue Bikes Connections to the Red Line

The City of Boston is finally poised to build a long-awaited Red-Blue connection (no, not that one): new Blue Bikes stations have finally been permitted for installation at four Red Line stops in Dorchester.

"After nearly a year of working with the T on permits, we recently completed the process for seven locations in Boston, including four in Dorchester: Fields Corner T, Shawmut T, Ashmont T, and the back side of JFK/UMass," wrote Boston Transportation Department spokesperson Tracey Ganiatsos via email. "We are waiting for the second wave of equipment to arrive, which will cover these locations and over 40 more in the City."

A Bluebikes station is currently in service near the Fields Corner T stop, but will be relocated to MBTA property closer to the station. Dorchester is also expected to get a new Bluebikes station at the Talbot Avenue commuter rail stop on the Fairmount Line.

The new stations will fill in a prominent gap in the Blue Bikes network in the heart of Dorchester (see map). For a neighborhood struggling with service disruptions from the Red Line derailment earlier this week, the new bikes should provide a small but welcome alternative, and might provide a useful last-mile connection for riders who have switched to riding the commuter rail instead.

The city is currently soliciting public comment on where those other 40 new docks should go. The city's next round of station expansions will focus on adding additional bike docks in Dorchester, Mattapan, Roslindale and West Roxbury.