HINGHAM - June 2, 2026 - In a tense and emotional session, Hingham Shipyard residents turned out in force at Tuesday’s Select Board meeting to protest the continued operation of the MBTA Route 220 bus through their neighborhood. Citing severe noise, toxic exhaust plumes, and structural wear to private infrastructure, neighbors sharply contested data presented by town officials and demanded that the bus route be returned to Lincoln Street.
The Full Story
The confrontation was sparked by a scheduled nine-month “look-back” review of changes implemented in August 2025, which rerouted the 220 bus off Route 3A (Lincoln Street) to directly serve the MBTA commuter ferry terminal. Assistant Town Administrator Art Robert presented data showing that while overall route ridership had dipped slightly, local shipyard demand remained stable, with two-thirds of former Lincoln Street passengers successfully migrating to the ferry stop. GPS metrics also indicated that speed violations had moderated since a spike in October 2025 following remedial driver counseling by the MBTA.
Public safety officials, including representatives from the police and fire departments, reported virtually no logistical conflicts, noting only two recorded bus-related calls over the past year—one involving a verbal dispute with a construction worker and another involving a false alarm regarding an emergency sign. Town Engineer JR Frey added that no structural damage to local roads had been documented, but suggested installing a flashing digital speed feedback sign on Shipyard Drive to mitigate the natural momentum of vehicles descending from Route 3A.
However, residents painted a starkly different picture of daily life along the route, which sees 60 bus trips per day Monday through Saturday, and 30 on Sundays, stretching from 5:42 a.m. to 1:39 a.m..
“None of you live there, and I don’t know that you’ve talked to any of us... This has really impacted us... 60 times a day a bus comes through the shipyard. It seems like a lot. The pollution that we get from the buses that come out from whatever the emissions is big black brown clouds that come out. I have personally sat at the Beth restaurant outside and a plume of smoke has come in my face.” — Lynn Green, President of the Moorings Condominium Board
Beyond environmental concerns, Green noted that the intensive schedule fails to align with the actual ferry timetable, meaning empty buses frequently roar through residential streets well past midnight and during winter weekends when no weekend ferry service operates. Financial equity was also raised as a primary grievance. Because Shipyard Drive is a private road governed by easements, residents bear 100% of the maintenance costs for paving, crosswalk repainting, and snow removal out of their own pockets.
