By Emma Poppe, News Correspondent

The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) announced an increase in the weekday frequency of the Green Line E branch as part of several service changes Sept. 9.
The E train, which runs from the Lechmere station in Cambridge to Heath Street off South Huntington Avenue, will arrive every eight minutes instead of every 10 minutes between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on weekdays. Between 2:15 p.m. and 4 p.m., the train will arrive every seven minutes instead of every nine minutes.
‘In that area, there was a demand to accommodate the medical workers and the needs of the students,’ said MBTA spokesperson Lydia Rivera.’ ‘We could tweak [the E branch] and add more trips.’
Riviera said the MBTA took into consideration the area’s growing student and resident population, ridership levels, and customer complaints via phone calls, Twitter and Facebook when making the decision to add a weekday train to the E branch. The MBTA appoints personnel to ride the trains, study trends, and report on changes that need to be made, she said.
Riviera also said discussions about closing some stations on the E branch and cutting service on the weekends had ended.
‘That had come when we were moving toward the fare increase but those discussions have ceased as of now,’ she said.
Some Northeastern students said they will benefit from the service increases.
‘If it’s going to be faster, I think more students will take it,’ said Leah Webster, a sophomore health science major.’ ‘It’s the best way to get around, and it’s way cheaper than cabs.’
For some students who use use the Green Line to commute to co-op jobs, the service increases were sorely needed.
‘Since I’m a nursing major, I use the E branch to get to the hospitals,’ middler Emily Winkler said. ‘If the T comes more often now, I’ll be able to get to work faster.’
But some students said they don’t think two minutes will make a considerable difference in the schedule.
‘I don’t think the time difference is going to be substantial enough to affect how much I’ll take the T,’ said Mikaela Elia, a sophomore health science major.’ ‘I think [the E branch] will be just as crowded, too.’
Rivera said the service changes would have a significant impact.
‘We concentrated on the time during the day where we needed more trains,’ she said.’ ‘Two minutes is a significant improvement … Overall, the Green Line is very busy.’