Saint Paul Street (B) and Pleasant Street
Boston University’s campus is hugeeeee! I mean, it’s really funny that it goes far beyond BU West Station, with modern buildings and dorms coming into the neighborhood of Saint Paul Street and Pleasant Street. And…uh…well, these stations could definitely be better, to say the least.
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| Saint Paul Street’s platform. |
Hmm…yeah, we don’t have much to work with in the platform department for these two stations. For one thing, the barriers between the platform and the road are gone for the most part – that’s right, a mere curb separates you from getting run over by a car! Oh wait, I’m sorry…the inbound side at each station has a crumbling knee-high concrete barrier that doesn’t extend over the whole platform and probably does more harm than good. Great!
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| The platform at Pleasant Street. |
And what about the shelters? Well, once again, they have no benches. Except…except…OH, WOW, BOTH SHELTERS ON THE OUTBOUND SIDE HAVE BENCHES! GREEEEEEAAAAATTTTT! SORRY, INBOUND PASSENGERS! Well, hey, at least inbound people get a WASTEBASKET! And it’s TERRIBLE! WONDERFUL! GUESS THAT WAS AN OXYMORON RIGHT THERE! YOU KNOW THE STATIONS ONLY GET WORSE FROM HERE?
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| A train heading inbound. |
Stations: Saint Paul Street (B) and Pleasant Street
Ridership: These two stations are slightly below average for the Green Line, with 1,296 riders per day at Saint Paul Street and 1,167 riders per day at Pleasant Street. As I’ll discuss later, though, ridership at the latter can SPIKE on certain occasions.
Pros: Well…if you’re going outbound, I guess you have sheltered seating. Good for you?
Cons: I’m done ranting about the shelters…go back and read the all-caps paragraphs if you want to hear my opinions on them. You know what I AM going to rant about? Pleasant Street! I went to an event at Agganis Arena (I saw the Cure!) and afterward, the police had to BLOCK OFF the intersection in order to accommodate the GIGANTIC amount of people trying to cram into the front door of a B train! For heaven’s sake, GIVE THE PEOPLE SOME AMENITIES! YOU CAN’T PUT SUCH A TERRIBLE STATION OUTSIDE OF SUCH AN IMPORTANT ARENA!!!
Nearby and Noteworthy: More BU buildings, basically, including the arena! As you head into Brookline, however, you’ll find a quiet residential neighborhood.
Final Verdict: 3/10
Andddddddd we’re heading in a downward spiral! It irks me so much that these stations only have proper shelters with benches going outbound, while inbound passengers just have to stand. This is horrible for Pleasant Street in particular – once again, Agganis Arena is a huge arena! That tiny station CANNOT handle the amount of people that it gets!
Latest MBTA News: Service Updates
Boston University West
After the B Line crosses over I-90, we reach the next stop, Boston University West. It’s a little weird that they call it that, though, since Boston University continues west well past this stop! Oh well, dubious name aside, let’s see what this station is like.
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| Definitely a departure from the last few stops… |
BU West has a few differences from previous stations right off the bat. Firstly, the platform is a lot narrower than before, which is rather annoying. Also, no longer is there a nice big fence between the platform and the road – now it’s just a small concrete barrier, and a sometimes-crumbling one at that!
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| Oh dear… |
However, there is also some stuff to like about BU West. For one thing, its amenities are no worse than the other two BU stations – we still have two shelters on the inbound side with no benches, as well as a lame wastebasket. The outbound side even has a shelter with a bench…for some reason. Plus, BU West actually has artwork on the station signs, which gives it a lot of respect from me – this is the only B Line station with any form of art.
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| A train with some recognizable buildings in the background! |
Station: Boston University West
Ridership: BU West only gets 704 riders per weekday, making it the fourth least-used station on the B. So, uh…yeah, not great.
Pros: It’s definitely competent for a B Line stop. It has shelters, although they’re benchless on the inbound side, and the art is especially a nice touch. Like I said, no other B Line station has artwork!
Cons: Still, the platforms are very narrow, and the barriers between them and the street are in pretty low quality. Plus, the benchless shelters are just as annoying as ever!
Nearby and Noteworthy: Possibly one reason for BU West’s low ridership is that it doesn’t really serve that many BU buildings (ironically, there are more of them as you go further west). Still, it covers the College of General Studies, and a few random businesses.
Final Verdict: 5/10
We’ve definitely experienced a drop in quality since the last few stations, and it only gets worse from here. BU West does have some nice artwork, but otherwise, its platforms are narrow, its inbound shelters are benchless, and its concrete barriers are mediocre. Yes, it’s better than many other B Line stations, but that isn’t saying much.
Latest MBTA News: Service Updates
New MBTA Articulated Bus!
Yes, folks, the first of the new articulated buses on the MBTA have entered service today! To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to be able to ride it, but my friend Chloé and I ended up at Ruggles today, so I called Sam and asked him to track it for us. It was somewhat close, so we decided to take it one glorious stop from Tremont Street opp Prentiss Street to Ruggles! Okay, it was a ridiculously short ride, but it let us see how nice the bus was. On to the pictures!
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| Low light, unfortunately. |
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| Another exterior shot. |
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| The driver yelled at me for taking pictures, which was really annoying…it’s a new bus, after all! |
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| Looking toward the back. I love that one seat in the middle of the articulated section! |
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| Another shot once the bus had emptied out at Ruggles. |
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| A blurry shot of the bus speeding away. |
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| Pictures of the bus at Ruggles. |
Boston University East and Central
Up next on this B Line tour, we’ve got two stops that achieved “appearing on the map” status before the map started showing every station. That’s right, we’re taking a look at BU East and BU Central, two stations that are rather close together. Well, okay, most stations on the B are ridiculously close together, but still…
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| The platform at BU East. |
Well, let’s start with the positives first. I complained about the lack of ADA platforms at Blandford Street, but both of these stations have ’em! This area also has the nicest part of the B Line right-of-way, with bushes and trees lined up along the tracks. Finally, large fences separate the stations from the road itself, so they feel safer overall.
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| Standing between the two tracks at BU Central. |
However, both of these stations feature a strange lack of amenities. Yes, they have two shelters on each side, but the shelters don’t have benches under them! There are just a few random benches sporadically placed around the platform. Both inbound sides also feature a really lame trash bin that’s just kinda…there.
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| A train leaving BU East. |
Stations: Boston University East and Central
Ridership: Both stops get pretty high ridership, with 1,747 people per day for BU East and 2,194 people per day for BU Central. Obviously the main demographic for these stations is students.
Pros: Conceptually, these stations could be E Line stations. They have similar shelters, rather nice right-of-ways, and ADA platforms.
Cons: However, they have one major flaw that just grinds my gears: no benches under the shelters. How hard is it to just stick a bench under there? Blandford Street managed to do it just fine!
Nearby and Noteworthy: It’s all in the names: BU buildings are the order of the day here.
Final Verdict: 6/10
These would be fine stations if they actually had benches that were in the right places! Instead, they both have perfectly fine shelters, but nothing under them. What a wasted opportunity – if the common courtesy of putting benches under shelters can be considered an “opportunity”.
Latest MBTA News: Service Updates
Blandford Street
Awwww yeah, it’s happening! Here we go! Get ready for the most hated line on the entire MBTA! That’s right, it’s time to review EVERY! SINGLE! STATION! ON! THE! B! Let’s get this horrible tour started with…a somewhat decent station, actually. Time to talk about Blandford Street!
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| The platform. |
Blandford Street is the first station out of the portal for the B, and it’s right near Kenmore Square – this means there’s a nice view of the Prudential and the Citgo sign. So what about the station itself? Honestly, it feels a lot like an E Line station, minus the ADA platform. There are two shelters on each side, and the right-of-way is reasonably pretty!
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| A train hanging out next to a 57. |
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| Into the abyss you go! |
Station: Blandford Street
“The B Line: Exposed” Trailer!
In the next two weeks or so, I’ll be reviewing every stop on the B branch of the Green Line! Pretty exciting, right? Well, once that’s all done, it will culminate with this epic video review! Stay tuned…
WRTA: Paxton Shuttle (Anna Maria College – Union Station Hub via Paxton Square and Tatnuck Square)
Okay, show of hands, who’s ever heard of Paxton, Massachusetts? No one? Okay, good. I hadn’t heard of it either until my friend Nathan pointed out that the WRTA has a bus that runs there…but only on Wednesdays and Fridays. Well, whaddayaknow, we had a free Wednesday off from school! So let’s ride this really strangely scheduled Paxton Shuttle…
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| The bus (if you can call it that) at Union Station. |
Keep in mind that Nathan and I had to run to make this bus, having departed the chronically late MART Worcester Shuttle. We had assumed the bus would board in the actual WRTA Central Hub at Union Station, since the schedule says “Union Station Hub” like any other WRTA route. But…no, turns out it boards outside the Central Hub, on Foster Street. And the bus has no signage, so we had to ask the driver to make sure it was the right route.
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| The inside of the vehicle. |
Of course, calling this a “bus” is a bit of a joke, since it had literally six seats. That’s right, it was basically a “The Ride” vehicle! Indeed, I’ll bet it is just a dial-a-ride vehicle that happens to do a fixed route once in a while. It was really strange…
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| Awwww yeah, rear-view shot! |
We turned onto Front Street, which took us into downtown Worcester. One side of the street had the Worcester Common, while the other side was lined with multi-story buildings. We passed City Hall, then continued onto Pleasant Street, following the 2. Now, there are two things to note here: number one is that the Paxton Shuttle is supposed to follow the 6’s route, but I guess we…weren’t doing that? The other thing is that the route operates closed-door in Worcester, so it makes no stops – I guess that means it doesn’t matter what route it takes, then.
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| A side street. |
The street became a mix of businesses, houses, and apartments as it coasted down a hill. There were also some churches and a small park in the mix. After we crossed Park Ave, though, Pleasant Street became entirely residential, with woods on the other side!
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| Goin’ around a small rotary. |
We arrived at a roundabout, and Pleasant Street continued to be lined with houses beyond, now on both sides of the road. There were, however, some nice-looking local businesses at the intersection with Richmond Ave. After many more houses, we finally arrived in Tatnuck Square, where there were varied retail buildings. This is the Paxton Shuttle’s only other stop in Worcester.
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| Some businesses in Tatnuck Square. |
We continued down Pleasant Street, which rose up on a slight hill and started to feel rather woodsy. The spread-out houses we passed were huge, but they got a bit smaller as we entered a denser neighborhood, even passing a few businesses. Finally, we entered Paxton and began the route’s unique section!
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| Blurry houses along Pleasant Street. |
The scenery was quite nice along here, with the road curving around small houses on either side. It was basically all residential, aside from a few farms here and there. And…yeah, that was about it for this part of the journey. Most of the houses were natural, but at one point the road went through a more developed neighborhood where the residences were all the same.
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| Woah, check out that lens flare! |
Eventually, the houses were finally broken, as we passed the nice public safety complex of Paxton, containing both fire and police vehicles. This area also featured an industrial garage, a Dunkin’ Donuts, an animal hospital, and a fitness club. A little later, there were some businesses and a lovely town common in Paxton Center.
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| Paxton Town Common. |
We turned onto Maple Street, taking us over hills and past beautiful trees and more houses. Next, we turned onto Grove Street, which was a less charming road due to its wideness. Finally, we headed onto Sunset Lane, which took us into the campus of Anna Maria College, the last stop of the route.
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| The bus at the college. |
It’s worth noting that on the way back, we actually made an extra deviation that doesn’t appear in the schedule or on the map! It was pretty soon after leaving the college; we turned off of Grove Street in order to serve The Hills at Paxton Village, an apartment development. It was a strange deviation involving reversing the bus multiple times (despite an easy loop right in front of the building), but eventually we were on our way back to Worcester again.
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| Another shot at the college. |
WRTA Route: Paxton Shuttle (Anna Maria College – Union Station Hub via Paxton Square and Tatnuck Square)
Ridership: The driver gave some very showing statistics for this route’s ridership: “I get five people per day – four students and one professor.” So basically, this shuttle is utilized by the same five people from Anna Maria College every day, meaning one person per round trip (this held true for us, with one person going from Anna Maria to Worcester). And keep in mind that the route only runs Wednesdays and Fridays, so it’s only about 40 people per month!
Pros: The route is very useful…for five people. The same five people. Twice a week. Hmm…
Cons: Oh come on, does this route really need to exist? Paxton is such a tiny town, and a bus that only runs twice a week, five trips per day, really isn’t helping anyone. Except for…five people, I guess. I mean, if they really want to increase ridership on this thing, how about giving it consistent service, seven days a week? You know, like a normal bus route.
Nearby and Noteworthy: Paxton Center was nice enough, I guess, but I doubt it would be able to hold anyone’s interest for more than half an hour…
Final Verdict: 1/10
It is a rather pleasant ride, don’t get me wrong, but this bus just seems so useless. I mean, who would be affected if they cut it? Just…four students and one professor. Gosh…knowing who these people are gives me such a personal connection to them…maybe they should keep this route around!
Oh wait, a route with 5 riders per day is ridiculous. CUT IT!
Latest MBTA News: Service Updates
MART: Worcester Shuttle
A shuttle from Fitchburg to Worcester? Wow, okay, that sounds kinda useful! The idea of an “intercity crosstown” route, as it were, is pretty cool and a good way of encouraging suburban growth. High praise? Yes indeed. Too high? Absolutely – the Worcester Shuttle is not a route to be taken seriously.
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| The bus at the Intermodal Center (note the lack of signage). |
So what’s the deal with this route? Well, it’s mainly meant for veterans, seniors, or people with disabilities, but it’s also open to the general public. The way it works, the route has several “guaranteed stops” in Fitchburg, Leominster, and Worcester that – as you would expect – every trip stops at. The other stops are at hospitals, and they operate on a request basis. If no one wants to go there, the bus ain’t stoppin’.
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| Ewwwww… |
Okay, first of all, let’s analyze this schedule. Now, I’m not gonna mention the fact that it only runs three times a day, but rather, we’re looking at the logistical side of this. Notice that the route is given five minutes to travel from the Fitchburg Intermodal Transit Center to the Leominster Senior Center. Umm…that’s a 12 minute drive…by car…without traffic! So since the bus is already 7 minutes late when it gets to Leominster, it’ll have an even harder time getting to Worcester on time, even without making the “non-guaranteed” request stops along the way! And the trip back is even worse! So basically, it’s impossible for the Worcester Shuttle to be on time. Great…
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| Not the best interior shot I’ve ever taken… |
But you think that’s crazy? How about the boarding procedure?? My friend Nathan and I (having confirmed with the driver that the bus was indeed the Worcester Shuttle – it had no signage and wasn’t stopped in the actual busway) boarded the vehicle, and instantly started getting interrogated!
“Last name?”
“Taylor.”
“First initial?”
“M.”
“Destination?”
“Union Station.”
*driver writes furiously on clipboard* “That’ll be 10 dollars.”
Okay, well, after that annoying process (repeated for Nathan), we were finally ready to leave…10 minutes late.
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| Going over the Commuter Rail tracks. |
We headed down Main Street, then turned onto Water Street, going over the Commuter Rail tracks and descending past Central Valley Plaza. However, we soon ascended again, over a river and onto higher ground. The street was lined with a mixture of dense houses, apartments, and industrial-looking businesses.
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| I love that bridge! |
Eventually we started to come down a hill again, going by an abandoned Halloween-themed store. The road became a mix of houses and industrial buildings once more, along with the occasional sketchy-looking business. The street widened for an intersection with Wanoosnoc Road (fantastic name), and after that there was a short all-residential stretch.
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| Wooo, an auto shop! |
As we entered Leominster, the street became North Main Street and the surroundings became more industrial, and other businesses showed up, too. There were even houses here and there, mixed in with everything else. The road grew way wider when we crossed over Route 2, then it narrowed slightly as we passed Water Tower Plaza and a big hospital.
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| Going over Route 2. |
We had been following the 2 this whole time, but we left that route as we merged onto Washington Street. This was a purely residential neighborhood, right up until we turned onto West Street and arrived at the Leominster Senior Center. There was a proper shelter here (the stop is also served by the 8), but no one waiting.
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| A side street in Leominster. |
Well, I guess it was time to leave and head to Worcester! Right? RIGHT? Ha, nope! The driver filled out another piece of paperwork when we arrived, but then we were just doing nothing, even once he had finished! Keep in mind that Nathan and I had a connection to make in Worcester, so we needed to be on time. Waiting here at the Senior Center for seemingly no reason was not helping.
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| Coming into downtown Leominster. |
Finally, finally, FINALLY we left, continuing down West Street and arriving at Monument Square, the “downtown” of Leominster. The street became Mechanic Street, and we crossed over a railroad track as we left Monument Square. There was a short industrial section, then after a cathedral, it was a mix of houses and apartments.
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| That’s an impressive cathedral! |
As we left the neighborhood, the street widened with a median and became the Leominster Connector. We ran through pretty open land, crossed over a river, and then merged onto I-190, heading south towards Worcester! I had never been on 190 before, which made it all the more interesting to be there on a minibus.
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| A random highway view… |
There isn’t much to write home about with the scenery, though. It was, uh, basically just woods. It wasn’t until we entered Worcester that it became interesting, with a cool panoramic view of some industrial buildings, and later on some houses and some malls.
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| The latter view. |
The highway merged into I-290, which continued at ground level past more industrial buildings. We took the next exit, 18, which brought us onto Lincoln Street. The wide road curved past a variety of buildings before becoming Major Taylor Boulevard. As we came into downtown Worcester, the bus turned onto Thomas Street, then the tiny Commercial Street (essentially an alley).
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| Downtown Worcester. |
Next, we turned onto Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard, and finally onto Main Street, arriving at the stop for the Worcester District Court. Looked like no one was getting on or off, so it was time to continue towards Union Station! Right? RIGHT?
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| A parking lot with some apartments above it, as seen from the unmoving bus. |
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| BOOOOOOOOOOO! |
Cons: TOO BAD THIS WAS ONE OF THE WORST BUS EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE. Okay, first of all, the boarding procedure is so ridiculous! Why the heck do passengers have to give their information? Why does the driver have to fill out paperwork? Why does the vehicle have no signage? Why does it not just board in the main busway? But noooooo, that’s not the main problem! IT IS LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR THIS BUS TO BE ON TIME. THE FACT THAT IT HAS TO WAIT FOR FIVE MINUTES AT EVERY STOP, COUPLED WITH THE IMPOSSIBLE SCHEDULE, MEANS THAT YOU’D BETTER GIVE YOURSELF A BUNCH OF EXTRA TIME TO BE LATE! WHAT KIND OF HORRIBLE ROUTE IS THIS????
Nearby and Noteworthy: Fitchburg and Worcester, but there’s not much point in riding this if you live in the Boston area. Mostly because it SUCKS.
Final Verdict: 1/10
It’s one thing to run a route with completely ridiculous boarding requirements, no signage, and long wait times at each stop. But to run a route that’s guaranteed to be late is just about the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen! Argh, it just infuriates me that someone scheduled this and expected it to work! But why complain when I can fix the solution? I present to you a REALISTIC schedule for the route (the stops with asterisks are “guaranteed stops”):
Compare it to the official schedule at the beginning of the post – quite a lot longer, isn’t it? Admittedly, this schedule assumes that the bus makes every non-guaranteed stop, which isn’t likely to happen; without stopping at any of them, like on my trip, I would peg the arrival at the Worcester Courthouse to be at about 4:20 – slightly earlier than when we got in, actually. My trip couldn’t even beat the “realistic” schedule!!! But yeah, the point is that the current schedule is ridiculous, and honestly, this whole route is ridiculous. I guess it has to stay around for political reasons (presumably), but man, it’s SO BAD! Ech…
Latest MBTA News: Service Updates
MART: 4 (Fitchburg State University)
I had a lot of expectations for this route, and seemingly none of them were fulfilled. One of the main ones was that I assumed it would cost $1.25 to ride, the typical MART fare. Well, no, turns out it’s free! Okay, I certainly can’t complain about a free ride. So let’s take a look at this short shuttle from Fitchburg Station to FSU, the 4.
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| A MINIBUS? NOOOOOOOOOO! |
Yes, another one of my dashed expectations was that the route would use a full-sized bus. Nope…a minibus just HAD to pull up to that berth, didn’t it? Granted, it was a perfectly fine minibus with comfy seats and a fairly unjiggly wheelchair lift, but…it was a minibus.
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| Going by a bank. |
We pulled out of the Fitchburg Intermodal Center and headed up North Street, basically bypassing downtown. It got residential pretty quickly, but we also passed FSU’s Recreation Center. And beyond that, we were in full-on college land, with fairly tall university buildings lining the street.
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| Interesting buildings here! |
At one point, the road went under what I can only assume is the FSU dining hall (just based on the fact that that’s the name of the stop under the building), which was pretty cool. Also along this section, we passed a full-sized bus going the other way! Yes, apparently the 4 uses two buses, which debunked another one of my expectations – I thought there would only be one.
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| Passing a parking lot. |
Eventually we left the main drag, and it became residential once we passed the McKay Campus School, another FSU building. Next we turned onto John Fitch Highway, and soon after we headed into a parking lot. This took us past a field and then up to the Wallace Civic Center, the last stop on the route.
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| The shelter at the Civic Center. |
However, the stopping procedure at the Civic Center was ridiculous! The bus goes right past the main entrance, but can it stop there? Noooooo, it has to meander through the parking lot and get to a shelter that’s really far away from the building! Sure, it’s a nice shelter, but letting people off at the front of the building would be nicer!
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| My friend Nathan and I waited for the full-sized bus to take us back to the station. |
MART Route: 4 (Fitchburg State University)
Ridership: The 4 is by far the most-used route on the MART, with over 180,000 riders per year! Of course, most of those riders are concentrated when school is in session, and I only wish the MART gave summer data, as I’m sure it’s much lower. Still, due to its nature as a college shuttle, the 4 gets lots of people when school is happening!
Pros: The 4 is incredibly useful for FSU students – it’s a free bus that can take you anywhere along North Street (people can flag down the bus anywhere) that comes every few minutes! Who wouldn’t want to rely on this thing?
Cons: I question the Saturday and summer service, which is every hour. There are no public ridership statistics for these times, but I can’t see that many people using such a tiny route when school isn’t in session. Also, the Civic Center stopping situation is terrible.
Nearby and Noteworthy: Need to get to FSU? Well, this is your route! It doesn’t really go anywhere else…
Final Verdict: 9/10
It’s the freeness that bumps the 4 that extra point up. The fact that it’s free means that college students can just hop on the bus anywhere without having to wait too long and go essentially wherever they want on campus! And yes, I know that FSU students ride free on the MART anyway, but…well, making it free for everyone is just a nice thing to do, isn’t it?
Latest MBTA News: Service Updates
Wells (Amtrak)
Well(s), well(s), well(s), time to take a look at Wells! This is a station on the Downeaster in a very middle-of-nowhere section of the town of the same name, and it’s the one we used to get home from Transit Day. What kind of stuff does it have to offer? Let’s find out.
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| Special thanks to Sam’s camera! Mine was out of battery… |
We were dropped off in the station parking lot, which features a nice loop for drop-offs and pick-ups. It’s also a busway, served by a Greyhound trip every day, as well as the Shoreline Explorer, which serves Wells with one full-year route and one summer trolley. Finally, the station features private car parking, of course, with about 200 spaces.
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| Heading around the side of the building. |
The side of the Wells building features bike racks and newspaper boxes. There’s a path that leads around to the platform, which is useful if you’re rushing for the train and don’t want to enter the building. Finally, there were some nice Halloween decorations in the mulch.
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| The inside of the building. |
Wells has a fantastic modern building, with a bunch of amenities inside. Firstly, it features basically any type of brochure you can imagine, from Wells-related ones to Maine-related ones to travel-related ones! There’s a desk for a station host, but they probably weren’t working this late at night. The building also features a Quik-Trak ticketing machine, as well as a human to sell tickets.
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| The “transportation corner”. |
What else, what else? Well, there are some vending machines in the center of the room to provide snacks, and a few benches to wait for the train inside. There are bathrooms here, too, and they were very clean! Oh, and the whole inside was decked out with Halloween decorations, which was super cute.
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| The building from the outside. |
Heading out of the building, there’s a nice little park next to the platform. It has a flagpole, some benches, and in honor of Halloween, an absolutely fantastic little display of ghosts dancing around in a circle! Seriously, what train station has Halloween decorations? I love it!
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| The platform. |
Wells’s platform is…well, probably the least interesting part of the station. It’s pretty small to begin with, and much of it is low-level with a bit of shelter. It features a mini-high, too, which has more shelter and at least a bench. I guess they expect most people to wait inside the building instead, which is certainly reasonable.
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| I…I…I think that’s a train! Maybe! |
Station: Wells
Ridership: In 2015, the station got 48,890 people, and unfortunately it seems that ridership on the Downeaster is generally decreasing. Still, that makes Wells the second-busiest station in Maine after Portland, and 134 passengers per day with only six trains isn’t bad.
Pros: Wells has so much character, from the great building amenities to (especially) the Halloween decorations! The parking seems to be sufficient (and right off of I-95), and the platform is standard for the Downeaster.
Cons: That does mean the platform feels a bit bare, but the building is the best place to wait for the train, anyway.
Nearby and Noteworthy: If you come here in summer, you can use the Shoreline Explorer to get to the beach! I can’t tell you how good of a beach it is, and I’m sure it gets crowded, but hey…the beach!
Final Verdict: 9/10
Even late at night, this station still felt very charming and welcoming. I’m sure it has a much different feel in the summer when it’s overrun with beachgoers, but I’m sticking to my guns and giving this place a 9. Seriously, what a lovely station!
Latest MBTA News: Service Updates
Suffolk Downs Shuttle
So…I guess Suffolk Downs has a bus service? Yeah, it was really strange when my friend Josh and I walked out of the station (which, incidentally, deserves a higher score than the 3 I gave it) and just saw people boarding a Paul Revere Transportation minibus at a weird pseudo-busway! Yeah, so…let’s look at this shuttle thing.
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| The…”busway”. |
So where does this shuttle even run? Well, it goes from the Suffolk Downs Blue Line station to the clubhouse for the Suffolk Downs track, a distance of 0.3 miles. As you can imagine, it’s not the longest trip in the world. The route boards at a loop on the Waldemar Avenue side of the station that surprisingly has signage!
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| The bus at the loop. |
The minibus wasn’t bad inside. It had a decent number of seats (that probably never get filled), and they were all quite comfortable. The wheelchair lift had a slight bit of jiggling action, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as other minibuses. And of course, the radio was on, but it was pretty quiet.
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| The only decent picture I could get through the rainy windows… |
The trip is…very short. We left the busway and headed down Waldemar Avenue next to the racetrack. It looks like there are actually two Waldemar Aves, but this one is mostly isolated from other streets, and is only within the Suffolk Downs complex. Eventually (by that I mean about 15 seconds later), we entered a parking lot and reached the final stop at the clubhouse, once again with signage! And, uh, that’s it.
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| Not a bad stop! |
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| The bus at the clubhouse. |
Route: Suffolk Downs Shuttle
Ridership: Surprisingly high! I mean, our initial trip got two other people, and every other trip we saw had at least one person. Sure, it’s no 111, but for a minibus, that’s really not bad at all!
Pros: It’s a link to the clubhouse that gets riders, I guess. Also, since the trip is so short, it runs really frequently. A one-way ride is literally a minute, so essentially the route runs every 2-3 minutes! Hey, it’s just one bus, and most trips have at least one person, so I guess I can’t complain.
Cons: Its length, I guess? I mean, the clubhouse is less than a third of a mile away from the station! That said, the ridership seems to consist of all seniors, so I’ll give the route a break.
Nearby and Noteworthy: You’re literally only going to ride this bus if you’re going to Suffolk Downs! So…yeah, Suffolk Downs.
Final Verdict: 8/10
Hey, I mean, it gets the job done, right? It runs frequently, it gets some degree of ridership, and it serves…something. I guess it’s, uh, good!
Latest MBTA News: Service Updates
Boston Express (Video Review)
Our second-ever video review, this time of the Boston Express to New Hampshire! Enjoy!
Boston Express (I-93 Route)
Man, the South Station Bus Terminal is crazy! Our trip to North Londonderry (from which we would get a ride to Transit Day) was my first time getting a bus from the terminal, and it’s all such a mess! But the review of South Station shall come a different day – for now, we’re looking at the Boston Express coach bus to New Hampshire!
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| Okay, evidently it’s hard to take photos in the South Station Bus Terminal… |
The bus was typical coach bus fare, with big relatively comfortable seats. Amenities included tight tray-tables, radios that played mediocre music, a tiny bathroom, and really ugly TV screens showing the destination and bus rules. Keep in mind that this particular trip was run by Concord Coach Lines, so perhaps the actual Boston Express buses are different.
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| Looking toward the front. |
We pulled out of the birth at the lovely time of 6:30 AM and made our way through the dark terminal. Coming out into the light, the sun was just starting to rise, and we got an amazing view of Boston. We travelled down those bus terminal access roads and somehow got onto I-90 (I honestly can’t make heads or tails of how that interchange works). You see, while most trips start at the airport and then go to South Station, we had to start at South Station and essentially deviate to serve the airport.
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| Okay, I could not get good pictures in this lighting! This is from the airport. |
We went through the Ted Williams Tunnel out to East Boston, then popped out and went onto an elevated ramp. This took us to our first stop, Terminal A, where we unfortunately had to wait a while for scheduling purposes. Finally we were able to leave, and after stopping at all the other terminals, we started to depart the airport as the driver gave us a quick rundown of the rules.
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| Goin’ through the toll. |
This time we headed onto the elevated Route 1A, then curved through a toll booth and into the Callahan Tunnel. Coming back into Boston, we merged onto I-93, and about half an hour after leaving South Station, we were finally able to head in the right direction. We went over the Zakim Bridge and then ran down the high elevated highway through Somerville.
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| Kind of a cool view going over the Zakim. |
We returned to ground level as we continued through Somerville, then passed Medford Square later on. The Middlesex Fells Reservation came next, with woods and trees on either side, and then we went through Woburn and crossed I-95. From there, the scenery along the highway was basically forest, although office parks and houses were on side roads that we couldn’t see.
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| Exit 38, I guess. |
Eventually we crossed I-495, and got a great view of the Merrimack River as we crossed over it soon after. This was just about the last frontier in Massachusetts, as we entered New Hampshire just a few exits later. At Exit 2, we merged off the highway, turned onto Pelham Road, and then headed into our first stop: Salem, NH. It was a simple park-and-ride, but it seemed to have a decent building with amenities inside.
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| Leaving the park-and-ride. |
It was a bit of a pain to get out of the park-and-ride – we had to go down Raymond Ave, go around a rotary, then turn onto South Policy Street (which was residential), Pelham Road, and finally merge back onto I-93. It was woods for the next few exits, including Exit 4, which buses serve at rush hour.
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| Wow, that’s some epic fog! |
Eventually we got off at Exit 5, turning onto Rockingham Road. A very deep fog had developed by this point, making for some cool views as we pulled into what would the the route’s last stop, North Londonderry. However, this was technically a Concord Coach trip, so our bus would be going further into New Hampshire.
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| The bus at the lovely North Londonderry stop. |
Boston Express Route: I-93
Ridership: In January 2014, the route got about 33,000 people, or about 1,065 per day. Keep in mind that that’s inbound passengers only, meaning that each inbound trip gets an average of over 31 people! Even my outbound Saturday trip at 6:30 AM got a few riders – sure, it was only about 10-15, but that’s really good considering the time.
Pros: There is so much to like about this route. For one thing, the schedule is great: it’s every hour during non-peak times and on weekends, while during rush hour it operates essentially with every 15 minute service, with each trip stopping at different stops to balance out the ridership. Simply fantastic! Also, the fares are pretty reasonable, charging $14 from Londonderry to South Station, and $13 from Salem. There’s a $4 surcharge to get to the airport, unfortunately, but that makes sense. Fares can either be bought in advance, or upon exiting the bus if you have proper identification. Finally, according to John Arico, who gave us a ride from Londonderry to Transit Day, the proper Boston Express buses are even nicer than the Concord Coach Lines ones!
Cons: Nothing too bad, just some little annoyances with the vehicle and schedule. For example, the screens and radios on the bus weren’t the best, and it was annoying how we had to deviate to serve Logan Airport on that one trip.
Nearby and Noteworthy: There’s nothing much in Londonderry, but you could theoretically take this bus to get to Canobie Lake Park! Granted, it’s a half hour walk from the Salem stop, but it’s possible!
Final Verdict: 9/10
This route provides excellent service for people in southern New Hampshire who commute to Boston. The funny thing is that it doesn’t even serve particularly major cities, yet a bunch of people still use it! Honestly, this route is a prime example as to why we should have Commuter Rail service to New Hampshire, but for now, the Boston Express is still an excellent way of getting to Boston.
Latest MBTA News: Service Updates
Transit Tales: Race for the New Bus!
I was heading home from school at around 5 PM, as usual. The Red Line was apparently experiencing severe delays, but it didn’t impact the trip from Harvard to Porter too badly. Once at Porter, I realized I had just missed the 83, so I figured I would wait for the 77 instead. And then I checked my phone…
14 new messages! All from the group chat with Nathan, Sam, and Jordan! “1778 is on the 47,” Nathan had said at 2:34. “1780 now also on the 47,” he said at 3:18. The new Cabot buses were out??? That was two hours ago! I sent a rather dejected message to the group, lamenting the fact that I hadn’t checked my phone earlier.
Then Nathan sent a message that they were still in service! “YOUHAVETOTAKEITSJAKSOCJSBX-NXBNXAKLLPQPKA,” he said. The character soup gave me newfound vigor to pursue the buses. He said that 1780 was going to do the 5:40 trip on the 47 from Broadway, then go back to the yard upon arrival at Central. I could catch it midroute and get a ride! Sounds easy enough…
Well, turns out those “severe delays” had affected the Red Line pretty badly – it was a 9 minute wait for the next inbound train. I headed back upstairs and saw a 96 coming across the street. Perhaps I could take it to Harvard and then get another bus to Central. Unfortunately, although the road ahead of us was empty, but we got stuck at EVERY DANG RED LIGHT ON MASS AVE! I kept asking Nathan for updates, as my flip phone has no form of bus tracker (obviously).
The bus arrived into Harvard just as a Braintree train was coming in. Fantastic! I could take it to Central and catch an outbound 47 from there. I ran to the platform and jumped onto the train, only to hear “Ladies and gentlemen, we will be standing by here for a few minutes.” Shoot, the Red Line was really screwed up…
Thus, I headed up to the 1 instead. Now, a good life lesson is to never put your trust in the 1, and this slow journey was no exception. Nathan told me that 1780 had left Broadway as my bus slowly looped around Harvard Yard. Luckily, the 47 from Central I was shooting for was very late, so I had time.
We arrived at Central, but there was no sign of the 47. I texted Nathan, and he said there was one in 9 minutes. Well, I figured I could head into Dunkin’ Donuts and get a super quick bite to eat. I had no time to waste! “Excuse me,” said an old lady to the cashier, “Could you help me get the cover off of this coffee?” OH MY GOD PLEASE HURRY UPPPPPPP! Finally, I got my bagel and ran out, saw the 47 at the bus stop, and jumped on just as the driver was about to leave!
Nathan said I could safely take the bus to Comm Ave and be able to grab 1780 back to Central. Sounds good…except we were stuck in horrible traffic on Green Street. Come on, come on, let’s GOOOOOO! As we edged past a packed 70, we finally turned onto Magazine Street and managed to pick up some speed.
Suddenly a new bus pulled around the corner. Oh no! I was too late! Oh wait, it was just 1449 running on the 64. Phew! 1780 was stuck in LMA traffic, so things were looking up. But then, my bus got to the rotary for the BU Bridge. So…much…traffic! I began furiously texting Nathan asking where 1780 was, but no matter what, I was stuck – no more stops until after the bridge.
Finally, we made it over and I hit the stop request button. “It’s close,” Nathan said. “Get to the nearest Central stop.” As I got off at Mountfort Street, stuck at a red light on the other side was…1780. Oh my gosh, she was beautiful! But there was no time to waste – I had to get to the nearest stop! I ran onto Carlton Street, sprinting over the Mass Turnpike and across all six lanes of Comm Ave before reaching the stop just as the bus was approaching. I had made it!
And boy, was it amazing inside. All the poles were yellow, which made for a cool look, and it had a fantastic new bus smell. The announcements were crystal-clear (despite a weird clicking noise that played before and after each one), and it was incredibly smooth and quiet. The wild goose chase had been worth it! I can’t wait for more of these buses to appear.
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| The bus on Comm Ave. |
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| It was packed! |
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| Looking toward the front, once the bus had emptied out at Central. |
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| And the back! |
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| About a million different angles of 1780 at Central. |
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| Finally, here are some excellent shots from Sam of 1780 and 1782 earlier in the day. |
Kingston (Amtrak)
Heyyyyyy…since when did Amtrak change the station name to West Kingston? Well, on its website, at least. I can’t say I head down to this neck of the woods too often, so I’m sure there are other people who would know the answer better than me. Okay, well, Kingston or West Kingston, let’s take a look at this charming station in the middle of Rhode Island. Strange that I got to this before Wickford Junction, isn’t it?
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| Heyyyy, that just says “Kingston”! What gives? |
Ahhh, the building’s exterior is BEAUTIFUL! This station definitely has a vintage feel, which is exemplified by the fact that the building is on the National Register of Historic Places. You wouldn’t expect to have a proper station building out in (essentially) the middle of nowhere like this, but here it is!
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| The parking lot. |
I’m just gonna make a quick deviation before discussing the building to mention the station parking. The Amtrak website says it has 6 short-term parking spaces and 100 long-term ones, but I think the lot does have slightly more (unless people are just really creative at making their own spaces). That still doesn’t seem like that much, but the station does have a relief lot, and parking is free!
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| The station drop-off/pick-up area. |
Kingston has a nice little drop-off/pick-up loop. It features a few bike racks, some newspaper boxes, and two benches. The bus loop is similar, with another two benches and a wastebasket. A shelter would be nice, but one could also wait under the building if they wished. The station is served by two RIPTA bus routes: the 64 to Newport and the 66 to Providence or Galilee.
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| Oh my gosh, I love this building so much! |
The inside of the building is simply amazing, and has all these wonderful little details that make it extra special. Starting out, there’s the fact that the bright room gets lots of natural light from the many windows, while a quaint little chandelier provides a bit of artificial light. The church pew-esque benches are slightly uncomfortable, but they add a bunch of character, too!
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| Who’s that in the mirror? And Sam’s sitting on the bench, for the record. |
One side of the benches face a wall, which features windows and a fantastic full mirror! There are two vending machines, one on each side, which are good if people want a snack while they’re waiting for the train. Along the wall, there are also a bunch of brochures, bus shelters, and luggage tags (although the station has no checked baggage services). Actually, this station is full of random brochures all over the place!
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| Some more amenities. |
Along the wall facing the platform exit, there are some more amenities. The station has both an old-fashioned ticket booth, as well as a Quik-Trak machine for automatic ticket purchasing. Next, there’s a carry-on luggage scale, and next to that is the strangest departure board I’ve ever seen! It’s on a dinosaur TV, with a pretty ugly “Welcome to the historic Kingston railroad station” logo written across the top. The departures themselves look fine, though.
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| The bathroom! |
Yes, the station does indeed feature a bathroom! It’s pretty small, but it keeps the character of the rest of the station, and it didn’t seem too gross! I guess not too many people use it, but hey – a decent bathroom is a decent bathroom.
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| The platforms. |
Kingston’s high-level platforms are brand new, having replaced the previous low-level ones. Neither the northbound nor the southbound sides have much of note on them, aside from some big wastebaskets, typical Providence Line signs (even though we’re not on the Providence Line), and some nice streetlights. After all, most people are going to be waiting in the building, so the platform doesn’t need much seating.
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| Up on the footbridge. |
Of course, since this is an Amtrak station with high-speed trains, one has to use a footbridge to cross the tracks. I really like the architecture of the one at Kingston – it fits the character of the rest of the station. Plus, the inside is enclosed and quite modern and nice!
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| Oh no… |
One of the elevators was out of order at the time, and the other one was…less than impressive. It was in pretty bad shape, although I think these elevators were in place before Kingston’s renovation, so they’ll probably see improvements (maybe that’s why the other one was out of order). And for the love of God, please get rid of the comic sans button labels…ech!
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| A train comin’ in! |
Finally, it’s worth noting that Kingston is one of two places on the Northeast Corridor where the Acela goes 150 MPH! However, I personally think it’s more exhilarating at Mansfield than here, maybe because the awful mini-high there makes the train feel like it’s passing through faster. Also, Mansfield is right on the Providence Line, while Kingston is really far away! I did get an Acela video, for the record, but it was really shaky and bad, and there’s not much point in putting it up here.
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| A different train…on the wrong track! |
Station: Kingston
Ridership: This is the second-busiest Amtrak station in Rhode Island! …Okay, so there are only three Amtrak stations in the state, but Kingston still gets good ridership – 156,412 riders annually (and rising each year), or a little less than 430 per day. Keep in mind that we’re talking about a long-distance service at a station in the middle of nowhere!
Pros: Oh my gosh, I’ve never been to a middle-of-nowhere station with so many amenities and so much character. Heck, I’ve never been to a station period with so many amenities and so much character! Sam and I were stuck here for multiple hours (don’t ask), but it was still an enjoyable experience thanks to the lovely building. The new high-level platform makes it much easier and faster for trains to board, too.
Cons: Well, I can only assume the elevators will be fixed. Other than that, the fares here are pretty expensive. Yes, I know it’s the Northeast Corridor, but $16.00 for the morning commute to Providence seems a little pricey (and that’s only if you pay in advance). The 66 is double the time, but only an eighth of the price!
Nearby and Noteworthy: URI is pretty close, but I would recommend taking the bus from here rather than walking for two miles. Other than that, there isn’t much around the station that doesn’t require taking a car or bus to get to.
Final Verdict: 9/10
I’ve slowly been falling in love with this station whilst writing this review. That building is so charming it’s ridiculous! If only most Commuter Rail stations had this many amenities! The high-level platform is a very welcome addition, as well. The only true complaint I have with the station is its elevators, which I assume are being fixed – the whole fare thing is more Amtrak’s fault than the station’s. So yeah, overall, I would give Kingston a visit if you’re interested in old station buildings and are willing to head out a pretty long distance to find one!
Latest MBTA News: Service Updates