Cool, a complete stinker that’s also really short. Let’s get the 3 out of the way.

NOT THIS STUPID TRUCK MINIBUS AGAIN!

We headed out from Cranberry Plaza onto Cranberry Highway, which split into two one-way sections. Along this bit, we turned onto Glen Charlie Road, going along Union Pond and over Route 25. There were somewhat dense houses for about a minute, then it was just woods. Occasionally there would be sparse residences, but it wasn’t much. Eventually, we pulled into a 7-Eleven (although the schedule still calls it Tedeschi’s), and that was it.

Woods, woods, woods.

GATRA Route: Link 3 (Shangri-La to Cranberry Plaza)

Ridership: For the first time…I don’t trust the numbers. Look, I just don’t see how this tiny route can get 26 people per day. That would mean over 6 people per round trip! But since my round trip garnered a total of one other person, the other trips would need to have over 8 people to meet that 26 number…and that just doesn’t seem possible! The driver even told me that only two people use the route every day, so something tells me GATRA made some sort of mistake when counting its ridership.

Pros: As far as I can see, absolutely nothing.

Cons: This route serves practically nothing. A few houses here and there, but nothing substantial enough to justify a bus service. There’s actually a sizeable residential neighborhood north of the route’s terminus, but since this has to get back in time to do the 4, it can’t go further. Anyway, even if the route did have a good ridership base, who would want to use it? It only has four hourly trips, weekdays-only – a very limiting schedule.

Nearby and Noteworthy: 7-Eleven, and that’s literally it.

Final Verdict: 1/10
I don’t trust those ridership numbers at all. Usually I’m a stickler for data, but my real-life experience with the 3 doesn’t match up with GATRA’s statistics, not even close. I could totally see GATRA making a mistake with their numbers, anyway. Yeah, this is a prime route to get rid of, because from what I can tell, it’s useless.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates