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!

Okay, what is it with naming unnecessarily fancy transit centers after John Olver? Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure he was a great congressman, but geez! First there was the FRTA’s gigantic John Olver Transportation Center, and now we’ve got the PVTA’s smaller (but no less fancy) John Olver Transit Pavilion in Westfield. Alright, then…

The building.

The Transit Pavilion is definitely a smaller affair than the huge FRTA terminal, but just look at that building! It really sticks out in Westfield Center, a place mostly with older brick buildings. Right outside the Pavilion structure, there’s a bench, while the other side has a fare machine, bike locks, and a vending machine for bike parts. Wow!

Squeaky clean!

Geez Louise, here we go again. The inside of this thing is impeccable. It’s very well-lit, modern, and clean, with lots of benches all around the outer wall. There are also vending machines, a fare machine, and a departure board. A wavy table along the middle of the room features outlets for charging devices.

Huh…alright.

The Pavilion also houses a strange little touch screen thing. It shows bus departures, whatever the heck “CHAMBER” is, and even the Yelp reviews for restaurants and businesses in Westfield. This seems very useful for Westfield’s throngs of tourists consisting of approximately no one. There’s also a really empty cork board with a few lone schedules in it and a space for retail that wasn’t filled when I was here.

The bathroom!

Since this hub is so quiet, Westfield’s bathrooms are squeaky-clean! Maybe now that college has started up at Westfield State University, they’re far worse, but who knows? There’s also a water fountain that additionally fills up water bottles. It had only saved 608 plastic bottles when I went there in July, but I’m sure now it’s higher!

The boarding area.

The Transit Pavilion’s boarding area isn’t much, but it gets the job done. There are benches along the more northerly section, but once you go further down the line, they disappear. There’s plenty of seating inside, though, so it doesn’t matter all that much. The plaza is clean and modern, and some newly-planted trees and bushes look very nice.

Further down the platform.

PVTA Station: Olver Transit Pavilion

Ridership: Well, when I was here on a Saturday in July, it was practically empty – there were only three or four people in the terminal. Perhaps it gets busier during the school year when there are students from Westfield State University?

Pros: Just like the FRTA’s Olver building, the Transit Pavilion is near-perfect. It has lots of amenities, including seating space, wastebaskets with recycling, outlets, bathrooms, vending machines, bike racks, bike vending machines, and weird touch screens!

Cons: ALSO like the FRTA’s Olver building, the Transit Pavilion doesn’t seem all that…necessary. I mean, even in this video from the first day, it still looks empty! And that was the grand opening!

Nearby and Noteworthy: Downtown Westfield is fine, I guess. There’s nothing about it that seems all that interesting to me.

Final Verdict: 9/10
The Olver Transit Pavilion is in the exact same boat as the FRTA’s Olver Transit Center. It’s beautiful and fancy with many amenities provided, but it just seems like kind of a waste of $3.6 million. Westfield students had been concerned about not knowing when the bus was coming…couldn’t transit arrival screens have sufficed? But oh well, what’s here is here, and it’s certainly a great terminal!

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

The trip I took on this route would now be impossible! Yes, I took the B23 on a Saturday, and the PVTA has now eliminated Saturday service for it. I feel so accomplished!

The bus just kinda sat in the middle of the street like this for a while…

We went down Maple Street from the Holyoke Transportation Center, running past brick buildings and parking lots. We passed the Holyoke Public Library, then we turned onto Hampshire Street, passing brownstones strangely reminiscent of the Back Bay. Next we turned onto Beach Street, which went by the huge Holyoke High School building, as well as lots of houses.

Oh no!

We came up alongside the Holyoke Medical Center, and I think the bus is supposed to deviate to it, but we…uh…didn’t. We stayed right on Beech Street, which became Cherry Street and got a heck of a lot wider. After going under I-91, it was time for a deviation that we did perform: we turned onto Fairview Street, taking us up a huge hill to Soldiers Home. There was also a great view from up there!

Too bad my picture didn’t really capture it…

We returned to Cherry Street, which had lots of houses, but also some apartment developments for nearby Holyoke Community College. Speaking of which, that’s where we went next, as we made our way down George Frost Drive through the woods for a bit before entering a gate to the college. We turned onto Campus Road, although strangely enough, the driver decided to skip serving the little loop in front of the main building.

Onward to more trees!

We continued down Campus Road, then made our way onto Doyle Drive, which passed something called the Kids Place, and…hey, we were supposed to deviate there, too, and we didn’t! Okay, well, we just stayed on Doyle Drive, then turned onto Westfield Road when that street ended. This was just pure, hilly woods, and it was awesome. Not quite R41 awesome, but still awesome.

Yeah, basically just this for a while.

So after lots of forest, we finally got some houses when we entered Westfield and the street became North Road. There was also a sorry excuse for a shopping plaza and a pond where a family got off to go to its beach. We went through some marshland next, then we went by a series of churches, businesses, and houses.

Marshland!

There were a few businesses where we turned onto Southampton Road, which got very industrial with warehouses, auto shops, and one random pizza joint. Next, we went by Barnes Airport, a general aviation facility, as well as some unfortunately-located houses. There were also lots more industrial buildings, as well as two cemeteries, a school, and a bit of retail.

Of all the places for someone to get on…

For some reason this is written on the map for the B23: we crossed over I-90 at Exit 3. This is pretty significant, though, since the distance between Exit 3 and Exit 2 on I-90 is 30 miles – the 7th longest gap between highway interchanges in the country. We went over a single train track, then there was all manner of residential, retail, and industrial buildings.

No more exits until Lee…

Eventually, Elm Street split into two one-way sections with the following in between: first a nice park, then random industrial buildings, then a parking lot, then another nice park. We crossed over the Westfield River on one of two one-way bridges, then there was some pretty nice retail on both sides of the street. There were even more businesses after we went under a train track, then we arrived at the Westfield Center bus station…20 minutes early. Geez, PVTA, this is crazy even for YOU!

You early rascal!

PVTA Route: B23 (Holyoke/Westfield via Holyoke Community College)

Ridership: I can definitely see why they got rid of Saturday service on this route, because my ride had barely anyone on it. However, weekday service actually gets lots of people, with about 20 passengers per revenue hour. I’m sure it gets especially busy when school is in session, both for Holyoke Community College and Westfield State University.

Pros: The route serves as an interesting connector between Holyoke, its Community College, and Westfield…and honestly, not all that much in between. It’s actually pretty neat that this thing gets good ridership, since on a map it looks like it wouldn’t do well at all. The B23 also has a fitting schedule, for what it’s worth – it runs every hour on weekdays only. There used to be a marginal number of trips on Saturdays, every two hours, but I can totally see why they got rid of those.

Cons: You wanna give this thing a legitimate time from Holyoke Community College to Westfield? I dunno, I think being 20 minutes early might mean the schedule is a bit too padded. You know, maybe. It’s even worse going the other way, when the route would be about as early coming into Holyoke Community College. This time it’s in the middle of the route, and you know what that means: CLASSIC PVTA WAITING!!!! On a side note, why the heck did we skip three of the route’s four deviations? This may have just been a driver thing or a Saturday thing or something, but it was definitely weird.

Nearby and Noteworthy: There actually isn’t much that the B23 can call its own. All of the noteworthy places along it (i.e. Holyoke, the Community College, and Westfield) are shared by other buses.

Final Verdict: 7/10
The B23 is most definitely a “doing its thing” route. It just does its run through practically the middle of nowhere between some pretty sizeable ridership hubs. It runs on weekdays only because that’s the only time it’s really needed, and it does its job well within those times. Not much else to say.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

I think the R24 can be summed up by what a passenger said to the driver as he got off the bus: “This took way too long! I’m never taking this bus ever again! Goodbye!” Couldn’t have said it better myself.

The bus coming towards the transportation center.

We started this loopy disaster by pulling out of the Holyoke Transportation Center and heading down Maple Street. It was mostly just brick buildings and parking lots, at least until the lovely Holyoke Public Library. At this point, we turned onto Cabot Street, which became residential in the form of dense houses.

A grim-looking side street.

Outside of a nursing home, we turned onto Locust Street, then Essex Street, then Pleasant Street. Keep in mind that Cabot Street becomes Pleasant Street, but I guess we have to do that one-block deviation so the residents of some apartments don’t have to walk a whole block. Geez! There were more apartments along Pleasant Street that were, incidentally, much bigger than the ones we had to deviate to.

Crossing Appleton Street.

Next, we turned onto Hampden Street, which had some retail, as well as more apartments. Wait…we stayed on Pleasant? But I’ve got the route map right here, it turns onto Hampden…oh, I see that’s after it does a figure-8 on itself. Sigh…alright, so we continued up Pleasant, turned onto Lincoln, and then deviated to serve a Stop & Shop. Hey, you know the B48 can get you here far faster than the R24, right? And way faster coming back…at least, if the B48 actually had a southbound stop there. But I digress.

Cars, cars, cars.

Okay, now we turned onto Hampden Street and actually started going somewhere again. There were businesses along the street for a bit, but then it turned back to dense houses. Next, we turned onto the wide Northampton Street, which was simply lined with suburban businesses with parking lots.

About to head onto Northampton Street.

Around the time we got to a cemetery, it became all residential again. There were a few smaller businesses mixed in between the houses, too. Next, it was time for another deviation as we turned onto Corser Street and made our way to the Holyoke Medical Center. You know, the B23 can get you here far faster than the R24. That makes two redundant deviations so far!

Serving the hospital.

This deviation was particularly painful, too, since we now had to backtrack a ways down Northampton Street. It felt like it took forever – finally, we turned onto Sargeant Street, going by a park, but mostly houses. The street took a curve to the southeast and a few businesses made their way into the mix.

A residential side street.

Eventually we passed some apartments and the Holyoke Senior Center (which, strangely, doesn’t get any kind of timepoint), and the former continued as we kept going. We turned onto High Street eventually, which featured lots of varied businesses that felt more “downtowny” the further we went. However, instead of going down Hampden Street to go to the transportation center, we had one more deviation to do. And I swear to God, it makes absolutely no sense.

So…close!!!

First, we turned onto Lyman Street, then alongside a big cathedral, we turned onto Maple Street. This took us past Pulaski Heights, the apartment building we were ostensibly deviating for. Does that mean this huge mess was over? No, not at all. We turned onto St Kolbe Drive, then Chestnut Street.

This is pretty ugly…

Now we turned back onto Lyman Street for a block, then Elm Street for a block, then Hampden Street for, yes, a block. Next, we did Walnut for a block, and after that, we were back on Lyman for, wow, a whole three blocks! Finally finally finally finally finally, we turned onto Maple Street, and that took us back to the Holyoke Transportation Center. THIS IS THE MOST INSANE BUS ROUTE IN THE UNIVERSE!

GET AWAY FROM ME!

PVTA Route: R24 (Paper City Express)

Ridership: This thing gets 17.4 passengers per revenue hour?? I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I know I should trust the numbers, but my Saturday ride had four people. Four people! Was it a fluke? Does this route get far more riders than I give it credit for? I mean…yeah, I guess so!

Pros: It serves stuff. In the most indirect way possible.

Cons: Paper City Express? Paper City EXPRESS???? WHAT PART OF THIS ROUTE SUGGESTS AN “EXPRESS” AT ALL???????? This thing twists and turns its way around Holyoke like it wants to travel down every single street in the entire city! The B48 already serves Stop & Shop! The B23 already serves Holyoke Hospital! And those ridiculous turns just before returning to the hub? What, did a child plan this route? Did they have a five-year-old scribble all over a map and say “Okay, there’s our route!”? It sure seems like it!

Nearby and Noteworthy: If you’re looking for a slow, agonizing sightseeing tour of Holyoke, I’ve found the bus for you!

Final Verdict: 3/10
This route is painful. The phrase “Paper City Express” sends shivers down my spine. You know there’s actually a special bus that has a Paper City Express livery? It’s never actually on the Paper City Express, so that means that this route can still haunt me, even if I’m trying to avoid it! WHYYYYYYY?????

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

Wow, this route is scenic! The name of it doesn’t sound all that impressive, but the R41 offers some awesome views from mountain peaks as it winds its way from Northampton to Easthampton to western Holyoke. Let’s see how my awful pictures ruined those views…

The bus coming into Northampton.

Oh, but before any of that could happen, we had to serve Salvo House, like practically every other Northampton route. We went down Main Street, which was the main drag of Northampton and there were businesses everywhere…you’ve heard this before. Next, we turned onto Pleasant Street, where there was more retail, as well as the Northampton Amtrak station.

Some houses.

It started to get less dense the further we went, and the businesses started to get parking lots in front of them. Some houses even started to show up as we made our way around onto Conz Street via Wright Ave. This took us to Salvo House, that apartment building that so many routes serve, then later on we turned onto Old South Street.

Yup, we’re definitely in Northampton!

We turned onto (regular) South Street next, which was residential, and it finally took us out of that Salvo House loop. The street was basically lined with suburban houses until we went over the Mill River, where there were a few other buildings. The street was called Easthampton Road after the river crossing, and it was now industrial buildings mixed in with patches of woods.

Just after entering Easthampton.

There were a few businesses as we entered Easthampton, then we turned onto Oneil Street, which was industrial again. Eventually it took us over the Manhan River, where it became Lovefield Street. This took us onto Pleasant Street, where there were both old factories and old factory houses.

An example of the latter.

There were some dense houses after that, then we curved around Main Street Park onto, well, Main Street. We rolled through downtown Easthampton along the wide road, which featured four lanes as well as parking spaces perpendicular to the sidewalk. There wasn’t all that much in the way of businesses, either, and what was there was pretty boring.

Some churches downtown.

There were more businesses when we turned onto Union Street, and these were a lot more interesting than the ones on Main Street. Plus, the street was much narrower, so it had more character. We left downtown soon enough, though, and the businesses got parking lots out front. Coming alongside a lovely pond on Cottage Street, there was a repurposed old factory on the other side, then there were some more charming and interesting businesses!

Some kayakers enjoying the pond.

We merged onto Holyoke Street next, which was lined with houses. They got smaller and more spread-out the further we got, and their front yards got way bigger. We went by a big field, then the road started to curve its way up the side of the looming Mount Tom. It was time for the scenic part!

Darn trees in the way!

The road climbed up along the mountain, with a sheer cliff going up on the left and a sheer cliff going down on the right. That right-hand side offered a simply fantastic view of the surrounding areas, and other than that, it was just pure woods. Actually, at one point there was a tavern, an event venue, and a coffee shop all in a row, but that was about it.

Gotta admit, it’s a good place for a restaurant. What a view!

The street became Easthampton Road as we entered Holyoke, but aside from an animal hospital, of all things, it was still just mountainous woods. We were starting to head down, though, and soon enough we were in a mostly flat residential neighborhood. Aw, man!

BORING.

We turned onto Jarvis Ave, where it was basically all houses. There was also a residential development called University Park, presumably for students of Holyoke Community College, and a few similar developments further down the way. Next, we turned onto George Frost Drive, which went through the woods for a bit.

Coming into the college.

We went through a gate into Holyoke Community College, then we turned onto Campus Road. This took us to the college’s main building, where we made our way around a little loop in front to serve the bus stop. After that, we headed onto Doyle Drive, which went through the forest until we reached Westfield Road, onto which we turned – this was residential.

The intersection with Homestead Ave.

There were some businesses when we turned onto Homestead Ave, but it went back to houses as soon as we proceeded down the road a bit. All of a sudden, we came to a factory, where we turned onto Lower Westfield Road and went under I-91. There were lots of suburban businesses and shopping centers on the other side, where we turned onto Holyoke Street. This took us to the mother of shopping centers: the Holyoke Mall, the R41’s final stop.

The bus at the mall. When it gets back to Northampton, it’ll do an R42.

PVTA Route: R41 (Northampton/Easthampton/Holyoke Community College/Holyoke Mall)

Ridership: My Saturday trip had pretty low ridership, but that being said, it was a summer Saturday. I would guess that more people use this thing on school-year weekdays as a commuter route from Northampton to Holyoke Community College. I mean, it gets about 18 passengers per revenue hour, which isn’t awful.

Pros: The R41 provides an important connection from Northampton to Holyoke Community College without the need of any transfers. It has a decent schedule, too, with every hour service on weekdays and Saturdays. Plus, the thing is so scenic!

Cons: Weirdly, it’s not quite every hour – for some reason, there’s a 75-minute gap from 12:45 to 2:00 from the Holyoke Mall. It’s not too big of a deal, but it doesn’t seem to make much sense. There’s also a shift from leaving on the :00 to the :05 at 4 PM from Northampton, which also doesn’t make much sense.

Nearby and Noteworthy: As I was going down this route on Google Maps, this place in Easthampton caught my eye. It’s basically a game where you and a few other people get locked into a room and you have to solve puzzles to escape. That’s a cool concept!

Final Verdict: 7/10
The R41 is an important route, even though it may not have all that much ridership. It still provides a useful connection from Northampton to the Community College, and actually, it’s the only direct route from Northampton to the Holyoke Mall too. Sure, it’s not very busy and it has a few minor schedule quirks, but this is still a decent, useful route.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

On the day this post comes out, August 27th, 2017, the Tiger Trolley is being eliminated. Good freaking riddance.

The bus at the Holyoke Transportation Center.

We left the Holyoke Transportation Center and made our way up Maple Street, then we turned onto Lyman Street. As we passed a few housing developments, we descended a hill to “The Flats,” the part of Holyoke where there are a bunch of industrial buildings and canals. And…uh…yeah, we basically just went by those.

A canal and a railroad bridge.

We turned onto Canal Street, which did indeed parallel a canal, and it was just more industrial buildings. Next, we turned onto Bridge Street, which, yes, did feature a bridge! Two, in fact! The first was over another canal, while the second took us over the Connecticut River into South Hadley.

This incredible view never gets old!

On the other side, I was assuming we’d just continue down Bridge Street like the R29, but the Tiger Trolley is never as straightforward as just “continuing down” something. Instead, we turned onto Main Street, going by some industrial buildings and businesses. Those weren’t the point of this endeavor, though – no, we had to deviate to the South Hadley Public Library. And, oh boy, we were a few minutes early, so we had to wait for a bit! Fun!!

A side street.

We returned back down Main Street, and this time we actually continued down Bridge Street. There was a mixture of houses, businesses, and industrial buildings along here, and it all continued as we turned onto Lamb Street. However, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, we left the R29 again by getting on a highway ramp.

WHAT IS THIS???

Okay, turns out it was the very end of the highway, and it instantly became the residential Granby Road. As we came alongside a cemetery, the road widened and we reached an intersection with a school on one side. You’d better get used to me talking about this place, because this bus comes through here a lot.

The school.

The first thing we did from here was turn onto Willimansett Street, a wide road with a median that curved south past nothing particularly interesting. This led us to the South Hadley Big Y, into whose parking lot we deviated. Oh, and we were a few minutes early again. Sigh…more waiting…

Hi, Big Y.

We returned the way we came, back to that same intersection, and now we turned back onto Granby Road in the same direction we had been going before. It was residential for the most part, but we did start to get some businesses along the road as we came up alongside a reservoir. Right after that, we deviated into…well, gosh it was just an empty commercial building! Turns out there’s a medical building right behind it, but still!

THIS IS NOT DEVIATION-WORTHY!!!!!!

Sigh…we came back to that same intersection for the last time. Now we turned onto Lyman Street, which was lined with houses for a while before it came up alongside a cemetery. After that, we turned onto Newton Street, which had lots of suburban businesses, but we targeted a shopping plaza: Woodlawn Plaza, to be exact. We pulled into its parking lot, stopped at a random place, and…oh my God, are we seriously thirteen minutes early?

I guess I don’t blame him for leaving…

If you were a bus driver, what would you do if your bus showed up at a timepoint thirteen minutes early? How about leave the bus and get some grub? I don’t see why not! Yeah, our driver did just that, visiting both Friendly’s and Dunkin’ Donuts over the course of the layover. Might as well take advantage of the time, right?

A side street.

We even left the mall early! We headed up Newton Street, which was mostly residential, with a few businesses and industrial buildings thrown in. The street became College Street soon, and it briefly took us alongside a river. Next, we arrived at the street’s namesake, Mount Holyoke College. We didn’t actually serve the university, though – no, instead the Tiger Trolley terminates at Village Commons, a downtown shopping mall-type thing across the street. Sure…

Good riddance!

PVTA Route: TT (Tiger Trolley (Holyoke Transportation Center to South Hadley Commons))

Ridership: This thing’s ridership is just abysmally low. The PVTA claims it gets 2.4 passengers per revenue hour, but I dunno – had Sam and I not taken this thing, our trip would’ve been completely empty.

Pros: The route…uh…serves stuff. And gets hardly any passengers. Oh wait, that’s a con.

Cons: Okay, complaining about the fact that this route is a deviatory mess (complete with strange stops called “transit access points” that require a reservation for the bus to serve) that hardly gets anyone is like taking candy from a baby. We all know this thing is just a waste of resources. But even if it was to stick around, why the heck does it run every hour and a half? The schedule is padded so ridiculously much, maybe because of the stupid “TAPs,” that it’s running far more infrequently than it has to. This thing could easily do its trip in half an hour plus a bit of padding, so it could run every hour with no problems at all.

Nearby and Noteworthy: Woodlawn Plaza and Village Commons are both served by the R29, plus the library is within easy walking distance of that route. Thus, the only real “destination” this thing serves on its own is the South Hadley Big Y. How exciting…

Final Verdict: 1/10
Luckily, the PVTA shares my sentiments with this route. Like I said, it’s being eliminated today. HA! WOOOOOOO! LET’S HAVE A TIGER TROLLEY GOING-AWAY PARTY! SEE YA, TIGER TROLLEY! WOULDN’T WANNA BE YA! WEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

I let out a groan when this thing showed up and it was a stupid minibus. I mean, with some routes you expect it. The “Tiger Trolley”? Yeah, that’s a minibus. The “Palmer Village Shuttle”? Gotta be a minibus. But the X98…gosh, I mean, that sounded like a legitimate route…

Ugh, it’s got the paper sign on the side and everything…

We started off at Salvo House, an apartment building south of downtown Northampton. The bus left that and made its way around the building on Fruit Street, in order to serve…oh come on, a Senior Center deviation already? Alright, so we served the Northampton Senior Center, then we proceeded down the residential Fruit Street.

Leaving the Senior Center.

Next, we turned onto Old South Street, which went past some parking lots, then up a steep hill into downtown Northampton. We turned onto Main Street, the main drag, where there were tall buildings with charming businesses on both sides. Just after going by the Academy of Music, we turned onto State Street, which became narrow and residential.

Bustling downtown.

The dense houses continued as we turned onto Finn Street, then Prospect Street. Eventually, we did pass a temple, a YMCA, and the Northampton Survival Center, but it was back to being residential when we turned onto Jackson Street. We passed the Northampton Bikeway, then there was a school, and later on a housing development.

Looking into the development.

We continued onto twisty Cooke Ave, which went down a hill around the back of Hampshire Plaza. Next, we entered the plaza itself, and…oh, we were ten minutes early? Cool, alright, that’s totally FINE. So after waiting for what felt like an eternity, we were off again.

The parking lot.

We made our way out of the mall and headed onto North King Street. We were paralleling I-91, while on the other side (and later on both sides when the highway curved away), there were industrial buildings. North King Street started to go up a hill, then we turned into the River Valley Market, a small grocery store. What a strange place to end…

The bus back in Northampton.

PVTA Route: X98 (Crosstown Northampton)

Ridership: The standard for good ridership on the PVTA is 20 passengers per trip. The X98 averages 2. That’s exactly what my trip got: a mother and her kid got off at the residential development we passed.

Pros: It serves the Survival Center. That’s about it.

Cons: Like, the Survival Center is basically the only thing this route serves. Everything else is about a half mile from the R44, so this route is pretty darn redundant. When I took it, it was running every hour throughout the day, weekdays and Saturdays, which was just far too much service. Not to mention, and this is just the tiniest nitpick on a gigantic cake of awfulness, there was the classic PVTA schedule padding at Holyoke Plaza.

Nearby and Noteworthy: Like I said, all this route really serves is the Survival Center. And a bunch of houses that are a 10 minute walk from the R44.

Final Verdict: 2/10
PVTA’s service changes, which will go into effect for this route on September 3rd, make a lot of sense. They’re planning on reducing the X98 to just three trips per weekday, only serving the Survival Center during food distribution hours. That’s perfect – that’s all the route really needs to do. There’s also a bit about having the R44 deviate to cover up part of the lost X98, which is…uh…okay, if there’s anything the R44 doesn’t need, it’s another deviation, but oh well. The X98 is being given the right treatment, I think.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates