No, of course I didn’t forget about the BAT’s Rockland Flex service! It’s a little minibus route that goes from Rockland to…I guess technically Brockton, but it’s not the BAT Centre. Instead, the bus starts at Signature Healthcare… (also, for the record, I know I still have to do the BSU service, too)

A BAT minibus…I never thought I’d see the day…

This was a pretty interesting minibus. For one thing, it put its jiggly wheelchair lift in the front of the vehicle, which actually makes a lot more sense for the driver and for convenience of boarding. It also meant that they could clear a big space in the front of the vehicle for wheelchairs, meaning that the farebox (complete with CharlieCard support) didn’t eliminate a seat pair!

Inside the bus.

We headed out from Signature Healthcare and followed the 5 down Centre Street. There were some suburban businesses at first, but it soon became houses mixed with industrial buildings. They continued as we entered Abington and the street became Brockton Ave, then we deviated into Walmart, where someone – a loyal rider, given her familiarity with the driver – got on.

The Walmart parking lot.

Whereas the 5 ends here at Walmart, we sped off into the great unknown of Abington. Seeing me taking pictures, the passenger and the driver started to tell me about the route and how it works – the bus will pick a passenger up at any point in Rockland, but only in Rockland, and in other towns it will only stop at timepoint stops. Also, in Rockland, passengers can call in before 4 PM the previous day to deviate the bus to where they want to be picked up. If the website is to be believed, there’s apparently no distance limit!

Splitting off from another road.

There was a section of woods, then it was just a mixture of everything: there were houses, businesses, and industrial buildings. We turned onto Washington Street in what appeared to be an Abington Center-type place: there were dense houses, and a few of them contained businesses. Just after leaving the “center,” we turned onto Centre Ave, at first passing mostly houses and a lake.

A side street.

There were a few businesses around Abington Station, and we crossed the Commuter Rail track at street level. I asked the driver if the station was a big ridership generator; he said he gets a few commuters who use it every day, but he’s not allowed to drop them off at Abington. Huh? Well, the answer became clear after we drove for a little while longer and pulled into a Stop & Shop. Since this is a timepoint stop and Abington isn’t, the driver is forced to drop people off here and make them walk to the station!

The back of the Stop & Shop.

It turned out that this was a double deviation – we also had to serve a Target within the same complex. But with that out of the way, we came back onto Centre Ave, and after a few more small shopping plazas, it got mostly residential and we entered Rockland. Merging with Market Street, we curved around past lots of suburban businesses with parking lots before sailing past some houses to get to an Ocean State Job Lot deviation.

A residential area along the way.

We headed back down Market Street, then we turned onto Concord Street, entering a residential neighborhood. “Hey, free pool table!” the driver exclaimed as we went by some furniture someone had left outside their house. Next, we turned onto John A. Dunn Memorial Drive, which led us past a housing development called Studley Court. We then made our way into – ahem – “Rockland Plaza,” one of the most barebones shopping plazas I’ve ever had the misfortune of having to deviate to. It consisted of a liquor shop, a laundromat, and a huge church in a generic shopping plaza building.

Geez…

We headed up Union Street from there, which was lined with pretty dense houses. Eventually those houses turned into businesses, and we were in Rockland Center. There wasn’t much on offer, but it was better than nothing. Finally, we looped around at the Rockland Community Center, and that was the end of the route.

Taking a layover.

On the way back, I asked the driver if he could let me off at Abington Station, but of course, I had to get off at Stop & Shop instead. As I began the trek down Centre Ave, I heard a flurry of horn toots. The bus sailed past and the driver stuck his head out the window yelling, “THERE HE IS! THERE HE IS!” Wow, what an awesome guy!

Bye!

BAT Route: Rockland Flex (Flexible Route, Rockland to Brockton)

Ridership: I can’t find any exact numbers, but signs point to very low. My round trip had just three other people, although I will say that they all knew the driver and seemed to be loyal riders – the route has, for lack of a better term, a cult following.

Pros: This is the only bus route that serves Rockland, so I guess that’s something. Also, I hope I’ve made it clear that the driver on this route was fantastic. He was funny, talkative, and accommodating, and he made this ride great.

Cons: Aw geez…the route just isn’t very good, is it? It serves as a little Rockland circulator, but it only connects up the center of town without serving any residential areas. And sure, I guess it can be “flexed” for that purpose, but it’s a real pain to have to do it the day before. Even though the schedule doesn’t cater to commuters at all, it seems like people do use it for that purpose, but it’s like the route is working against them! There’s no stop at Abington, and service begins too late and ends too early. Oh, and the schedule: it’s every hour and fifteen minutes, weekdays only. What’s the problem with that? It doesn’t time with the 5! Okay, that’s an overstatement – most of the trips do time. Still, I think it would be best if the schedule made it more clear which ones you can use to transfer, and in which direction.

Nearby and Noteworthy: Apparently Rockland is a rather boring town. Sorry, Rockland!

Final Verdict: 3/10
Ehhhhh…if I didn’t have such a great experience riding the route, it might’ve even been a 2. This route just doesn’t seem very useful, serving mostly retail and few residential areas. Flexing is annoying to use, so I can’t see many people doing it, and the route seems to get commuter traffic but it makes their trip as hard as possible. It could probably just be replaced with a public dial-a-ride service within the town of Rockland.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

Alright, our final BAT route! It’s another typical one, just running out to the eastern sections of the city and a little bit into Abington. Let’s take a look at the 5.

Getting on at the BAT Centre one last time.

We went down Commercial Street, lined with weird buildings and parking lots, then we turned onto Crescent Street. After passing a bunch of different types of scenery, we turned onto Lyman Street, which was residential aside from a cemetery and a church. Next, we turned onto Centre Street, passing houses, businesses and a school.

A mixed-use intersection.

Eventually, it was time for a double deviation: first, we went into Signature Healthcare, a big hospital. Right after that, we had a jog via Libby Street and Quincy Street to serve the Brockton Multi Services Center. Back on Centre Street, it was residential aside from a few weird industrial buildings, then the road became Brockton Ave as we entered Abington. Finally, we pulled into the Abington Walmart and the final BAT route was completed.

Getting ready to go back.

BAT Route: Brockton Route 5 (Brockton Hospital via Centre Street)

Ridership: The route got about 500 passengers per weekday in 2014 while netting around 235 and 160 people per Saturday and Sunday, respectively. I will say that my ride had about 15 people going one-way, which is much higher than the 2014 numbers would suggest, so perhaps ridership has gone up.

Pros: The route connects up the important destinations of Signature Healthcare and Walmart to the Bat Centre, while running with the typical pulse schedule. Not much else to say!

Cons: Not much, aside from the route map appearing to show a deviation that we didn’t do – it looks like it serves some shopping plaza.

Nearby and Noteworthy: Walmart, I guess. There isn’t much along this one.

Final Verdict: 7/10
It’s just a typical BAT route, and that’s about it. Alright, well, that’s it for the BAT! Right? It’s not like they have a weird minibus flex shuttle that I have to review, right? Nope…

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates
Kudos to the T for sticking it out through the horrible storm today. Check that service updates link for more information on how it’s doing, as tomorrow won’t be much better.

Oh yes, here we are on the craziest route of the BAT (barring the 12). The 4 could honestly pass for an MBTA route based on its crowds!

Here we go!

I purposely got the 4 in the inbound direction so I would have to take it around its loop from Westgate. First, we looped around to serve Sears, then we used Campanelli Industrial Drive to get to Oak Street. It was mostly housing developments, but there were some suburban businesses with parking lots as we turned onto Pearl Street.

824! They want their address to be known.

Before we could continue, though, we had to loop around into the Good Samaritan Medical Center. And once that was done, we had to do that same section on Oak Street and Pearl Street again. Why couldn’t we have just entered the deviation the other way? Who knows? So finally back on Pearl, it was houses on one side and a cemetery on the other.

Construction.

We turned onto Pleasant Street next, going over Route 24 and passing mostly suburban houses, although there were a few businesses sprinkled in at various points. The further we went down Pleasant Street, the closer the houses got to each other and the more frequent the retail showed up. Finally, we turned onto Warren Ave, then Legion Parkway, which became Centre Street. This led us to the BAT Centre.

Some of the dense houses.

BAT Route: Brockton Route 4 (Westgate Mall via Pleasant)

Ridership: In 2014, the 4 got about 1,090 passengers per weekday, 700 per Saturday, and 390 per Sunday. However, based on the ridership I saw on the route (30 people on the one-way trip, enough to require that people stand), I think the patronage for this route has gone up. After all, the route was experiencing positive trends before 2014, so why not stop there?

Pros: Going outbound, at least, this is the fastest and most direct connection to the Westgate Mall. It runs with the classic BAT schedule, which may actually be too infrequent, but we’ll get to that.

Cons: First, I’ll just address the potential confusion with fares: on the 4, you pay when you get on in both directions, even though that contradicts the typical BAT mentality of paying when you get off going outbound. No idea why that happens, but that’s what happens. Also, I guess I understand why the route does its big loop going inbound, but it’s definitely not conducive to a fast trip from the Westgate Mall to the Bat Centre. Finally, I wonder if this route is actually too busy for the pulse schedule. Seriously, instead of every 50 minutes on weekday middays, I feel like an extra bus could be added for 25 minute headways!

Nearby and Noteworthy: Really just the Westgate Mall, and that’s what most people use this route for.

Final Verdict: 7/10
Despite my trepidations with the loop and the crowding, this is still just a normal BAT route. It just happens to be busier than some of the other ones.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

Who needs the 4 when you have the 4A, otherwise known as the less insane version of the 4? We’ll get into how crazy the 4 is another time, but for now, here’s its counterpart, the 4A.

The bus at the BAT Centre.

We went down Court Street, then turned onto North Main Street for a block before twisting onto Spring Street. The road had apartments on one side and a park on the other, but once we turned onto North Warren Ave, it was almost all dense houses and apartments. Things got a little more spread out the further we went, but it wasn’t a huge difference.

A side street.

We turned onto Battles Street briefly before entering Battles Farm, an apartment development. Meandering through the complex, we came back onto Warren Ave but turned onto Oak Street outside a middle school. The scenery was diverse, including houses, suburban businesses, and a golf course.

Making our way onto Oak Street.

We entered a park, going by the Fuller Craft Museum before passing some housing developments, suburban businesses, and an industrial building. Soon we turned onto Campanelli Industrial Drive, which was in fact industrial (it was aptly named). We turned onto Westgate Drive next, which took us in a big loop around the Westgate Mall past other suburban businesses and shopping centers. Finally, we headed into the mall parking lot, ending the journey.

A pond within the park.

BAT Route: Brockton Route 4A (Westgate Mall via North Warren)

Ridership: Even though this route isn’t nearly as busy as the normal 4, it still gets pretty good ridership: in 2014, it had about 850 people per weekday, 550 per Saturday, and 380 per Sunday. I even think ridership on the line has increased since then – my one-way trip had 20 passengers, which is way more than the averages in 2014.

Pros: The route serves dense portions of northwestern Brockton and connects them up to the Westgate Mall and the BAT Centre. It runs with the classic pulse schedule, which works fine for this route. However, on Sundays it combines with the 4 to form a loop, which is an efficient use of resources when ridership is lower.

Cons: The route has one quirk that’s not publicized too well, and it was confusing at first: whereas with most BAT routes you pay when you get off going outbound, on the 4 and 4A you pay when you get on.

Nearby and Noteworthy: The Fuller Craft Museum looks like a charming local art museum, and this is the closest route to it.

Final Verdict: 7/10
It’s another normal BAT route. Not much more to say – typical schedule, typical ridership, typical route.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

It’s so weird to go to hospitals just to get a bus. I felt really awkward just standing outside of the VA waiting for the 3! Needless to say, I was happy when it came.

Hooray!

We headed out of the hospital complex onto Belmont Street, which was a mix of houses and businesses…for about 30 seconds. After that, it devolved into lots of strip malls, and we turned onto an access road to serve two of them. It was a smart deviation, though, as it took us out to Torrey Street – it felt a lot less painful than having to go in somewhere and come back out.

Going by Shaw’s Plaza.

Torrey Street merged back into Belmont Street, and after a weird empty field, there was a mixture of apartments and businesses. Soon after passing an elementary school, though, we turned onto Main Street, and we were surrounded by the tall but mostly empty buildings of downtown Brockton. We were only on Main for a block, turning onto Crescent Street, then Commercial Street, taking us into the BAT Centre.

Why can’t this have been my bus?????

BAT Route: Brockton Route 3 (VA Hospital via Belmont)

Ridership: The 3 is one of the busiest routes on the BAT, getting just under a thousand riders per weekday, a smidge under 500 per Saturday, and just under 200 per Sunday. My ride was lighter with about 10 people heading into Brockton, but the route generally averages around 30 per round trip on weekdays.

Pros: Belmont Street is a dense, busy corridor, and the 3 connects it up to downtown Brockton, to various shopping centers, and to the VA Hospital. Best of all, it does it in a direct way, doing a clever jog instead of a deviation to serve Shaw’s Plaza. As for scheduling, it runs with the typical BAT pulse schedule.

Cons: This is trivial, but on the online schedule for the 3, I think they just copied it over from the 1, because there are a bunch of “A”s at night that don’t mean anything for this route. Also, the 3 could arguably be even more effective if it was combined with the 9 on weekends. Just sayin’…

Nearby and Noteworthy: I guess the plazas are the most noteworthy places along the 3, but they’re nothing special.

Final Verdict: 7/10
It’s another typical BAT route! It’s got its typical schedule, it serves a good amount, and it gets good ridership. Nice.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

Welcome to the only numbered BAT route that runs weekdays only! Why is the 9 weekdays only? I honestly have no idea, since it seems to get pretty good ridership…

The bus at the BAT Centre.

We headed down Centre Street, going under the Commuter Rail tracks and passing the bland and unoccupied buildings of downtown Brockton. It continued as Legion Parkway and got a median for parking, then we made our way to Elm Street via Warren Ave. There were various buildings including a school, a church, and an apartment building, but it soon devolved into mostly suburban houses.

Some apartments closer to downtown.

Elm Street ended with a middle school, and at that intersection, we turned south onto West Street, passing a golf course of all things! I wouldn’t have expected to see one of those in Brockton. Next, we turned onto Torrey Street, passing a few strip malls before it became mostly houses again.

And we don’t have to deviate! Yay!

We went under Route 24, and though it was a little industrial immediately after that, we turned onto Pearl Street, which was all residential. However, we eventually turned onto Belmont Street, where there were lots of suburban businesses with parking lots, offering a scenery change. And there was yet another change soon after we entered Easton, when we entered an industrial park of the same name.

Turning off into it.

We went down Bristol Drive, then Norfolk Ave, looping around in a big circle at the end of that. It was just a bunch of office parks. Coming back onto Belmont Street, we reentered Brockton, but instead of going north on Pearl Street, we went south. This additional deviation was a loop via Pearl Street, Chestnut Street, and Liberty Street, and it served anywhere from housing and industrial buildings to a hotel and a hospital. I got out along this section and let the bus return to Brockton without me.

Bye!

BAT Route: Brockton Route 9 (Pearl via West Elm and Torrey)

Ridership: The 9 actually gets higher weekday ridership than the 10, with almost 300 passengers per day. That equates to about 18 people per round trip – my one-way ride had 10, so that seems pretty accurate.

Pros: The route serves a lot in southwestern Brockton, including many houses, shopping centers, and the Easton Industrial Park. It follows the BAT pulse schedule on weekdays (but only on weekdays), although rather than service every 20-25 minutes at rush hour, the route runs every 40-50. That does make sense given the route’s generally lower ridership numbers, though.

Cons: Okay, but still, this thing gets more ridership than the 10 and the 11, and those routes run on weekends! Why does the 9 only have weekday service? It wouldn’t have to go all the way to Easton Industrial Park, but it could still serve the shopping and medical centers out there!

Nearby and Noteworthy: I’ve mostly talked about what the route serves already (it’s not that interesting), but the 9 technically goes to Stonehill College, too! Yeah, it’s about a half mile away from the route, but this is the closest you can get to it.

Final Verdict: 6/10
I think the easiest weekend solution for the 9 would be to combine it with the 3. The two routes are close together, and it wouldn’t take much time to extend the 3 a bit down Belmont Street to serve the most important parts of the 9. It would only be about two minutes of driving to bridge the gap! Other than the lack of weekend service, the 9 is a fine BAT route, but I see no reason why it shouldn’t have buses on weekends too, especially when combining it with the 3 would be so easy.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates