We’re getting to some of the PVTA’s really long local routes! The G2 forms a big crescent, running from the Memorial Industrial Park in northeast Springfield, down to Union Station, and back out to southeastern Springfield and East Longmeadow. Let’s see what the journey is like!

I see that X92 lurking in the background…

We made our way out of the industrial park via Memorial Drive and Roosevelt Ave, which took us over a train track and I-291. I was worried that this would be another empty trip like the X92, but I didn’t have to – even at the very first stop after we turned onto Page Boulevard, there were a few people waiting to get on. There were various businesses along here with houses on the side streets, but it got more residential when the street became Saint James Boulevard.

Pretty ugly…

A side street.

The intersection with Chestnut Street.

Coming out of Union.

Darn it!

Some retail and houses on another street.

Looks like a nice neighborhood!

Looping around the home.

At least the Big Y is an actual…like…place where people want to go. This is at the nursing home.

Look, I appreciate the PVTA’s efforts to have crosstown routes that allow riders to get from one side of Springfield to the other more directly…but come on, this is awful. The X92 is circuitous and pointless, and it’s time to see why!

The bus at Springfield.

Despite being a crosstown route, the X92 still starts at Union Station. Alright, that’s a little weird…but yeah, we left the station and came down onto Main Street. There were tall buildings and businesses everywhere, but due to a construction detour, we had to make a deviation via State Street, Maple Street, and Union Street.

A steep hill from Maple Street.

By the time we came back to Main Street, the buildings were only 1-2 stories tall, but they still had retail in them. It started to get less dense, too – by the time we reached the intersection of Main Street and Locust Street (which had a nice square in the middle of it), there were now parking lots accompanying each building.

The Basketball Hall of Fame poking out behind a car wash!

We turned onto Mill Street around here, running for a brief independent section along the residential road before the G5 joined us. The street got a median for a little bit with some businesses, but we merged onto Orange Street, which was lined with dense houses. There was still retail at certain intersections, though.

Not the nicest-looking side street.

The G5 left us, then we turned onto Allen Street, which was briefly industrial. Next, we turned onto Island Pond Road, and outside of a little shopping plaza…oh no, PVTA Syndrome strikes again. We weren’t that early to the stop, but we were early enough that the driver left the bus to spend some time on her phone. I was also the only person on board by this point, so that was kinda awkward…

Alrighty then…

There were a few more shopping plazas, then it became entirely suburban houses. The street became Roosevelt Ave when we crossed over the South Branch Mill River, and soon one side became occupied by woods. We crossed the B17 at Wilbraham Road, then we had to do a weird little jog to get onto State Street, joining the B7. Oh, but before that, we stopped at some random stop because, guess what, we were early again! Hooray…

Wow, this picture came out dark!

We headed down State Street for a bit, then we turned onto Blunt Park Road, passing a hospital and a school. After a deviation to serve Independence House, an apartment building, we turned back onto Roosevelt Ave. This took us past a fire station, some houses, and eventually the massive campus of Springfield Central High School.

Coming out of Independence House.

We crossed over the B6 on Bay Street, then we went over a train track. We were now in a really industrial area, with lots of factories and warehouses, including a Big Y distribution center! It wouldn’t be a PVTA route without a Big Y in some form. We turned onto Cottage Street, then Industry Ave, taking us past more industrial buildings and finally, our terminus at the Memorial Industrial Park.

What a weird place to end a bus route!

PVTA Route: X92 (Mid City Crosstown)

Ridership: My Saturday morning trip got a measly four people, but maybe that was because it was a Saturday morning. Maybe other trips get more people? Nope – this thing averages 7 passengers per trip. That’s awful, especially considering that A) the threshold for a good route is 20, and B) much of the route is shared with the G1 and G2, and I’ll bet a lot of people just use this for the shared section.

Pros: I’m gonna say that the sentiment of this route is good. It’s nice to see the PVTA experimenting with crosstown routes to better connect their system. However…

Cons: This route is stupid. It’s pointless. A waste of resources. It requires two buses in order to operate 45-minute headways, Mondays-Saturdays, but what’s the point? It parallels the G1 and G2, both very busy and frequent routes, from Union Station to Mill Street. After a tiny independent section, the route runs with the G5 for a bit, and by that point it’s already empty! Theoretically this would be useful for connecting southern Springfield with northeastern Springfield, but no one actually uses the route for that purpose. So why run it?

Nearby and Noteworthy: There are a few shopping plazas on the unique section, but they’re really boring. Yeah, there’s nothing much to see here.

Final Verdict: 2/10
If this route really wanted to be a circumferential crosstown route, it would go from Memorial Industrial Park to maybe The X…but then no one would use it! I feel like most of the riders on the X92 just take it on the G1/G2 shared section, making the route redundant. They honestly could cut this without affecting too many people – almost all of the connections this route makes could still be done with one transfer.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

Taking the route all on its own, the P21E by far the fastest way of getting from Holyoke to Springfield, and it’s a massive convenience. However, when you factor in the fact that it uses a Proterra electric bus…well, now we’ve just got the best route ever, don’t we?

OH MY GOSH, EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BUS IS AMAZING.

The inside of this thing just feels clean. I’ve been on it a few times, and even when it does have some litter in it, it still feels so modern and new. And the sounds…I mean, wow. As we left the Holyoke Transportation Center, I was just relishing in the delightful electronic whine emitting from the bus – it was incredible.

This is just amazing!

We headed down Maple Street, passing the backlots of businesses along the main drag one block away. There were some apartments when we got to the Holyoke Public Library, and it was mostly residential from there, aside from a few businesses on street corners. All of a sudden, it grew wide open, and we made our way onto I-391.

Did I mention the Proterra also has a rear window? Awww, yeah!

Now, as I mentioned, I had been enjoying the sounds of the bus up to this point. But when we got onto the highway…oh my God, I couldn’t believe it. The pitch kept getting higher…and higher…and higher…WHEN WOULD IT STOP? IT NEVER STOPPED! HIGHER, HIGHER, HIGHER, WE ACCELERATED DOWN THE HIGHWAY AND IT WAS JUST THIS GLORIOUS HARMONY OF THE MOST AMAZING BUS SOUNDS I HAD EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOW COULD I EVEN FOCUS ON TAKING PICTURES WHEN I WAS ENJOYING THE SOUNDS SO MUCH???

We went over the Connecticut River and a residential area on an elevated structure. After that, though, the view from the highway was pure woods for a while. We went under some telephone wires and I-90, then crossed the Chicopee River.

Nice view!

We ran past some more neighborhoods, then we merged into I-91. The route would now take Exit 11 off the highway, but we’ll talk about that service change later. For now, we continued down I-91 until the exit for downtown Springfield, which took us underneath the highway bridge. We turned onto Liberty Street, and that was that – we arrived at Springfield Union Station.

Oh man, it’s gross under here!

So that was the P21E in the summer: a direct express route to Union Station. However, the PVTA decided that wasn’t enough, so they made the route serve the Baystate Medical Center on the Springfield end. On my return trip to the PVTA last week, one of the routes I rode was the P21E on its new alignment. Let’s see what that was like…

Coming onto Chestnut Street.

From Union Station, the route heads up Liberty Street, then turns onto Chestnut Street. It goes over I-291, and after some apartments and a clinic, it becomes mostly residential. Outside of the Baystate Medical Center building, Chestnut Street turns to the left, and finally reaches I-91, where the route can begin its express portion.

Back in the summer, here’s the bus charging in Springfield.

PVTA Route: P21E (Springfield/Holyoke I-91 Express)

Ridership: Unfortunately, I can’t find any online ridership information about this route, but I’ve used it a few times, so I can at least tell you about my experiences. I’ve seen the route get mostly in the 10-20 people range, which isn’t bad, but I would love to see it do better – after all, the PVTA wants to get rid of this thing really badly. The only reason it survived the summer service cuts was because they got a grant to keep running it!

Pros: As a route, this is just such a fast way of getting from Springfield to Holyoke. It beats out the P21 by at least 10 minutes (it’s hard to judge because of PVTA’s earliness syndrome) and the P20 by over half an hour! It’s just one bus shuttling back and forth, giving it an hourly schedule, which seems to make sense based on the ridership. Also, speaking of the bus itself, uhhh, you know, it’s, uhhhhh, THE BEST THING EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cons: Okay, the Baystate Medical Center deviation isn’t that bad, but it definitely slows down the route, even if it’s not by a lot. I dunno…I liked when it was just a pure express, but I guess serving the hospital would increase ridership.

Nearby and Noteworthy: This is the fastest way of getting to Holyoke! Because everyone wants to go there…

Final Verdict: 9/10
The P21E is a life-saver for Springfield to Holyoke travellers. Sure, the P21 isn’t so bad, but who wants to sit through all of the P20’s horrible mall deviations when this fast express route exists? And the bus…oh my gosh, the bus is just SO AMAZING. THE ROUTE IS WORTH RIDING JUST FOR THE BUS!!!!!

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

Ever since I found out that there was a place called Belchertown, I really wanted to visit it. Ever since I found out that there was a bus to Belchertown, I really wanted to ride it. Finally, my dreams have come true…the 45, everybody!

Oh…okay, it’s kind of a pit.

Yeah, turns out Belchertown really makes me want to belch, because its center is little more than a common, a few municipal buildings, and some sketchy-looking restaurants. Sam and I were originally gonna hang out in Belchertown for an hour and a half until the next bus, but upon our arrival, it was clear the place has absolutely nothing to do. Thus, we hightailed it out of there on the bus, making our way around the common on Main Street.

Goodbye, Belchertown!

There were houses for a bit, then we got some suburban businesses with parking lots as we merged onto Federal Street. Those businesses ended pretty quickly, though – after one brief stretch of industry, it became houses and a heck of a lot of woods. We headed down Amherst Road and just sped through the forest!

I think that’s a horse back there!

We merged back with Federal Street, then we made a sudden turn onto Old Amherst Road, basically in order to serve another residential area. Upon our return to Federal Street, there was a church, a self-storage center, an auto shop, a small housing development, and a vet. We briefly entered Pelham, then came into Amherst, with the road becoming Belchertown Road.

Coming back onto Federal Street.

At Old Belchertown Road, we were joined by the 30. Luckily, we didn’t have to do its horrible deviation to the Valley Medical Center, so we just continued up past the Rolling Green Apartments. However, we broke away from the 30 by going onto Gatehouse Road, serving another apartment complex.

Yup, there it is…

After that, it was time for some narrow residential streets – we used Stony Hill Road, Heatherstone Road, and Pelham Road to eventually rejoin the 30 on Main Street. It was smooth sailing from here; after the mostly residential Main Street, we turned onto North Pleasant Street, passing the businesses of North Amherst Center. From there, it was just a straight shot to UMass, where Sam and I got off at the first of the three stops.

The bus became a 46 at UMass, so here it is where we originally got on at Old Belchertown Road.

PVTA Route: 45 (Belchertown Center/UMass)

Ridership: The 45 doesn’t have all that many trips per day, but its ridership per trip is good – about 25 people. This is mostly during the school year, though, as my summer trip was much quieter.

Pros: This route provides an important rush hour connection from UMass to Belchertown, which surprisingly attracts a decent amount of commuters. The route’s schedule is a little weird, but it does its job – service is inconsistent, but it generally runs during rush hour, with a few midday trips. This is also just a really fun ride – speeding through the woods is a blast!

Cons: I’m a little dubious about how much ridership the 45 actually gets on its own. You see, a large portion of the route parallels the 30, and I’m wondering how many people use it as a quieter substitute for that bus. Also, does the 45 really need those midday trips? I doubt they get that many people…

Nearby and Noteworthy: Nope! Belchertown is awful! The rest is woods! Sorry!

Final Verdict: 7/10
The route does its job getting Belchertown commuters to and from UMass, and that’s about it. No frills. Its schedule is a little weird, and I’m a little unsure about how many of its riders actually go to the unique section, but this is a fine route.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

The 30 was a really nice convenience in the summer, mainly because of its clean schedule. Whereas the 31 runs every 35 minutes during the summer, the 30 is a nice every half hour. Of course, they both run every 15 minutes during the school year, when most people use them, but still…the clockface headways were great.

The bus coming into Puffton Village Apartments.

After some confusion about where the heck the Puffton Village stop was (it doesn’t have a sign), Sam and I hopped aboard the 30 at its northern terminus, a student apartment complex. From there, we headed onto North Pleasant Street, going by more apartment complexes before reaching the roundabout just north of the UMass campus. We served the three main stops on campus, then we made the quick trip to Amherst Center.

That library really sticks out!

From Amherst Center, we made our way down Main Street, which, despite its name, didn’t feel all that “main” – it quickly became residential. There were still a few businesses here and there, but the street was mostly lined with houses (although we did pass the former Amherst Amtrak station, which was awesome). They continued as we turned onto South East Street, but we hit a bunch of suburban retail at the intersection with College Street.

Some houses.

We continued down South East Street a bit in order to deviate to serve Colonial Village Apartments. It was a typical housing development deviation, what do you expect? We turned onto Belchertown Road at the other end of the development, which was lined with houses and a few farms. We passed a few more housing complexes too.

Coming out of Colonial Village.

We had to make a horrible deviation after that. This one was to serve the Valley Medical Center, and looping around the tiny tight parking lot was tough. I mean, this route sometimes uses 60-foot buses! Imagine how hard that would be! We came back to Belchertown Road, then we turned onto Old Belchertown Road, using it to loop around…and that’s it. Kind of a weird place to end, but that’s where the 30 stops!

Wait, don’t leave us here!

PVTA Route: 30 (North Amherst/Old Belchertown Road)

Ridership: The 30 is one of UMass’s key routes, and its ridership is insane. The route gets about 3,057 riders per day, but that’s just taking the yearly amount and dividing it by 365 – on weekdays, this thing gets packed. Well, school weekdays anyway…in the summer, you only get about a full-seated load, which is still pretty good.

Pros: Like the 31, the 30 connects important apartment complexes to the north and south of UMass to the campus. During the school rush hours, the 30 gets packed, despite its 15-minute headways (on weekends when ridership is lower, it’s every hour), but the PVTA does a good job of spreading the crowds – the 31 skips certain stops in order to get more people onto the shorter 30. The route also runs late into the night on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, with service until 1:15 AM.

Cons: There should really be a sign at the Puffton Village Apartments stop. Also, that Valley Medical Center deviation is hard to make, pretty pointless (it’s about a 3 minute walk from Belchertown Road), and a waste of time.

Nearby and Noteworthy: This is a primary route from UMass to Amherst Center, but other than that, it’s mostly just boring apartment developments.

Final Verdict: 8/10
The 30 isn’t quite as useful or straightforward as the 31, but it’s still a really solid route. It’s frequent, it has a great service span, and it gets lots of riders. I have to say, though, I would be very interested in seeing a 60-foot articulated bus trying to navigate that stupid Valley Medical deviation…

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

While other UMass routes get insanely busy at peak periods, the 33 is always just kinda…there. During UMass’s rush hour, packed 60-foot 30 and 31 buses truck students out to off-campus apartments, while the 33 just trundles through with a marginal amount of people on board. Funnily enough, my summer 33 did happen to get packed, but it was an anomaly.

It feels weird to see a UMass bus at a Stop & Shop…

The route starts at this place called “Campus Plaza,” but the schedule just calls it Stop & Shop. From there, we made our way onto Northampton Road, passing all of the suburban development horror that that road goes through. Next, we turned onto University Drive, and it was time for another deviation: Big Y.

Not even UMass Transit can escape the tantalizing pull of Big Y…

The stop on this deviation was placed in such a way that we had to navigate a real maze of a parking lot to get out. There was a variety of buildings along University Drive, including businesses, offices, and an eye doctor. We turned onto Amity Street and picked up a ridiculous amount of people from another summer program at a small shopping center. It was standing room only!

Houses on a side street.

The rest of Amity Street was residential, at least until we got to Amherst Center, where we turned onto Pleasant Street and passed lots of businesses. We headed around Kendrick Park and some satellite UMass buildings began to appear. Finally, we entered the campus itself, making the three university stops along the main drag and dropping off that huge group of summer students.

Some campus buildings.

On the other end of the campus, we hit a roundabout and headed right onto Eastman Lane. It went up a hill, going by various dorms, then there was a woodsy section for a bit. Outside of the Amherst fire and police stations, we turned onto East Pleasant Street, which was just lined with suburban houses.

A quiet side street.

We went by a cemetery and a farm, then it was time for a strange deviation. We turned onto Pine Street and passed a common, a market, and a train track. Next, we turned onto Henry Street, arriving at the objective of the deviation: the Cushman Day School. It got no passengers, and we made our way back to Pine Street by means of Bridge Street. That was pointless…

A surprisingly clear shot of some trees.

Pine Street was mostly houses, aside from a farm and an apartment development. Eventually, there was some retail in the form of a small shopping plaza when we turned onto Montague Road in Amherst Center. However, it quickly became houses again, and they continued as we travelled down Summer Street. This took us to our terminus, the Mill Hollow housing development, right next to Puffer’s Pond.

This is such a nice place to lay over!

However, this is a loopy route, and we still had more to go. We turned onto Mill Street, then Pulpit Hill Road, then Montague Road, and finally, Cowls Road. After the houses we had been seeing for a while, Cowls Road had more of an industrial edge to it. We turned onto Sunderland Road next, going by the Amherst Survival Center and coming back into North Amherst Center.

Well, this is a change…

Going back to UMass, the 33 takes the much more straightforward route down North Pleasant Street. It was mostly residential, but in the form of housing developments for UMass students. There were a few normal houses after those, but then it was back on campus, where Sam and I got off and let the bus make its way back to Stop & Shop.

See ya!

PVTA Route: 33 (Puffer’s Pond/Shopper Shuttle)

Ridership: The 33 has two distinct tiers of ridership: shoppers on the southern portion, and residents on the northern portion. While the route may not get a gigantic amount of daily ridership (about 754 people per day), it averages out to about 35 passengers per trip, which is great.

Pros: This is almost like UMass’s “sweep route,” serving the nooks and crannies around campus that other routes don’t serve. The fact that it has two ridership classes fanning out from the main campus means that the bus has great ridership turnover within UMass. Still, it’s not like that many people use it, and the schedule reflects that well: every 40 minutes on weekdays and every 80 minutes on weekends.

Cons: Some of the route’s deviations are a little questionable. The Big Y one is a big pain going inbound, while the Day School one just seems pointless. The loopy nature of the route means that people getting on in one place may have to go for a long ride in order to get to where they’re going.

Nearby and Noteworthy: In the summer, Puffer’s Pond was a big swimming destination. Otherwise, you may have to suffice with Stop & Shop and Big Y…

Final Verdict: 6/10
The 33 is probably UMass’s chillest all-day route. It doesn’t get packed like the other ones – it just does its meandering little loops with generally marginal ridership. Yeah, some of the deviations are pointless, and the loops make it a little annoying to ride sometimes, but the 33 is just a nice, pleasant ride that serves a good amount.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

Oho, you can tell from that title that we’re in for a good one today, folks! Oh man, it’s good to be back in the world of deviatory minibus semi-flex services. Dear viewers, let’s see what the Nash-a-wan-nuck Express has to offer. That’s hard to pronounce…

Nooooooo…

Right, first we’ll talk about how this route works. It has a ridiculous four-tier stop system: first, you can get on the bus at the normal timepoints, which are color-coded by location for no discernable reason; next, there are “on-demand bus stops,” which can be requested by phone for the next available bus to stop at; after that, you have trip scheduling, because this route also has a gigantic flex zone into which you can deviate the bus if you call a day in advance – a few days in advance “for best results” (that is actually what they say); finally, you can “place a standing order,” which allows you to deviate the bus to your location regularly. Alright, got all that? There’s a test later.

The inside of the minibus.

Gosh, it’s a good thing Sam and I had day passes already! The fare box on this minibus was prehistoric. Also, surprise surprise, we were the only ones on board. The driver shut the doors and we left the Academy of Music stop, turning onto the steep and narrow Crafts Ave. Next, we turned onto Old South Street, which led us to normal South Street, taking us out of downtown Northampton. It’s funny that this mess doesn’t serve Salvo House like so many other Northampton routes, but there were plenty more deviations to come.

Coming off of Crafts Ave.

South Street was just lined with houses for a while, at least until a few industrial buildings as we crossed over the Mill River. The street became Easthampton Road on the other side of the river, and we were now zooming through the woods, passing the occasional industrial building. At some point it became Northampton Street, marking our entrance into Easthampton.

Ooooh!

The road became this strange mix of open fields, industrial buildings, and housing developments, but those fields did offer some nice views! Eventually there were some shopping plazas and other businesses, then it got residential. After crossing the Manhan River, we made our way around a common and entered downtown Easthampton. It consisted of one nice block of businesses and…not much else of note.

The common.

We turned onto High Street. “Council on Aging!” the driver shouted out as he pulled over. Now he turned to us. “Where are you going?” he asked. I did my spiel about how I write a blog, and we were just hoping to ride around, but he interrupted me. “Ohhhhhh, no,” he said, “that’s the number one rule of public transportation! You can’t ride around!” He continued to lecture us about how “they” have him on camera and “they” could get him in trouble, but eventually we negotiated a deal where we get out at the last stop and get back on after the layover as if we had done some shopping. Perfect!

Hey, guess what the Council on Aging has…its own bus! Glad we deviated!

Now we turned onto Campus Lane, going around a Big E’s Supermarket. I guess the driver thought we were tourists or something, because now he decided to give us an in-depth tour of Easthampton by means of the Nashawannuck Express. “We are now on Pleasant Street,” the driver announced as we made our way around the common again and went down that street.

A woodsy parking lot.

We went by some huge old factories while the driver was telling us about how the houses on the other side were built by the factories for their employees. “We are now turning onto Ferry Street,” he announced as we passed another factory and a pond. There was some dense housing as we went down Parsons Street, and it continued onto Everett Street.

I’m sure the driver had something to say about that tower, but I can’t remember it.

We had to make an annoying deviation to serve an elderly home that, of course, got no passengers. “This is the first of three cemeteries on the route,” the driver said just before we turned onto Franklin Street. It was still residential, and there were more houses as we turned onto Clark Street. We were really close to Easthampton’s secondary “downtown” that the R41 goes through, but we didn’t serve it, going south on Holyoke Street instead.

A residential side street.

The street was mostly residential, but there were a few businesses on street corners, too. The houses were getting less and less dense, and just before the R41’s amazing mountain section, we turned off onto Hendrick Street. “That’s Mount Tom,” the driver said, pointing out the humongous mountain in the background.

Yup, there’s Mount Tom!

The road was mostly woods, but there were some houses mixed in there too. We made our way onto Plain Street next, featuring houses endowed with very large front yards. We turned onto Strong Street, which was more of the same. Strangely, the intersection of Hendrick and Plain is considered a “request stop” at night, while Strong and Plain is not. They’re both intersections that the bus passes through. What is there to request anyway?

The intersection with Strong Street.

We merged onto Park Street, and soon enough it was time for another deviation. This one was to serve Treehouse Circle, a housing development, and no one got on. We were also supposed to deviate to serve the White Brook Middle School, but luckily we didn’t (it was summer). There were more houses back on Park Street, and they continued on Garfield Ave, as well as Williston Ave (where we went by the route’s second cemetery, said the driver).

Inside Treehouse Circle.

We came up alongside the lovely Nashawannuck Pond and made our way up Union Street, passing a repurposed factory and Easthampton City Hall. There were businesses with parking lots along here, but they got denser and we went through a nice block of interesting ones. Soon enough, we were back in downtown Easthampton, and we looped around that same common again.

The pond!

Now we went south down Main Street, which was mostly houses, but we also passed the third and final cemetery of the route! There was some retail at the intersection with South Street, and a little more further down the road. Finally, we entered Southampton and arrived at the Southampton Big Y…time to get out and wait for the departure.

What a nice view!

After a 20-minute wait, the bus came back, and it was time to go back to Northampton. I was so ready for the trip back, mainly because of the timepoints: “CVS” and “Easthampton Post Office.” Were we seriously gonna deviate to serve such pointless things as those? No. No, we didn’t, it was just a straight shot back. Okay, but then why are there trips that shade out the timepoints like the bus is bypassing deviations?! They’re not deviations, you just go straight by them on the main road! What???

The bus back at Big Y.

PVTA Route: NE (Nashawannuck Express Flex/Van Service)

Ridership: Well, I can’t find any information about the route’s ridership online, so I’ll just have to base it off of my experience: no one. The end! No, actually that’s not quite true – this route has one trip that I’ve seen get people, and that’s the 4:45 one. That always seems to get 5-6 commuters from Northampton, which is at least something.

Pros: Parts of this route feel like they could be useful, such as the section serving dense housing east of downtown Easthampton. Aside from that, though, there’s really only one other pro I can give: the driver. Man, he should be a tour guide! He somehow managed to make a town as boring as Easthampton sound interesting with his neat facts and enthusiastic announcing. He made this ride great!

Cons: Everything else. This route is actually very deceiving: it doesn’t deviate that much, making you think you’re actually going somewhere, but you’re NOT. It’s just this big stupid loop that forces anyone trying to get to Northampton to wait at the freaking BIG Y for 20 minutes! The stop system makes no sense, the route’s timepoints make no sense, and even the map makes no sense – there’s literally an arrow that points in the opposite direction of where the NE actually goes. And then there’s the schedule: every hour and a half for a route like this makes sense in theory, but honestly, it could just run two rush hour trips per day, and it would probably get the same amount of ridership. And why the heck is there a 9 PM trip on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays? Are people really taking the Nashawannuck Express to Northampton to party until 9 PM? Yeah, wishful thinking. I’m sure that trip is empty, just like almost every single other one.

Nearby and Noteworthy: All of the interesting parts of Easthampton are also served by the R41, which would allow you to A) ride a nice, full-sized bus, and B) not have to travel around a gigantic loop to get where you’re going.

Final Verdict: 2/10
As a minibus shuttle, the Nashawannuck Express is at least a little more tolerable because the bus itself travels quickly and there are some nice views…but this is still just such a bad route. Forcing people to board on a one-way loop only to have to wait at the Big Y is just cruel. Why can’t the bus just have its layover at Northampton? Or better yet, why can’t the bus only run at rush hour? That seems to be the only time anyone actually uses it!

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

Ehhh, the B6 is just kind of a boring route. Sorry, I don’t have anything exciting to say for the intro…

The back of the bus at Union Station.

We went down the main drag of Main Street for a while, at least until some tall buildings at Harrison Ave. There, we turned onto it, then we turned onto Dwight Street, which went by apartments and a hockey rink. Next, we turned onto State Street, passing a library, a church, and the US District Court.

Turning onto Dwight Street.

We went by the Springfield Armory, which occupied one side of the street, while the other side held businesses. Once we hit Mason Square, our independent section began with quick turns onto Saint James Ave and Bay Street. This was a narrower road than State Street, and it was almost entirely residential, aside from a bit of retail at each intersection.

One of those retail intersections.

Eventually, a cemetery took up one side of the road while we passed a housing development. After that, Bay Street became industrial all of a sudden…but only on the left side of the street. The other side was just woods! Finally, the trees were broken by the huge Springfield Central High School.

A field for the school.

It was houses once again after that, but there was an apartment development as we turned onto Berkshire Ave. However, that went back to houses, at least for a bit until some industrial buildings cropped up. We went over some train tracks, and after a little more industry on the other side, it became residential once more.

Houses, houses, houses.

Outside of a gas station, the route splits. Some trips stay on Berkshire Ave, but others, like mine, go via Page Boulevard. This road passed a cemetery, then we turned onto Goodwin Street, which curved its way through a monochromatic apartment development. Now, at this next point, we could’ve just gone down Oak Street and met up with the other routing. However, for some strange reason, the PVTA elected to have the route take tiny side streets to get there: Pasco Road, Essex Street, and Myrtle Street.

Back on the main route!

We turned onto Berkshire Street for a block, then we turned onto Oak Street. Again, why didn’t we just go right onto Oak Street? Who knows? We turned onto Main Street next, and we were in some sort of “downtown”? It had some pretty nice-looking buildings, but most of them were just empty, even though they would be perfect for stores and restaurants.

A little before the “downtown.”

There were dense houses and some businesses, but they eventually switched to industrial buildings and suburban businesses with parking lots. We merged onto Ludlow Ave, which took us over the Chicopee River into, yes, Ludlow! Next, we headed onto East Street, passing a shopping center, a park, and a few other businesses.

Coming into Ludlow.

We turned onto Sewell Street, which started out with with a bit more retail that quickly turned to houses. Eventually we merged into Center Street and went under I-90. Right on the other side was the Big Y, which is what the PVTA chooses to call the B6’s terminus…even though it’s actually a shopping plaza with a number of other stores, and the bus stops as far away from the Big Y as possible.

Ready to go back!

PVTA Route: B6 (Union Station/Ludlow via Bay Street)

Ridership: For some reason, the B6s I’ve seen have always been pretty light, but apparently the route does get very good ridership. It’s the eighth-busiest route on the system and it gets about 23 passengers per trip.

Pros: The B6 carves a straight path (for the most part) up towards northeastern Springfield and Ludlow. It has excellent service, running every 20 minutes on weekdays, every half hour on Saturdays, and every hour on Sundays.

Cons: First of all, the Pasco Road/Goodwin Street variant is just a curvy weird mess – it could take a much simpler route. Also, the Sunday service is just ridiculous. The route essentially deviates to Ludlow Big Y, then comes back to the Eastfield Mall and ends there…and on the way back, it deviates AGAIN to the Big Y. Why does it need to do it again? Why does it serve Eastfield Mall in the first place?

Nearby and Noteworthy: I utilized Joanne’s Arts and Crafts at the “Ludlow Big Y” for a project, and I must say, I was happy with their services. Hooray! As for the rest of the route…eh.

Final Verdict: 7/10
Overall, despite a few weird twists, turns, and deviations, it’s hard to hate the B6. It’s frequent, it serves a lot, and it gets pretty good ridership. It’s also (essentially) the only route to serve Ludlow, unless you want to count the B12’s service to the Hampden County Jail. I don’t.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

Wow, how lucky was I to make it onto the R14’s one Saturday trip that deviates to the Heritage Nursing Home? Pretty darn awesome, I gotta say! Of course, there’s lots more to the route than that once-a-Saturday deviation…

Boarding at Union Station.

We went under the Union Station train tracks on Dwight Street, then there were various offices, parking lots, and apartment buildings everywhere. We turned onto Harrison Ave next, and after a few tall buildings and a crossing of I-91, we went over Memorial Bridge into West Springfield. There was a roundabout, then we headed down Memorial Ave.

A quiet street in Springfield.

We didn’t get too far before having to deviate, though. It was a pretty big plaza with an actual name, Century Center, but the schedule only calls it the “West Side Big Y.” Memorial Ave started to get industrial once we came back from the deviation, including a giant freight yard. Eventually it became more retail-oriented, and we also passed the Big E, some sort of exposition center.

Trains!

Next, we went by a replica 18th century village (pretty cool) and crossed over the Westfield River. This led us into Agawam, and we turned onto Springfield Street alongside some shopping plazas. On Sundays, the route terminates here, but it has a lot further to go on weekdays and Saturdays. Onward!

Going over the river.

We turned onto Walnut Street, running along the Westfield River with houses on the other side. The street curved around to become River Street, then we turned onto Bridge Street, going back south the way we came. This continued to be residential, but there were at least a few businesses when we turned onto Maple Street.

A residential side street.

At this point, we entered the loop section of the R14, where the inbound route splits with the outbound route. We headed down Springfield Street, which was a mixture of houses and some pretty unappealing businesses. It was a weird, ugly road for a while, and it only got weirder when apartment developments and random stretches of farmland entered the mix.

“Feeding Hills.”

I’m not sure where exactly the line is for this, but at some point we arrived at Feeding Hills Center. This was a big cluster of suburban businesses with parking lots, and it sure as heck didn’t feel like a “center.” We went down Southwick Street from there, which was lined with houses and the occasional patch of farmland. Next, we turned onto West Street, then Pheasant Hill Drive, looping around an apartment development of the same name. This was the last stop on the route, and we had a few minutes for layover.

The bus hanging out at the Pheasant Hill Apartments.

We made our way back to Feeding Hills, but this time we took a different route. Instead of continuing onto Springfield Street, we turned onto North Westfield Street, going by houses and a residential development. There were a few businesses when we turned onto North Street, but then it was just houses until we rejoined the outbound route at Springfield Street.

Coming back onto Springfield Street.

I remained vigilant for the rest of the ride looking for where the Heritage Nursing Home deviation would start, but it turned out not to happen for awhile. Instead of turning onto Suffolk Street over the Westfield River back into West Springfield, we continued down Main Street, which was mostly industrial. Next, we turned onto Cooper Street, which led us into the Heritage Nursing Home complex. We looped through it, got back onto Main Street, and went back the way we came.

Once a Saturday, once a Saturday!

PVTA Route: R14 (Feeding Hills/Springfield)

Ridership: My Saturday trip was really quiet, with only about six people in each direction. Strangely, the Heritage Nursing Home deviation was the single busiest stop on the whole trip, with a few workers from the Home, which I wasn’t expecting since it only happens once a day. Overall, the route gets about 21-22 passengers per revenue hour, comfortably beating the 20 PPRH threshold.

Pros: This is the only PVTA route that serves Agawam, and the loop at the outer end allows it to catch as much as possible. The base R14 schedule is a solid every hour, including on Sundays when it operates a shorter route and interlines with the B4.

Cons: Weekday service to Pheasant Hill Apartments is really inconsistent, including a 3-hour gap from 1:10 to 4:10. However, on Saturdays, the apartments get all day service? That doesn’t make much sense! An even more inconsistent part of the R14 is the Saturday Heritage Nursing Home deviation. Clearly people use this to get home from work, but how the heck do they get to work? Finally, the PVTA eliminated the R14E route, which ran express to the Agawam Industrial Park, and shoehorned it in with the regular R14. This means there are awkward buses that go along the route at random times and break the hourly schedule. Why can’t it have stayed an express? Why do the R14E buses have to take a longer trip while not really serving anything new?

Nearby and Noteworthy: I’ll be honest, Agawam isn’t a very pretty town. There are no centers, no walkable retail areas…this route is ugly.

Final Verdict: 6/10
The R14 is a theoretically good route, but it suffers from inconsistencies that drag it down. The Pheasant Hill Apartments service on weekdays is abysmal, the Heritage Nursing Home deviation on Saturdays makes no sense, and the R14E trips are a complete waste of extra time. At least the route is decent outside of those inconsistencies, though.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates
Thanks to Boston.com for this amazing article about my completion of the MBTA bus system! And welcome if you’re coming from there!

Thank goodness for my B23 being 20 minutes early! I was prepared to wait a really long time for the next R10, but thanks to a ridiculously early bus, I had time to both review the Olver Transit Pavilion and catch the previous R10! This is a route that runs every 60 minutes, keep in mind.

The bus at Westfield State University.

I took the bus out to Westfield State University, then after taking a quick picture, we were ready to go. From Scanlon Hall, we headed down Western Ave, going by Westfield State buildings for a little while. After that, it was nice houses, at least until a big cemetery, where we merged onto Court Street.

The cemetery.

There were more houses and a hospital, then we started to pass a few businesses, as well as Westfield City Hall. Court Street started to get a lot wider, but before it gained a full-on median, we turned onto Washington Street. After a church, a police station, an apartment building, and some houses, we turned onto Arnold Street, which took us back around onto Elm Street to serve the Olver Transit Pavilion.

A common in downtown Westfield.

We headed down Elm Street, passing lots of businesses, then we made our way around a modern common (Park Square). After a few businesses, we merged onto Main Street, but we turned off to serve a Stop & Shop. Once that lovely deviation was over, we returned to Main Street, where there were suburban businesses with parking lots.

Case in point…

It was residential, and the houses continued as we turned onto Meadow Street (there’s another variation of the R10 that just stays on Main). There was some retail along here, too, as well as the Westfield Food Pantry. We approached another park, where we turned onto Union Ave, going over the Westfield River.

The bridge over the river.

Next, we turned onto Union Street, which was kind of a weird mix of houses, huge industrial buildings, and apartment developments. It got more industrial as we continued, with a few…random fields mixed in too. Of all things, though, there was just a mini-golf course in the middle of it all? Alright, well, we got some woods after that strange sight, then there were some businesses and industries as we turned onto Springfield Road.

Looking down Springfield Road.

We were running alongside a train track, then the road got wider for a Walmart. Oh…and we had to deviate into it. After serving the big box behemoth, we returned to Springfield Road for about 0.2 seconds before yet another deviation. This time, it was on East Mountain Road, which went under the train tracks in a tunnel that wasn’t even wide enough for two cars to pass each other, let alone a car and a truck!

Yeah, why don’t you go first?

This deviation took us up to Western Mass Hospital and East Mountain View Apartments, the latter of which we looped around in. Next, we came back to Springfield Road, which kept going along those train tracks with the Westfield River on the other side. The road became Westfield Street when we entered West Springfield, and we made a few curves past various types of buildings and over the train tracks.

Another narrow tunnel under the tracks!

There was some retail after the train bridge, but now it was all residential. For a while, we were just going by suburban houses until the intersection with Kings Highway, where we got some businesses. There were more businesses as we continued down Westfield Street, but also a few more houses and apartment developments.

Some power wires bisecting a neighborhood.

Eventually we got a line of retail, then an industrial/apartment development break, then retail again. We turned onto Elm Street, which featured a wide median, then we turned onto Park Ave, which featured a wider median! After that, we turned onto Main Street, running through a mostly residential neighborhood.

Now that’s what I call a median!

Businesses started to get more abundant between the houses, and after going under some train tracks, we turned onto Memorial Ave next to a shopping plaza. We went around a rotary, then crossed over Memorial Bridge into Springfield proper. Once there, we turned onto Main Street, and after passing tall buildings, businesses, and offices, we came into Union Station.

The back of the bus.

PVTA Route: PVTA: R10 (Westfield/Westfield State University/West Springfield/via Route 20)

Ridership: The R10 gets heavy student ridership from Westfield State University as well as commuters from Westfield. This all amounts to about 24 passengers per revenue hour.

Pros: This is an important link from Springfield to Westfield, and it’s one of two buses that connect the town to the outside world (the other being the B23). The academic year frequencies are pretty good, with service every 20-30 minutes during the rushes and every 60 minutes during the day, on Saturdays, and on Sundays. On school year weekdays, the R10 only goes as far as Westfield Center, while the R10S shuttle runs every half hour from there to the university.

Cons: The summer weekday schedule is pretty weird, with frequencies randomly shifting between every hour and every 45 minutes. Also, this is one of those routes where each trip is defined by a bunch of different letters representing routings and deviations. Do you have an “SWE” trip? Or a “UWE” trip? Or maybe an “SWR” trip? Have fun constantly referring to the bottom of the schedule to find out what these all mean!

Nearby and Noteworthy: Westfield is a decent town center, and this is the best way of getting there. There isn’t all that much of note along the route’s independent section, though.

Final Verdict: 7/10
Westfield doesn’t have many options for transit, so the R10 link is crucial. Since most of its riders are going from Springfield to Westfield, the strange letters on the schedule don’t usually matter too much, but it’s just such a pain to read. The summer schedule is also just…weird, but at least it makes sense during the school year!

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates
Thanks for all the positive comments and feedback about finishing the bus system. Yesterday the blog got its highest daily viewers – 9,989! So close to 10,000, but that’s okay – thank you to everyone for reading and following my adventures!