Longtime readers will definitely have seen this one before – maybe even more than once. But hey, it hasn’t gotten a proper review yet, so it’s time to take our final look at the route and give it a definitive score! Time to take one final ride on the 1.
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| The beautiful Xcelsior at the Campus Center. |
The bus used on the 1 was scores better than the one Nathan and I had gotten on the 3. It was an Xcelsior, and the inside was just beautiful! It had yellow poles, cords running along the bus to signal a stop request, and some amazing plushy seats that could recline. It’s interesting that they have such nice seats for a five-minute ride, but I can’t complain!
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| Wow! |
We left the Campus Center loop and ran up Columbia Point along the water. Instead of staying on that street, which “deviates” to serve the JFK Library, we briefly turned onto an unnamed road alongside a parking lot for a more direct route. We returned to Columbia Point, which then swung right and became University Drive North.
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| It was really hard to get decent pictures in this lighting… |
There was lots o’ construction going on along University Drive North, but we soon made our way onto Mount Vernon Street. This took us past some apartments, a school, and a church. We passed the UMass Bayside Lot, where the 3 terminates, then a hotel and a bank. Finally, we navigated an absolute mess of an intersection, which led us into the JFK/UMass busway.
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| An earlier 1, using one of those terrible buses! |
UMass Boston Shuttle Route: 1 (JFK/Umass – Campus Center)
Ridership: I believe this is the UMass route with the highest ridership, getting packed with students coming from or going to the Red Line. Our trip was no exception, with a healthy smattering of people heading to the station.
Pros: This is an awesome, quick connection between the UMass campus and the Red Line at JFK. It runs incredibly frequently, with service every 5-7 minutes throughout most of the day, and every 10-12 minutes at night (on Fridays, the “night” schedule starts earlier in the evening). It does only run on weekdays, but the connection is still there on weekends by means of the more deviatory 2.
Cons: It’s really weird that the shuttle tracker shows that this bus could take two possible routes going to UMass. I mean, it’s not that important, since the route only has two stops, but is there any reason why a bus would take one routing over the other?
Nearby and Noteworthy: This is the best way of getting to UMass on a weekday, so if you happen to be going there…this is the route for you, I guess.
Final Verdict: 9/10
Considering that UMass Boston has no actual dorms, this bus allows throngs of students to commute to school via the subway. It’s frequent, it’s fast, and it gets people where they need to go. Sure, the streets it takes may differ according to the tracker, but the destination is always the same, so it really doesn’t matter all that much.
Latest MBTA News: Service Updates