A Logan Airport shuttle that just loops around all the terminals makes perfect sense in theory. In practice, though? Well, let’s find out with a ride on the 11.

The bus pulling into Terminal E.

Nathan and I decided that the only part of the 11 we really needed to take was the section between Terminal E and Terminal A, since it’s the route’s unique section and the only situation in which one would have to actually use this route. The bus came into the terminal, arrived at the stop, and just…sat there. We waited for about five minutes before finally leaving the stop.

These airport roads are confusing…

We headed down Service Road, travelling alongside a concrete wall. The street curved a bit and passed a gas station and a bunch of parking lots, then another wall. Next, we made our way onto Hotel Drive, taking us beneath an elevated highway and alongside another one. As the name suggests, it also took us past the airport Hilton.

Ooooooh!

After going beneath another highway, we actually did something kinda cool that I wasn’t expecting: we went onto an “Authorized Vehicles and Taxis Only” road! Lined with a big imposing wall, this street seems to act as the layover point for Logan Airport buses. It took us right into Terminal A…and then from there the route just got boring.

Terminal B, Stop 1.

From Terminal A, we went to – wow! – Terminal B. After making the first stop,we made the 180-degree turn around to the other side of the parking lot to serve Stop 2. Nathan and I had seen enough by this point, and we had another bus to catch, so here we left the 11 to continue on its journey back to Terminal E.

Get back on your endless loop, 11!

Logan Airport Shuttle Route: 11 (Serves All Terminals)

Ridership: The ridership on this route consisted of two other people…who realized they had gotten on the wrong bus and had to leave. It’s not just our ride, either – every time I see an 11, it’s either completely empty or has maybe one person on it!

Pros: Like I said, a route like this makes sense in theory. To anyone not familiar with the geography of Logan Airport, a terminal loop seems like a great idea.

Cons: This is just pointless, though! For one thing, the route only uses one bus, so it ends up being pretty infrequent for an airport shuttle. Also, its only real use, getting from E to A, is marred by the fact that it takes forever to get between them! You have to meander down all these random roads, and the driver was really taking her time. There are other buses that serve all terminals, anyway, except for that one section between E and A…but there’s a nice walkway between E and A! It even has moving sidewalks, so it’s completely accessible.

Nearby and Noteworthy: The airport, I guess…I dunno, that’s literally all this route serves.

Final Verdict: 2/10
The 11 feels like a bare minimum service provided just because the idea of a terminal loop is theoretically a good one. The problem is that it’s infrequent, it never gets riders, and it’s too darn slow where it’s most needed! The thing is, Logan has such a great network of walkways that when you factor in waiting time, it’s usually faster to walk. Sure, the 11 may be useful in certain rare cases, but honestly…they could just scrap this one.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates