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

Rush hour-only bus time! Oh…except there’s one midday trip. And one late morning trip. Alright, so I guess the 46 is 66% rush hour-only…

The bus zooming down the street.

Sam and I got on at the GRC, the northernmost stop of the UMass triad of stops. From there, we went around a roundabout and headed up North Pleasant Street, going by houses and a few straggling UMass buildings. There were some apartment developments further north, then we got some retail at North Amherst Center.

An auto shop north of North Amherst Center.

A farm.

Wow!

46, UM…

The B48 is amazing and wonderful and I love it to bits! Final Verdict: 10/10. Alright, review over, have fun! No…I guess there’s more to talk about than just that…

The bus coming into the terminal.

Leaving the Holyoke Transportation Center, we headed down Dwight Street past a post office, a parking lot, and apartments. Next, we turned onto Beech Street, which made its way up past a field and around a huge rotary. Whilst traversing the rotary, we passed over the same train tracks twice, then we turned onto Hampden Street.

Going by a park.

There were some houses, then we merged onto Lincoln Street, going by a Stop & Shop on one side and a park on the other. Unfortunately, this area only seems to have a stop on the northbound side, which is a big problem. Lincoln Street curved west and it was lined with dense but yard-endowed houses, then we turned up onto Northampton Street.

Some shrubbery at the turn.

Northampton Street was also residential for a while, but then we entered the reason why I love the B48 so much: the majority of the route is just woods! Also, the majority of the route is stopless, which is great for through passengers, but the bus does go by a lot of houses in certain places that could possibly use the bus. I mean, we even went by a tourist attraction: a bunch of dinosaur footprints by the Connecticut River! I don’t know who would take the bus to those, but it seems like they deserve a stop.

I love this route I love this route I love this route

Next, the road came alongside the Connecticut River, giving us a great view for a good amount of time as we also paralleled a train track down which the Amtrak Vermonter runs. Meanwhile, the other side was mostly woods, but we also went by a few housing developments and motels. As we curved away from the river, we started to see some other buildings: a banquet hall, a church, and some houses.

A factory poking above the trees.

After that, there were some woods again, as well as a field, then we passed a hotel and a factory. As we entered Easthampton, there were some houses, then we were briefly on an isthmus between rivers that took us into Northampton. The street was now called Mount Tom Road, and there were more woods, then a bit of farmland.

Did I mention I love this route?

We came up to an industrial area, then passed a development called Atwood Drive. Except…on one B48 trip, and I took a good amount of B48 trips, we actually deviated into it. And there was a shelter and a sign and everything in there, and…well, I have no idea what the deal with that is. I wanna say the PVTA is eliminating the “deviation”, but I can’t remember the exact details of the sign I saw, and there’s no information on the website. Either way, it’s weird.

Wow, nice fire truck!

We went under I-91, traversed around a roundabout, and all of a sudden there was development everywhere. We went down Conz Street, going by industrial buildings at first, then an apartment building and some dense houses. Next, we turned onto Old South Street, then New South Street, which took us up to downtown Northampton. Our final turn was onto Main Street, where we arrived at the Academy of Music stop.

The bus and a…shopping cart.

PVTA Route: B48 (Northampton/Holyoke Transit Center)

Ahhhh, the P21 is like the total opposite of the P20, and from a riding perspective, that makes it way better of a trip. No malls, no deviations, just a nice straight route from Holyoke to Springfield. Yeah, it still takes a while, and it’s less frequent, but it’s a much better ride!

Heyyy, that destination sign is red, not purple!

We went down Maple Street from the Holyoke Transportation Center. It wasn’t at all like the “downtown” High Street a block away, which has lots of businesses – no, Maple Street was mostly parking lots and apartment buildings. There was also a church, an elementary school, and a lovely library in the middle of a park.

Oh, I guess there’s a “Micky D’s” on the business side of things over there on the right…

Outside of that library, we turned onto Cabot Street, and after some apartment buildings, we passed through the old industrial part of Holyoke. We went over two canals, then it was a mixture of apartments and businesses. We passed over another canal, then it was time for a big bridge over the Connecticut River.

One of the canals.

We were in Chicopee on the other side, and our street was called Chicopee Street. It curved around next to a train track, then there was a mixture of dense houses and businesses. Eventually, we went under I-391, which had a park right next to it – because, you know, a busy elevated highway is the perfect place to put a park!

A side street.

It’s at this point that the route splits into two possible alignments. Every other trip goes via Chicopee Street, while the others (including mine) merge onto Meadow Street. It was mostly residential at first, with a few businesses thrown in too. However, one side of the road eventually became occupied by a huge office park.

Still houses on the other side, though!

One side of the street was still industrial, but the other side started to see some housing developments, too. There were even more of them when we turned onto Meetinghouse Road, at least on the northern side of the road – the other side was normal houses. We turned back onto Chicopee Street, rejoining the other routing.

One of the many housing developments.

After passing a golf course, it was entirely residential on Chicopee Street. We finally got a few businesses at the intersection with Meadow Street, then the road got wider and went over a train track, under I-90, and under I-391, all in quick succession. Next, we turned onto Springfield Street, which took us over the Chicopee River.

The river.

There were some old factories, and after going over a canal, we turned onto Front Street, then Cabot Street. There was a shopping plaza here, but once we turned onto Exchange Street, there were more traditional retail buildings on either side. This was downtown Chicopee…but I can’t say it was a particularly interesting downtown.

No pedestrians…it’s empty.

We continued onto Springfield Street, going by dense houses, a few churches, and a high school. Later on, we went by College of Our Lady of the Elms, then it was just all houses for a little while (aside from some retail at the intersection with Asinof Ave). We entered Springfield soon enough, where there was a little roundabout called Glenwood Circle with a few businesses.

Houses.

Springfield Street continued to be almost entirely residential past there, with really nice houses with big front lawns. After a side street called “Derby Dingle” (I’m really curious where that came from), we passed the gigantic Baystate Medical Center. The street became Chestnut Street, but we weren’t on it for much longer, turning onto Jefferson Street, then Dwight Street, going around a park.

Said park.

It was mostly dense houses and apartments along here. Eventually, we went under I-291 as the street widened, then there were some businesses, offices, and parking lots on the other side. Finally, we arrived into Union Station.

There we go, now it’s purple!

PVTA Route: P21 (Holyoke/Springfield via Chicopee)

Ridership: The P21 gets great ridership, and it’s ranked 9th overall in the system. It averages about 39 people per trip, which is amazing! Yes, it’s a long route with a lot of destinations along the way, but like the P20, you’ll generally get pretty busy vehicles along here.

Pros: This is an important route for Chicopee, running straight up through the western end of the city. It’s the second-largest city in western MA, and yet it really doesn’t have all that much bus service. Granted, it’s a small city, but anyway, the P21 is an important route through it. It’s also pretty frequent on weekdays and Saturdays, running every half hour.

Cons: Sundays the frequency becomes every 45 minutes, which…okay, yeah, I’m not saying it doesn’t make sense from a ridership perspective…it’s just kind of an ugly number. But hey, this route didn’t really suffer from the PVTA’s earliness problem, so yay!

Nearby and Noteworthy: I can’t say there was much along here – Chicopee Center was the only true “destination,” and it just seemed boring.

Final Verdict: 7/10
I wouldn’t call the P21 as good of a route as the P20, just because it’s not as frequent and doesn’t serve quite as much. In particular, the Sunday schedule is kinda wonky since it’s not clockface, but it’s not too bad. After all, the P21 is still a lifeline to Chicopee, plus it’s the fastest local route between Springfield and Holyoke! At some point later on, though, we’ll cover its express variant…that’s gonna be FUN.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates
Long story short, two guys broke the T record and are trying to send it to Guinness. Needless to say, expect a run from me at some point soon…

Why does the most frequent route from Springfield to Holyoke also have to be the looooonnnngggeeeesssstttt? The P20 is a miserable splurge of shopping malls and housing developments connecting the two biggest hubs of the PVTA system. Okay, it’s not a useless splurge, but it’s definitely a miserable one.

The back of the bus at Union Station.

We didn’t even get to serve downtown Springfield – instead we travelled northwest down Main Street, where it gets a lot more suburban already. After going under I-291, we turned onto Plainfield Street at an intersection with a small statue in the middle. This took us over I-91, then the road became West Street and passed some industrial buildings.

Crossing the Connecticut River!

As you can see, this street went over the Connecticut River, then immediately turned into a rotary on the other side in West Springfield. We merged onto Park Street, which was a good name for it, because the street literally had a park in the middle of it! Next, we turned onto Elm Street, which still had a leafy median.

Houses on a side street.

There were a few businesses at first, but as the street lost its median, it became lined with dense houses. Eventually the street curved left and there were a few industrial buildings, then we curved right and it was a strange horrendous mix of houses, housing developments, industrial buildings, car dealerships, and motels. Oh, and a COUNTRY CLUB hidden behind a layer of trees!

Sigh…a lot of the route’s gonna be like this…

There were a few suburban businesses with parking lots, but once we turned onto Riverdale Street, everything got bigger: a bigger road, bigger businesses, and bigger parking lots. It was also time for our first deviation, a long trip through the parking lot of Riverdale Shops. It took a while to actually get back to the road…

Sigh…there’s a good amount of this on the route, too…

We went under I-91, and then it was time for a wholeeeee lot of businesses with parking lots. Like, a lot. They just kept on coming. Yeah, at one point we went under some pylons and came kinda close to the Connecticut River, but it’s not like we could see anything. There was kind of a forest break, I guess, when we went under I-90, but that was just for an interchange.

Wow, I can almost see the river…

Finally, we turned onto Highland Ave, a residential street lined with houses. Yay! Something different! Next, we turned onto Whitney Ave, which took us to…the Holyoke Mall. Oh, come on! Not to mention we were ten minutes early! Great, time to sit here for what seemed like forever…

At least there was a big empty parking lot to look at.

After the mall, we went up Holyoke Street, which had more businesses and parking lots along it. Next, we turned onto Lower Westfield Road, then Holy Family Road. This was a deviation to serve a few different housing developments, most notably Holyoke Farms Apartments, which were mostly along Tokeneke Road. We used that to make our way to Whitings Farms Road.

Or…Holyoke Hill Apartments?

There were some houses for a bit, then we passed a few office parks. As the street curved east, we went by a fire station, then we entered for…another mall deviation? Okay, this is getting old. We had to travel down the entire length of the mall, which the PVTA refers to as K-Mart Plaza while Google Maps calls it Holyoke Shopping Center.

This is getting old!

We made our way up Northampton Street after the deviation, which passed a cemetery and then became residential. Next, we turned onto South Street, which had a mix of dense houses and businesses. We went by another shopping plaza (thank goodness we didn’t deviate), then we curved onto the one-way High Street, which was mostly industrial at first.

A scene in downtown Holyoke.

As we got further into downtown Holyoke, there started to be more businesses, apartments, and in true Holyoke fashion, abandoned factories. Eventually it turned to brick buildings housing retail on their ground floors, which was at least a little nicer. Finally, we made our way around the block and arrived at the Holyoke Transportation Center.

The bus boarding for its journey back.

PVTA Route: P20 (Holyoke/Springfield via Riverdale Street)

Ridership: The P20 is one of the highest-ridership routes on the PVTA, ranked at number 5 in 2016. The route averages 48 passengers per trip, which is huge! Okay, it’s kinda long, and there’s a lot of ridership turnover along the way, but you’ll still get a reasonably busy bus along the whole route.

Pros: The greatest asset of the P20 is its frequency. The route runs every 20 minutes weekdays and Saturdays and every half hour on Sundays, which is really good! Also, for as miserable as the full ride is, the route really does serve a lot of important shopping centers and connects them up to the two biggest hubs on the PVTA. I doubt (and hope) that no one subjects themselves to ride this thing from beginning to end, though – there are much faster ways of getting between Springfield and Holyoke.

Cons: Aside from the route being the longest and most miserable way of getting between Springfield and Holyoke? For as long as I’m reviewing PVTA routes, I will forever be complaining about earliness; the real culprit of the P20 is at the Holyoke Mall. For some reason, it’s only on the northbound route where they do this – the southbound trips are only padded at the end! That seems to be extra evidence that the “layover” at the Holyoke Mall has absolutely no point.

Nearby and Noteworthy: This route basically serves any mall in West Springfield or Holyoke, so it’s a great one for shopping.

Final Verdict: 8/10
While I personally hated my ride on this route, the P20 is ultimately very useful and well-used. The frequency is great, and the route serves quite a bit of important destinations. I’d rather not wait for 10 minutes at the Holyoke Mall when I’m going north, though, thank you very much!

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

Heyyyyy, let’s hop on the Prison Express! No, I’m not joking, that’s literally what the B12 is: a nonstop, highway-running express route…to a prison. Like, a gigantic, proper prison. Huh. Yeah, I’m just gonna go ahead and say that this is a strange route.

Here we go!

I mean, it was a hassle just to get on this thing! Granted, it’s not often someone asks to take a route to a maximum security prison just to stay on and come back, so I can see how it would be a bit sketchy. The driver had to ask his supervisor, and they agreed that if I just did whatever the driver told me to do, it would be fine. I was in!

Some parking lot.

A formless apartment building? I guess that works too.

Woooo.

A “business” and a motel.

Very rustic!

Eventually we turned onto Randall Road, which went through pure woods. The street curved around through the trees until we entered a parking lot: we were now in the Hampshire County House of Corrections. We made our way to the visitor’s lobby, where all the other passengers got out. Meanwhile, we had one more stop to make in the prison.

Here we go!

We looped around the parking lot and headed onto Texas Drive, going by a small lake-pond-something? There were random buildings along the way, then we pulled into the Pre-Release Center, where prisoners are allowed to spend the day outside of the prison with trackers around their ankles. The driver said that operators of the B12 are specially trained to report to the Sheriff if any of the pre-release passengers act up even a little bit. This is intense stuff! There was no one getting on there today, though, so we just headed back to Springfield with an empty bus.

Security is high…

PVTA Route: B12 (Stonybrook Express)

Ridership: This route has two classes of ridership: there are the pre-release prisoners, as I mentioned, and there are also visitors. My ride was entirely the latter class, with seven women going to see people in the prison. In 2016, the route averaged about 4 passengers per trip, which makes sense, considering the first inbound and last outbound are almost guaranteed to be empty.

Pros: It’s, uh, a prison express? You know, it’s a weird thought, but it definitely provides a really important service. Plus, the entire route is paid for by the Hampton County Sheriffs Department, so PVTA doesn’t have to worry about a thing!

Cons: The schedule is really weird. Maybe it has something to do with how the prison works, but there are four trips from Springfield, weekdays and Saturdays: 1:48, 4:03, 6:03, and 7:48. Strange times…

Nearby and Noteworthy: Uhhhh…literally just the prison. That’s it. Have fun!

Final Verdict: 7/10
This is sort of a hard route to review, but I think a 7 suits it pretty well. It definitely provides an important service for a very limited group of people, and it’s fully subsidized, but…gosh, it’s just weird! The fact that it makes no other stops is strange, and those schedule times (seemingly) make no sense. One thing’s for sure, this was an interesting experience, and I’m really glad I was able to ride this crazy route!

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

Man, I wonder how the residents of Plainfield Street got around “b4” the B4 came around! HA! Ahem…

The bus at Union Station.

We left Union Station and headed down the wide Main Street. We were going away from downtown, though, so the scenery was boring – just offices and businesses with parking lots. After going under I-291, we merged onto Plainfield Street outside of two churches. This took us over I-91.

A view before the highway crossing.

Once over the bridge, we took a right onto…Plainfield Street. Okay, I guess the street decided to turn along with us. We were traveling along a field on one side and a housing development on the other, then we turned onto Clyde Street and entered the development. As we curved north, the street became Sanderson Street.

Lotsa identical houses…

We were basically between two different apartment developments now. Meanwhile, the Connecticut River was only a block away, but the view was blocked by a wall. We curved around eastward, and outside of a clinic, we turned again onto Plainfield Street.

There’s the wall!

Along Plainfield Street, it was mostly dense houses, while we also passed a few churches and an elementary school. Eventually, we left the neighborhood and turned onto Wason Ave, which went along an abandoned lot and some trees. Finally, we deviated into the Baystate Medical Offices, ending the very short trip.

The bus laying over.

PVTA Route: B4 (Union Station/Plainfield Street)

Ridership: Since it’s such a short route, the B4 isn’t going to do quite as well as something longer, but it still holds its own pretty well. In terms of daily ridership, it got 733 passengers on average in 2012, while it got about 10 people per trip in 2014. Most of the passengers on my ride got off in the apartment developments along Clyde and Sanderson Streets.

Pros: I have a soft spot for super short local routes, and the B4 is just that. It serves a very important, dense, and transit-using neighborhood, and since the route is so short, it can achieve decent frequency with only one bus. On weekdays, it’s every 40 minutes, while it runs every 30 on Saturdays and every 60 on Sundays (interlined with the R14).

Cons: This is seemingly a minor thing, but it bothers me so much. Take a look at the schedule:

Sometimes the madness of the B7 can be a bit much. I just wish there was an alternative way of getting from the Eastfield Mall to Springfield that’s a little bit quieter. Wait…the B17 is quieter and faster? Wow, okay, cool! Just let me adjust to these 45-minute headways and I think we’ll be good!

The bus at the mall.

Unfortunately, we left about 5-7 minutes late, and I was worried about making my connection in Springfield. Oh well – nothing to do but just ride it out. We left the Eastfield Mall and made our way to Boston Road through the gigantic parking lot. We rode along here with the B7 for a little bit, but soon we turned onto Parker Street, starting our independent section.

Some houses on a side street.

We left the suburban businesses of the wide Boston Road behind; we were now on a narrow street going right through a quiet residential neighborhood. The road went over the tiny North Branch Mill River, then later on we passed a cemetery. Other than that, it was just houses, houses, houses.

Like these ones!

We went by a residential development and a church, but the single houses still reigned supreme. Eventually, we reached Sixteen Acres Center, an intersection with lots of suburban businesses with parking lots…and somehow, we were early! Geez, PVTA, I’m glad you pad your routes, but do you really have to do it in the middle of them?

A gas station.

We made a nice right merge onto Wilbraham Road, which was…oh…more houses? Huh, alright. Eventually, though, the scenery did change – we went by a church, a gardening center, and Western New England University.

All that stuff was on the other side of the bus, though, so…enjoy these houses!

Next, we went by a housing development and a few shopping plazas at the intersection with Breckwood Boulevard. There was also a school, a church, and a small, dense cemetery. Soon after that, the road went on an isthmus through Lake Lookout, but it was short and trees blocked the view of the lake.

The little graveyard.

After Lake Lookout, the houses became a lot denser. We passed by the back of a gigantic MassMutual complex, then after a connection with the X92 at Roosevelt Ave, it became a mix of dense houses and the occasional business. We went by an elementary school and American International College, then we joined up with the B7 on State Street at “Mason Square,” which wasn’t much of a square at all.

A bounce house!!!!!

The wide State Street was an all-around mix of apartments, businesses, industrial buildings, and municipal buildings. We weren’t on it for a particularly long time, though – soon we turned onto Saint James Ave, then made another quick turn onto Magazine Street. There was a park and dense houses along here, then they became apartments as we turned onto Worthington Street.

Making a turn.

We rounded a curve and headed down a hill. We gained a lot of riders at a stop outside of a homeless shelter, then there were lots of industrial buildings and abandoned property lots. And then…then it was time for “A Million Crazy Curves Frenzy!” Get ready for this…

A parking lot with some rather decrepit-looking buildings behind it.

Alright, we got this party started by turning onto Chestnut Street for a block, then Taylor Street for a block. Next, it was time for Dwight Street, which took us past brick buildings and parking lots – basically what we had been seeing this whole Frenzy. Eventually we reached Harrison Ave and turned onto that, then we finally made it onto Main Street. We took this through downtown Springfield, under the railroad tracks, and into Union Station.

The bus picking up for another trip.

PVTA Route: PVTA: B17 (Eastfield Mall via Worthington/Wilbraham Road)

Ridership: It’s weird, I’ve ridden the B17 twice and seen it many times, and it’s never had that many people on it. However, according to the PVTA, its ridership is pretty good: 815 daily riders in 2012 and 26 passengers per revenue hour in 2014, which is above the 20 PPRH threshold for a well-performing service. I guess I’ve just been unlucky on my trips?

Pros: The B17 serves a lot of suburban areas out in East Springfield, plus it offers a faster trip to the Eastfield Mall than the busy and slow B7. This is also the only route to serve that homeless shelter in Springfield, and that stop always has at least three to four people waiting for the bus in either direction from what I’ve seen. The route runs every 45 minutes weekdays and Saturdays only, which is a bit of a wonky headway, but I guess it equates to some good ridership numbers, if the counts are to be believed.

Cons: Again, this is only based on my experiences, but it seems like this route gets way more ridership in the dense inner section than the suburban outer section. I’m wondering if it would be worth it to short-turn some trips to improve frequency on that inner part. Also, this route suffers from the classic PVTA earliness problem – we left late, yet we still had to wait along the way. But honestly, the part of the B17 that really grinded my gears was that crazy turn frenzy in Springfield. At first, I thought it was just necessary because of one-way streets. That’s not true. Then I thought maybe it was to serve downtown Springfield. But why would the outbound route bypass most of it? No, this just seems stupid to me…

Nearby and Noteworthy: The route is pretty darn gritty in downtown Springfield, while the outer portion is just houses. This is a slightly faster and less busy route to the Eastfield Mall, though, so if you have the option between the B17 and the B7, take this one.

Final Verdict: 6/10
This is a generally good route that can perform its functions, and it seems to get more ridership than I give it credit for, but I’m just not feeling greater than a 6 for this thing. The real culprit is, of course, the insane amount of turns within Springfield. I mean, the routing takes 6 minutes when it could be lowered to as little as 2 minutes:

This is hard to view properly within the blog, so I recommend hitting that full-screen button to open the map in a new tab. I have two alternative routes here: there’s one that takes a direct routing via Chestnut Street (2 minutes), while another one uses Taylor Street to still serve downtown a bit (3 minutes). Remember, the current route is 6 minutes, so the time could be at least 50% faster. I rest my case.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates