By Daniel Stoller

Michael McVinnie, a senior criminal justice major, waited for a ride home to Mission Hill Wednesday night. He stared down the dark tunnel from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) platform at Northeastern. After about 10 minutes of waiting for the outbound train, the No. 39 bus came rolling down Huntington Avenue. He quickly gave up on the T, and ran to the intersection at Forsyth Street. But just as he started crossing, the train emerged from the tunnel and he turned around.

“I take whichever comes first,” McVinnie said. “This time of day [around 6:30 p.m.], the T is faster.”

McVinnie works downtown, and said he uses his Link pass to get there everyday.

For many students who live on or off campus, the E track for the MBTA’s Green Line and the 39 bus are the main sources of transportation.

But during the past 10 years, both have consistently lost riders, according to statistics released by the MBTA.

In 1997, an MBTA ridership survey measured maximum level of riders on the 39 bus in one day at 17,405. In 2005, the MBTA reported a daily net ridership of 14,905 for the 39 bus.

In 1995, the total number of passengers entering or leaving a train at Brigham Circle was 3,340 per day. In 2007, that number dropped to 2,513.

Hari Gangadharan, a senior management and marketing major, arrived in Boston in 2005. Being new to the city, and unsure of how to get around, he used the T because it had a map, he said. Now that he is more familiar with the city, he said, he uses the bus. “The bus is much more efficient and goes faster,” Gangadharan said. “Plus, the bus is less crowded