T to hold planning meetings

 BOSTON. The MBTA will begin holding public meetings next week on the proposed changes to its bus routes and schedules for its 2008 Service Plan.

The hearings will start Monday, Sept. 8 in Allston and end on Monday, Sept. 29 in Malden. The T will hold 11 public meetings in total that will be held in Quincy, Jamaica Plain, Lynn, Waltham, downtown Boston and at Northeastern University.

Every two years, the MBTA evaluates its bus service schedule and makes changes based on rider demand and comments. The T held community workshops earlier this year to receive suggestions on improvements to the schedule, and these new workshops will present the proposed changes.

Those changes, as well as the meeting schedule, are available at the T’s Web site, www.mbta.com.

Among the proposed changes are the elimination of four bus lines due to low ridership: the No. 6 bus (Haymarket to Fort Point Channel), the No. 48 (Jamaica Plain), the No. 500 (Riverside to downtown) and the SL3.

Many of the other changes involve extending or cutting bus routes’ service at the beginning or end of the day.