It may not be Valentine’s Day, but love is in the air. Across the city, a handful of "love" posters have been pasted at select bus stops. Who's got their heart? The 55 MBTA Bus Route.

Last Wednesday, the 55 Bus Coalition unveiled its latest poster series at the Lansdowne Street stop, kickstarting its campaign of raising awareness for the 55 bus.

The posters, which read "We the 55", are displayed at ten stops around Boston, five of which are along the bus route. A QR code printed on the bottom of the page leads visitors to the Coalition’s website. They plan to have them up for the next month.

"We meant for this to be a longer lasting campaign,” Leo Ruiz Sanchez, a community organizer for the Fenway Community Development Corporation, said. “We intend to make our organizing power visible and present in the neighborhood.”

The route, which was started in 1964 by the MBTA, makes up many riders’ daily commutes, particularly seniors and those with accessible needs. Along the 55, there are several elderly homes and care facilities for the disabled. But in recent years, several changes to the route have made going in-and-out of the

city even more difficult. In 2020, during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the MBTA shut down the line completely. In 2021, the line was restored, although with shorter service, 10am-4pm and fewer stops. One of the biggest changes is the route ends at Copley now instead of Park Street. That same year, the 55 Bus Coalition was formed, under the mission of "advocating for a reliable and resilient bus for riders."

In a recent study by Avison Young, a Boston-based commercial real estate agency, the city's public transportation ridership has rebounded by 63% compared to pre-pandemic levels. As operations seemingly return to "normal," one question looms, what about the 55 route?

"Our message is that we're not going to stop advocating and collaborating with the MBTA, elected officials, and institutional partners to see a better bus for visitors, residents and workers in the area," Sanchez said.

For now, the Coalition doesn't intend on putting up posters in other areas. And, as the event last Wednesday proved, perhaps they don’t need to. Despite the heat, a small group came from their different corners of the city to view the new posters, including State Representative Jay Livingstone. Many held up handmade signs, all of them carrying the same premise"We love the 55".