Malden Center

Mar 21, 2015 | | 0 Comments

Malden Center is the undisputed hub of the northern Orange Line. The subway station is accompanied by a huge number of buses, as well as a Commuter Rail station. It’s also elevated! However, brutalist architecture is very present here…uh-oh.

The Orange Line platform, as seen from the Commuter Rail platform.
There is a lot of concrete at Malden Center, and the platform is no exception. I think it looks really ugly, though the whole thing is sheltered. They even have pay phones right on the platform, which is convenient, even though probably no one uses them. An annoying and possibly dangerous aspect of this station is the fact that it’s an island platform, with a very small space to wait in some cases. This station can get busy, so it’s important to watch where you walk here.
The crowded mezzanine.
The mezzanine is functional, for sure. It has a good amount of fare gates and machines, and is big and open with room to wait for trains if it’s cold outside. There’s one of those stands that would normally carry all the MBTA bus schedules, but for some reason it only has the Malden Center routes here. The mezzanine also has a little flower stand, which is really nice. In terms of aesthetics, though, this mezzanine is lacking.
The barren Commuter Rail platform.
The Commuter Rail platform is parallel to the Orange Line one, and serves both inbound and outbound trains on a single track. This one is also entirely concrete, making it just as ugly as its subway counterpart. It also has just two benches, making much of the platform just barren concrete.
A train coming in.
A staircase leads from the Commuter Rail platform to street level, but it’s emergency exit only – all passengers have to use the one that goes to the mezzanine. The latter is nice, though, with bright orange walls. There’s also an elevator for the Commuter Rail platform, but it had some…unique smells inside.
The smaller west busway.
Malden Center has two busways, but signage is either nonexistent or just not very obvious. The west busway is the smaller one, with four routes serving it. It’s pretty simple, with a shelter and a few benches. This side of the station also has a “Pedal and Park” bike facility, as well as a small parking lot.
The east busway.
The bulk of Malden Center’s bus routes go to the east busway, on the other side of the station. Like any busway with lots of routes, it can be confusing. Though it’s easy to navigate, actually finding the route you want is a different story. As a busway, it’s pretty nice, with lots of sheltered seating.
A train leaving the station.
Another train, also leaving.
Station: Malden Center
Ridership: Being an intermodal station, Malden Center gets lots of ridership. On the average weekday, this station gets 12,686 riders! I assume a lot of them are transferring from other modes, though there’s good local ridership here, too. As for the Commuter Rail, I know the station gets 80 inbound riders per weekday, and probably more outbound.
Pros: There are lots of transfers to be made here, which is great. And the station has amenities for sure, the flower shop in the mezzanine being a particularly nice touch. It’s elevated, too, which is always fantastic.
Cons: But the station has some really ugly brutalist architecture. There’s just concrete everywhere. It’s a really ugly place. Plus, the platform gets really small in certain places.
Nearby and Noteworthy: The area in the immediate vicinity of the station isn’t much, and you have to make a short walk to Main Street to reach civilization. An interesting exception to this is the Pearl Street Restaurant, which is a bit north of the station – it’s in the old station building that used to be here!
Final Verdict: 6/10
It’s a functional station, that’s for sure. This is a huge hub between the Orange Line, the Commuter Rail, and a bunch of buses. The problem is that it’s so ugly. Brutalist style is a really awful-looking kind of architecture, and Malden Center demonstrates that awfulness quite nicely. In addition, the small amount of space at parts of the platform can be potentially dangerous.
Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

Revere Beach

Mar 15, 2015 | | 1 Comment

Revere Beach is a really weird station. It has a lot of strange little oddities that really make it super unique. Also, it’s the last station on the Blue Line to be reviewed on this blog, at least until Government Center opens! It’s too bad, because the Blue Line has some of the best stations on the system (including the best, in terms of review score), though Suffolk Downs isn’t one of those. I’m gonna miss you, Blue Line. But here’s one last review before we part…

Looking at the platforms from Beach Street.

For one thing, Revere Beach has a very urban feel, which is kind of odd for the above-ground portion of the Blue Line. The platforms are squished in between a building and a wall, with the mezzanine crossing on top of them. Looking at the platform from the side, you can see the odd design in the shelters that looks pretty artsy – they have a few shapes cut out of them, as you can see above. And those shapes go down the whole length of the shelter.

On the platform.

Pretty much all of the platform is sheltered by either the mezzanine or those interesting shelters. Its colors are unique, too, from simple grays to shades of yellow and green. Revere Beach also has the same Blue Line history artwork running along its floor as Beachmont, adding more colors to the mix!

It may be emergency exit only, but lots of people use this exit, anyway.

The Beach Street exit is another weird aspect of this station. For one thing, it’s supposedly emergency exit only, but people still use it. It also has a turnstile, but no one seems to use that, opting for the emergency door instead. Also, someone could easily get into the door and get onto the platform without paying, which is really annoying.

The station’s main entrance.

After leaving onto Beach Street, I took a walk to Revere Beach, which required crossing two busy roads. On my way back, I figured I’d have to go in through the main entrance, so I headed back a little further down Beach Street. To get to the entrance, there’s a nice pedestrian path, as well as a T logo on Beach Street so people know where the station is. Finally, a station that gets it right! The entrance itself is really modern-looking.

The shiny mezzanine.

The mezzanine is fantastic! It’s really clean and spacious, and very modern. Everything seems to be mirrored, particularly the amazing ceiling. There are even some payphones here, as well as bus schedules for the three buses that serve this station.

Love the wooden doors!

From the mezzanine, I noticed a doorway leading to a third exit. The door opened up to another, mostly shiny room, though with a brick wall on one side. This room led to two wooden doors, after which both walls became brick. All of this ended up at a waiting room for a hospital! I was surprised, and felt a bit awkward there.

Oh, yeah, this entrance just screams “train station”.

I decided to head out of the waiting room to see where the entrance actually ended up. And it turned out it was a building I walked right by when going back to the station from Revere Beach! It has no signage whatsoever, and looks like just a boring old building. Maybe the entrance is supposed to be exclusive for hospital patients? I don’t know, but it’s a lot easier for those going to Revere Beach than traveling all the way around to the main entrance.

The mezzanine, now in fare control.

I went back to the mezzanine, going through the fare gates. Now, usually the area past the fare gates doesn’t deserve any special mention, but this one is awesome! It has more shiny ceilings and walls, a cool pattern on the floor, wastebaskets, and a big window looking over the station platform. It’s rare to see this much stuff past the fare gates!

Even the staircase is cool!

Walking to the outbound platform, I found yet another oddity. The hallway turns left towards a staircase (which is cool anyway, thanks to some artwork and a curving glass window/ceiling), and there are Dunkin’ Donuts signs at that turn. I assumed it was just advertising, but I looked over the signs and saw right into the kitchen of the Dunkin’ Donuts next door! This station just gets cooler and cooler, doesn’t it?

Next stop, Wonderland.

Station: Revere Beach

Ridership: Not bad, at least for the Blue Line. The station gets about 3,200 riders per weekday, and probably more during the summer. When it’s not the summer, I assume most of those riders are either locals from the area or hospital workers.

Pros: For one thing, it’s just a nice station – modern, clean, and accessible. But also, it has so many weird, unique aspects to it that make it one of the most interesting stations on the system.

Cons: Two major cons: firstly, the hospital entrance could really use some signage on the outside, as it’s much closer to the beach than the main entrance. Also, why would you even use this station to get to the beach when Wonderland has the pedestrian bridge over Ocean Ave? Seriously, Wonderland is so much more accessible for beachgoers than Revere Beach is (which is ironic, considering the latter’s name).

Nearby and Noteworthy: I’m not the biggest Revere Beach fan (the beach itself, not the station), but being able to ride the subway up to the beach is such a great thing to be able to do. Wonderland is better for getting to the beach, though.

Final Verdict: 9/10
This high score goes against my better judgement. However, although it has a few issues, just look at how unique this station is! It has so many weird oddities that really set it apart from other Blue Line stations, and other MBTA stations in general. If you’re into strange, unique stations, Revere Beach is absolutely worth a visit.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

Orient Heights

Mar 14, 2015 | | 2 Comments

Orient Heights Station was a mess. It wasn’t accessible, and it was literally falling apart. Finally, in 2013, the MBTA gave it a much-needed renovation. But does that mean the aesthetics are good? Well, let’s find out.

The platform.

Okay, so I have to say, I wasn’t a fan of this station’s aesthetics when I visited. But having just reviewed Wood Island, Orient Heights looks pretty good in comparison! So I could be a bit influenced by that in this review. We’ll see…

And under the platform’s shelter.

I think the platform itself is kind of a mixed bag. I like the reflective pillars, and the whole platform is sheltered. But the steel shelters are ugly, and those stupid Suffolk Downs fences are ever-present on the outbound side. Also, there are a few emergency exits along the platform. That’s certainly a good thing, but what’s really annoying is that it seems like they’re very popular for fare dodgers, since they lead right onto the platform.

Another shot of the platform.

On the inbound side of the platform, the fences get replaced by some nice glass panels. This station also has some of those pointless bench shelters! They’re the ones where the benches are already sheltered by the station, yet they get their own little room, anyway. I think this might be the only station on the Blue Line that has these.

The station’s footbridge.

To get between sides of the station, there are two footbridges. Well, they’re enclosed in the same structure, but separated by a fence – one is within fare control and the other is outside. With this footbridge, they use actual windows, so you can see the trains coming in from up there!

This one was taken about a year ago. But look at all those solar panels!

From the footbridge, you can also see the station’s solar panels. 20% of the station’s power needs are provided by these bad boys, which produce 100 kilowatts of energy. Apparently Orient Heights is a really energy-efficient station as a whole, so says this informative, albeit kinda pretentious PDF. And in the PDF, they spelled “sustainable” as “sustainabile”, which is hilarious.

Looks like one of that train’s doors is broken.

Another interesting thing about this station is that it doesn’t have any mezzanines. There’s a busway on the Bennington Street side, and from it are fare gates that lead right into the platform. I think this sort of layout is unique to Orient Heights, which makes it all the more interesting. Of course, that also makes this a “screw you” station, where you can see the train waiting there as you enter the station, but there’s not much you can do about that.

The Bennington Street busway.

The Bennington Street busway is served by the 120, which is the only true MBTA bus that serves this station. It’s a nice busway, a simple road paralleling Bennington Street. It has another bench shelter, as well as countdown clocks for Blue Line trains! I love when there are countdown clocks in busways!

The Saratoga Street busway.

On the other side of the station is the Saratoga Street busway. This is where the 712/713 contracted buses to Winthrop stop. It’s scaled down from the Bennington Street one, including with the number of fare gates, but it’s still fine. Now, something I didn’t realize when I visited Orient Heights is that it actually has a pretty large parking lot. The lot is right next to the Blue Line yard (there’s a big train yard here), and has 434 spaces! I can’t believe I didn’t notice this before!

Snowy…
I’m honestly not sure if the snowy picture above is at Orient Heights or not, so here’s another one that I know was taken at the station.



Station: Orient Heights

Ridership: I was really expecting this to be higher. The station gets 2,833 riders per weekday, which makes it the third-worst station on the above-ground section of the Blue Line in terms of ridership. I mean, this station is the “gateway” station into Winthrop, and has a sizeable residential area around it! I was really expecting more riders.

Pros: Okay, so this station is actually pretty nice. And I’m gonna be honest, it’s pretty good aesthetically. It’s also really energy efficient, and has a really big parking lot considering its ridership. For a Blue Line station, the bus connections are plenty.

Cons: The emergency exits on the platforms need to be a little better at keeping people out, since I saw a lot of people coming into the station through them when I was here. Also, I guess there are a few aesthetic decisions I don’t really like, but on a whole the station looks nice.

Nearby and Noteworthy: I have a friend that used to live in this area who could probably give a few noteworthy businesses. That said, he doesn’t read this blog, and I don’t know anything about the area, so…sorry.

Final Verdict: 7/10
Overall, I guess I do like this station! I wasn’t expecting it to get an especially high score, but a seven is pretty good. I think my real problem with this station is that it’s still generic in terms of looks. There’s nothing here that makes it stand out from the crowd (except for the fare gate layout, which isn’t that noteworthy). But I guess I do like Orient Heights after all.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

Wood Island

Mar 14, 2015 | | 1 Comment

A blog post?! Gee, it’s been so long since the last one, I hope I still remember how to write these…

Yes, I’ve been super busy lately and haven’t been able to write. But I finally have another station review, as we take a look at a really generic Blue Line station, Wood Island!
It’s been a while since this picture was taken.
The platforms are pretty stark. I don’t like the steel shelters running along most of their lengths (though the outbound one has an open-air section). One can step further into shelter, due to a “room” to the side of the platform. I like the bricks in here, though there’s a little too much concrete.
Is that a “wet floor” sign? I don’t remember the floor being too wet…
As I arrived on the outbound platform, I wanted to cross over to the other side so I could see the main mezzanine. That “room” to the side of the platform I mentioned also has stairs that lead up to a footbridge to the other side. Aesthetically, it was fine, being clean and wide. I don’t like those weird glass panels they always use for these footbridges, though, because they don’t let you look out and see the trains coming in from above.
The mezzanine.
The mezzanine is actually pretty nice. The brick architecture is good-looking and the ceiling is really high, though once again there’s a little too much concrete for my liking. Also, those awful fences from Suffolk Downs make a return here. In terms of fare gates, there are enough, considering the ridership this station gets.
I guess this is the best busway picture I could get.
Outside, the station’s busway is a simple loop. Passengers get dropped off right in front of the entrance, then buses pick people up further down a platform (seen in the picture above). It was nice, with brick architecture once again. I didn’t like the little stone benches, however.
Nobody was using the bike shelter, and for good reason…
Though there’s no parking for cars, there is a small bike shelter with 10 spaces. It was covered with snow when I was here, but I assume it’s well used on normal days. This entrance leads out to Bennington Street, which has a problem I’ve been seeing a lot lately: no MBTA signs. I mean, yeah, you can see the station from the street, but still! It doesn’t really look like a train station from a distance.
I assume most of this snow has melted by now.
The entrance on the other side of the station is a bit weirder. For one thing, it leads out to an industrial street that seems to be mostly airport buildings. For another, it doesn’t have a mezzanine. Sure, you can leave the station here from the outbound platform, but getting in is a different story. You have to cross over a different footbridge, this one out of fare control, then come in through the main mezzanine. That seems really annoying, especially since there’s room for a small mezzanine on this side. That said, I can’t imagine that many people actually using this entrance.
Goodbye, train!
Station: Wood Island
Ridership: Oooh…not good. This station has the second-worst ridership of the above-ground Blue Line stations, with only about 2,500 riders per day (the worst is Suffolk Downs). In fact, this station has the 10th worst ridership in the entire system! So, yeah, not many people use Wood Island.
Pros: Parts of the station are nice, like the mezzanine and the footbridges. I also like the busway, and this station has some good bus connections for the Blue Line – the 112, 120, and part-time 121 all stop here.
Cons: I don’t like a large portion of the station’s architecture. The bricks look good, but the steel and concrete are terrible! Also, the footbridge situation with the smaller entrance is annoying, but I’ll bet barely anyone uses that entrance, anyway.
Nearby and Noteworthy: It seems like you need to walk a bit down Bennington Street to get to businesses. I don’t know anything specific, but I did find an interesting oddity when looking at the area on Google Maps. Next to the station, there’s a street called Frankfort Street that has just one triple-deck apartment on it, surrounded by a park! The apartment looks so lonely and out of place there.
Final Verdict: 5/10
This is a pretty boring, generic station. Sure, it’s not grossly unclean or insanely ugly or anything, but just…boring. And it’s not like it’s a major station – quite the contrary, in fact. I guess I don’t not like Wood Island, but I don’t like it.
Latest MBTA News: Service Updates
As compensation for its performance during the blizzard, the MBTA is offering a free fare day on April 24. The whole system will be free to ride, even the Commuter Rail! They will also be giving discounted monthly passes for May.

Airport

Mar 1, 2015 | | 1 Comment

Being a Red Line user, the Silver Line is the much more efficient way of getting to the airport for me. But for Blue, Orange, and Green Line (before Government Center was closed) users, Airport Station is more direct. And most tourists would probably use the station too. Luckily for them, this place is fantastic.

Just look at this platform! It’s beautiful!

I love the platform – the whole thing is sheltered. Not only that, but the ceiling is really high. It’s very well lit, with lots of natural light getting in (the line is above ground here). There’s lots of historical information lining the walls, and quite a few benches, too. Things seem to end up in the rafters a lot, though.

The center of the platform.

In the center of the platform, the ceilings get very high to accommodate two footbridges. They go between the main mezzanine and the Bremen Street entrance – one within fare control and one outside. This center portion has some really high windows, which have some cool artwork on them. And we can’t forget about how Blue Line trains switch power at Airport!

The beautiful main mezzanine.

The main mezzanine is huge. It has a bunch of fare gates, anticipating huge crowds. Aside from schedules for every bus route on the system, there’s also a handy-dandy board showing departures to and arrivals from the airport. It does have an abundance of airline ads, but there are also these really cool payphones that look like rocket capsules about to take off. Also, there are some really random brochures. Why is there a brochure for Toronto at Boston’s airport?

The busway.

The busway where the airport shuttle buses pick up is pretty simple. It’s a simple shelter running down the length of a sidewalk. There are some benches along it, too. The busway has a second lane, which is unsheltered and only meant for buses dropping people off. Airport Station is also served by the early-morning 171 bus, and once they build the Silver Line to Chelsea, that will be stopping here, too.

The much smaller Bremen Street mezzanine.

The station’s second entrance is on the other side. Its mezzanine is much less grand than the main one, with only two fare gates. That’s not to say it’s dirty or ugly, though. Indeed, this whole station is really modern and clean. The Bremen Street entrance probably doesn’t get as much use, though, so only two fare gates are necessary.

It’s so big!

The station looks really big if you look at it from the Bremen Street side. This entrance leads to a pedestrian path that goes over and under two highways, and into a nice-looking park. This then goes to a residential neighborhood, though unfortunately there’s no T symbol outside the park.

You can see the portal in the background.

UPDATE 4/22/18: The SL3 stops here now, so I figured I would update this review to talk about that part of the station. This is copied and pasted from my SL3 stations review:
Alright, it would appear that Airport Station didn’t get any kind of modernization. So…we’ve still got poles with paint peeling, rusting benches that have been here for years, and maps that don’t even say that the SL3 exists. (UPDATE 4/24/18: the maps have been updated!) Our one indication that a bus stops here is the smallest berth signs ever that hang from the roof of the shelter.

Oh…uh…hmm…

Station: Airport

Ridership: As you might expect, this station gets pretty high ridership for the Blue Line. Its 7,429 daily riders make it the second-busiest non-transfer Blue Line station. And not all these people are going to the airport – there are also residents of nearby neighborhoods who use this station.

Pros: I mean, I just love everything about this station. It’s all sheltered, it’s beautiful, and the mezzanine has some fantastic amenities. It’s annoying that you have to take a shuttle bus to get to the airport itself, but imagine how expensive it would be to give the airport direct train service. The shuttle buses run pretty frequently, anyway, and this is the most direct link for those who use the Blue, Green, and Orange Lines.

Cons: I just wish there was a T logo on Bremen Street. How expensive can it be to put simple signs up?

Nearby and Noteworthy: The airport, I guess. There are some businesses along nearby Bennington Street, too.

Final Verdict: 9/10
Airport Station is beautiful. I love all the station’s aesthetics, and it has some great amenities in the main mezzanine. Something I didn’t mention was the elevator in the mezzanine that was double the size of a normal elevator, which was amazing to discover! I just wish there was a sign on Bremen Street, but I guess you can’t have everything. Even though a sign wouldn’t be too hard to install!
UPDATE 4/22/18: Since the Silver Line station is technically part of Airport, this score should really be dropped to something like a 7/10, so…yeah…
UPDATE 6/23/19: But now the berth signs are bigger! I dunno, a 7 seems unfair, the score should be updated to an 8/10.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates
An increase in schoolwork recently means I won’t be able to post nearly as much as I was doing before. I’ll probably be able to one or two posts a week, hopefully. Sorry, everyone.

Service Change: Logan Airport Shuttle – Route 33

Feb 21, 2015 | | 1 Comment

Massport runs a few free shuttle bus routes within Logan Airport (for the full list, click here). The one I took was the 33, which goes from Terminals C and E to the Blue Line Airport Station. The bus itself was really nice – it was pretty much the same as the Back Bay Logan Express, except articulated. So basically, 2 times cooler.

I took it from Terminal E, and the route was quite simple. Leaving the terminal, we passed a gas station, then headed down Service Road. We went by some industrial buildings, and arrived at the station busway shortly thereafter. So, yeah, there wasn’t much to talk about… review of Airport Station coming soon!

Blurry…
The inside.
Looking up towards the front.
I had to get a bus inception picture, but this one is terrible!
The bus, presumably going back to the terminals.
They even have countdown clocks! This one’s at the Blue Line station.
A better picture of one of the buses.

Service Change: Back Bay Logan Express

Feb 21, 2015 | | 0 Comments

Recently, Massport began running a bus route from the Hynes Convention Center and Copley Square to Logan Airport. It’s free if you have a CharlieCard, but if you lack one (presumably like most people who would use this bus), it costs five dollars one way. Is it worth the cost? Well, not if you take it during rush hour…

The sign at Hynes.
That sliding front door is amazing!
The front of the bus.

I got on at the Hynes Convention Center (note that it leaves from the convention center, not the Green Line station). The service runs every 20 minutes, which is a pretty good headway. After waiting on one bus for a few minutes, they transferred everyone to another one (for some reason) and soon we were off.

The inside was very swanky. The seats were mostly sideways-facing (boo!), but there were some forward-facing ones in the back. There was a luggage rack, as well as a screen up front that said the date, time, and next stop. An automatic announcer said the names of the stops, and he sounded really soothing. “Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride” was a nice touch. But if I had actually been trying to catch a flight, this ride would’ve been anything but enjoyable.

I love it!
The ads were all airport-related stuff.
No room for an “A” to properly abbreviate “station.”
Not a good time to go to the airport, evidently.

We headed down Boylston Street, going by lots of businesses and apartments. The Boston Public Library signified that we were in Copley Square, and a few more people got on here. We then turned onto Clarendon Street, and then onto Saint James Ave, now heading westward. After that, we merged onto I-90 – away from the airport!

Yes, the reason the ride took so long is that the bus goes down I-90 all the way out to Allston, then turns around and heads back toward the airport. Although this is more or less the most efficient route coming back from the airport, there are more direct ways to get to the airport from Copley Square. Regardless, this is what the bus does, so we were stuck with it.

Leaving the I-90 tunnel through Copley Square, we passed Fenway Park and B.U., then got a nice view when the highway went elevated. We then used a handy-dandy turnaround road to go back eastward, and headed back the way we came.

Assorted buildings.
The Boston skyline!

This is where we hit traffic. It took forever just to get back to where we started, and we still had to get to the airport! Coming out of the Copley Square tunnel on the eastern side, we soon entered another tunnel, the Ted Williams. After about 50 million hours of sitting in traffic, the eventual spotting of daylight certainly lifted my spirits.

We came out onto an elevated road, which made a tight 180 degree turn around, and we soon entered Terminal A. From there, we went through the Terminal B parking garage, as well as through Terminal C, and I got off at Terminal E. Looking at the bus, it now had nothing on the destination board – perhaps it was going to go around the airport again to pick people up. I do know that the trip is scheduled to take 20 minutes, but for me, it took 50. I’d take the Silver Line anyday (though actually, that would’ve gotten stuck in the same Ted Williams Tunnel traffic jam).

I see planes and automobiles, but no trains.

Landsdowne (Yawkey)

Feb 20, 2015 | | 1 Comment

UPDATE 4/8/2019: Yeah, this station’s called Landsdowne now. Nothing else has changed, so I’m just gonna keep the review as is. Carry on.

This station’s kinda weird. Tucked away behind a parking lot on Brookline Ave, Yawkey was originally opened just for ball games. It was even more hidden then, with only a tiny mini-high platform. The station began to be served regularly by peak-hour trains in 2001. Last year, a brand new Yawkey Station was opened with high-level platforms, and now all trains stop there. Does the station seem all that modern, though? Let’s take a look.

Looking at the station from the parking lot.

I think the parking lot next to the station is an all-purpose lot most times and a Fenway Park lot game days. It’s kind of cool in that it has a bunch of big numbers in it – I believe they represent different Red Sox players. There’s a T logo visible from the parking lot, but none on Brookline Ave, for some reason.

The second entrance from Beacon Street.

Does Yawkey want to be a “hidden gem” or something? Because it does not want to let people know it exists. The entrances on Beacon Street are simple staircases leading down to each platform. Their only indication that they lead to a train station is this tiny black sign that says “Yawkey.” Good advertising, MBTA.

At least they thought to put some T logos up on the platform.

The station has an interesting layout, with two side platforms facing the same direction. These are connected by a big overpass, which will also connect to a development once it’s built (the station will also be entirely solar-powered when the development is finished). As for the platform itself, it’s mostly open air, with a sheltered portion near the overpass. The shelter is really stark and bland, though.

Ugh.

Ditto for the overpass. There’s a lot of steel and concrete everywhere that doesn’t do the station any favors aesthetically. There are two elevators for each platform, which is more than enough based on this station’s ridership. That said, the ridership is expected to increase when the development opens up.

Nice view from the overpass. No train pictures, unfortunately.

Station: Yawkey

Ridership: Well, the Blue Book isn’t much use because it only counts inbound riders (21, if you were wondering). Yawkey’s Wikipedia page says the station had 585 daily riders in 2007, but that doesn’t mean much now that it’s 2015. Anyway, regular commuters here are usually headed for Kenmore, B.U., or the Longwood Medical Area.

Pros: It’s nice that there’s a station for commuters to the above locations. And this is a good option for people out west coming into Boston to see a baseball game. Yawkey is fully accessible with the renovation.

Cons: It’s so bland, though! I would never guess that this station is brand new! And while the Beacon Street entrance isn’t so bad since you can clearly see the station from there, Brookline Ave really needs some signage. This station is tucked away otherwise.

Nearby and Noteworthy: Fenway Park, and lots of bars and sports-related restaurants..

Final Verdict: 5/10
This is definitely a useful station, and it’s great that it’s here. But Yawkey has a lot of issues in terms of signage and aesthetics. It’s so hard to find! And so boring and stark! Maybe it’ll look better when they build that development? We’ll see…

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

Chestnut Hill

Feb 20, 2015 | | 1 Comment

Too much to review, too little time. I have a non-MBTA bus to write about, and that’ll certainly come out at some point, but I figured I’d get a few stations done first. Since I just reviewed the 60, here’s Chestnut Hill, the closest station to that bus. And being a D Line station, it’s pretty nice.

That wastebasket is convenient.

Chestnut Hill has two entrances. The first and more obvious one is on Hammond Street, which is mostly residential (though there are a few malls on Boylston Street to the south). It features a T symbol, a station sign, and a strangely-placed wastebasket.

A nice path for sure, but how am I supposed to know there’s a train station here?

The second entrance is on Middlesex Road. There’s a school and a post office near this entrance, but it’s much less obvious. It’s just a small path with admittedly cool streetlights along it. It doesn’t even have a T symbol on Middlesex Road! How is anyone supposed to know it’s there?

Not the best vantage point.

Chestnut Hill’s parking lot is pretty big for a local station – it has 70 spaces. There’s a big sign with lots of taped over and added sections that explains how the parking works. The system seems pretty old fashioned, with manual coin slots. I believe this is the norm for the D Line, though. The station also has a sheltered bike area, with eight spaces.

Lots of snow buildup on the platform.

The platform is as nice as any other D Line platform. It doesn’t have much on the outbound side, which makes sense this far west. On the inbound side, there’s a classic wooden shelter, painted green. There’s also one of those heated CharlieCard shelters, and an old, gross, glass shelter. It was a really quiet, tranquil wait for the train, another standard of the D.

The D Line looks so good in the snow!

Station: Chestnut Hill

Ridership: Pretty standard ridership for the D – about 1,400 boardings per weekday. These are mostly just local riders from surrounding residential areas, though some people may use the station for access to the malls to the south.

Pros: It’s a standard D Line station, so I really like it. It has a sizeable parking lot, and the platform has that tranquil D Line feel to it.

Cons: The entrance on Middlesex Road could really use some signage. Even a T symbol would be fine. Also, I really wish the yellow line on the platform was a bit clearer. In its current faded state, I couldn’t tell where the platform began and where it ended!

Nearby and Noteworthy: The malls to the south are the most you’ll get around here in terms of retail. The post office looked nice, but you know, it’s a post office.

Final Verdict: 7/10
All these D Line stations seem to be getting short reviews and 7’s across the board. Chestnut Hill has some flaws, namely a lack of signage and an unclear yellow line on the platform (which admittedly could mean the difference between getting run over by a train or not). However, that D Line tranquility always wins me over…

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

60 (Chestnut Hill – Kenmore Station via Brookline Village and Cypress Street)

Feb 20, 2015 | | 0 Comments

Man, there are a lot more buses that I rode but didn’t review than I thought. The 60 is yet another one of these – I rode the 60 a few years ago, but didn’t review it because I didn’t have any pictures of it. Well, I’ve got some pictures now, so it’s time to take a trip out to Chestnut Hill.

Come on, Foodler! You’ve already monopolized so much MBTA ad space! You had to go and get yourself a bus, didn’t you?
I boarded the bus on Brookline Ave a little south of Kenmore, but there was only one other person on board. We continued down Brookline Ave, passing the Landmark Center mall and entering the Longwood Medical Area. After going by lots of hospitals, we went through a bit of the Emerald Necklace, then turned onto Pearl Street in Brookline Village.
For some reason, the 60 is the only bus that goes right by Brookline Village Station on Pearl Street. I don’t know why the 65 and 66 stay on Washington Street, since they essentially bypass the station that way. Anyway, we then turned onto High Street, which was a suburban residential neighborhood. After a sudden steep hill (where the driver floored it, of course), we made a sharp turn onto Cypress Street. It was still residential, but now the houses were much closer together.
There were a few businesses on the corner of Boylston Street (Route 9), which we turned onto. We sped past two schools, some apartments, and the Brookline Reservoir on this pseudo-highway. After a connection with the 51 and a few houses and offices, the road got more rural-feeling. We went through forest, with some fun hills to boot. When the houses came back, they were very well-concealed from the highway, so it still felt rural.
Then all of a sudden…civilization! And lots of it. We left the highway and went through this mall-type thing called The Street, which had stores, restaurants, and a movie theater. After that, we returned to the highway then almost instantly turned off again, onto Hammond Pond Parkway. This road twisted its way through lots of trees, and eventually led to The Mall at Chestnut Hill.
This is the last stop on the route, but I had been hoping the bus would just continue from there. Unfortunately, everyone else got off, and the driver yelled at me. “Where are you going?” Now that I think about it, he looked pretty similar to the driver of the 8… Too bad he didn’t use that pointless “book” analogy.
Anyway, my destination was Hammond Street, so I could walk to Chestnut Hill Station. We had passed it already, but I wanted to go all the way to the mall! The driver didn’t seem too upset, luckily, and after picking up a few people, we left the mall.
The 60 actually goes a little further west before heading back to Kenmore. We returned to Route 9, going by some apartment towers. We then turned onto Jackson Street and made a full-speed u-turn to get to the eastbound side of Route 9. The bus stayed on the highway going back, and I got off at Hammond Street.
Come on, Foodler! That face looks ridiculous.
Route: 60 (Chestnut Hill – Kenmore Station via Brookline Village and Cypress Street)
Ridership: There were about 15-20 people on my ride. Surprisingly, they got on at various places along the route, and only one person got on at Kenmore. Most people got off at The Street or The Mall at Chestnut Hill. The route gets pretty low ridership overall, with about 1,400 riders per weekday, 725 per Saturday, and 375 per Sunday.
Pros: The 60 serves quite a lot of Brookline and gives it a link to The Mall at Chestnut Hill. And on the Route 9 section, this bus travels fast. It’s a quick ride out to Newton. The 60 also has a mostly good schedule: about every 15-25 minutes rush hours, and every half hour during the day and on Saturdays.
Cons: Well, it’s every hour nights and every 70 minutes Sundays. I don’t have any other issues with the 60, though.
Nearby and Noteworthy: The malls out at the end of the route seemed to be pretty busy. Last time I took the 60, I remember going into a Star Market (part of The Street) that had really cool escalators. Or something like that.
Final Verdict: 7/10
The 60 serves as a really quick link out to the malls along Route 9. It runs often for the most part, but nobody shops at night, anyway. The Sunday schedule is gripe-worthy, but the 60 is one of the worst MBTA buses for Sunday ridership, so…
Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

55 (Jersey and Queensberry – Copley Square or Park and Tremont Streets via Ipswich Street)

Feb 19, 2015 | | 1 Comment

The 55 is an odd little route. Running between Park Street (or Copley Square nights and weekends) and the quiet West Fens neighborhood south of Kenmore Square, it’s certainly a “locals-only” route. Weirder still is that almost all of the 55 runs along with the Green Line, the only unique portion being a small loop around West Fens. Let’s take a closer look.

It’s hard to tell if there’s a proper bus stop at Park Street Station, so I was waiting at a marked stop further down Tremont Street. The bus was already five minutes late when it stopped back at the station (I guess there is a stop there), but then the driver turned off the vehicle. It sat there for about 10 minutes before finally turning on again and heading down Tremont Street. I have no idea why the driver decided to do an unscheduled layover, but whatever..

Hurry up! And fix your destination board!

There was a lot of traffic, and it took quite a while to get down Tremont Street. We passed Boylston Station, then went a block south of the Boston Common, getting into the Theatre District a bit. Turning onto Stuart Street, we went by some restaurants and a cool-looking glass building. We turned onto Charles Street South a block later, and then after another block we turned onto Park Plaza.

Going inbound, the 55 is right alongside the Public Garden (as well as the Green Line), but the outbound route is a block away. The street became Saint James Ave and we passed both John Hancock Buildings, then entered Copley Square. We turned onto Huntington Ave, then Belvidere Street, going by the Prudential Center.

Turning onto Boylston Street, we went over the Mass Turnpike, and the buildings turned to smaller apartments. We turned onto Ipswich Street, which went right next to the Turnpike and under the Charlesgate bridge. On the other side, we passed by Fenway Park, then came back onto Boylston Street, where some new apartments are being built.

See that blurry thing? That’s the Fenway Park parking garage! Wow!

We turned onto Kilmarnock Street, entering a cute neighborhood with lots of brownstones. We then turned onto Queensberry Street, which was already narrow without massive snowbanks on either side. It was a bit of a challenge getting through here. Jersey and Queensbury is technically the last stop, but I stayed on for one more so I could catch the 60 on Brookline Ave. Review of that coming soon…

What a nice neighborhood.

Route: 55 (Jersey and Queensberry – Copley Square or Park and Tremont Streets via Ipswich Street)

Ridership: Like I said, this is a very local route. There were only about 10 people on my ride, and a lot of them got off in places with easy Green Line access. The route only gets about 900 riders per weekday, 400 per Saturday, and 300 per Sunday.

Pros: Well, it’s a really nice ride, I’ll give it that. You see a lot of Boston landmarks if you take it from Park Street. And this route is mostly frequented by elderly or disabled people who live in West Fens, so it gives them local access to Copley Square and Park Street. Also, the route has a surprisingly good schedule for a small local route – every 17 minutes rush hour, every hour weekdays (admittedly not great), every 40 minutes nights, every 35 minutes Saturdays, and every half hour Sundays.

Cons: First of all, it’s a really slow ride. Even on a midday trip there was lots of traffic, and the bus ended up being a half hour late. My main problem with the route, though, is how much time it spends travelling alongside the Green Line. Does it really need to parallel the Green Line the whole way?

Nearby and Noteworthy: Like I said, this route goes by lots of Boston landmarks. I wouldn’t use it to get to a ball game, though.

Final Verdict: 5/10
The 55 could use some work. I really enjoyed my ride, and it has a good schedule, but it spends so much time paralleling the Green Line! I know it serves Copley Square this way, and it’s probably deliberate, but what if they changed up the route a bit? Here’s my proposal:

It basically converts the 55 into a loop that also serves the northern part of the Back Bay. The inbound route stays the same, so it still serves Copley Square, but the outbound route goes along Beacon to serve a neighborhood with no bus or subway service. I’m not sure if this would get any ridership, but it’s just a fun little idea.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

“B” Asks…

Feb 19, 2015 | | 0 Comments

“How many above ground, non tunnel, exposed to weather miles are in the MBTA system?”

I don’t have an exact, official amount for that, but I did some quick math to get an approximation. The MBTA subway system is 64 miles in total, not including the Silver Line. Of that, about 27 percent of the system is underground, so says Transit Maps of the World (an excellent, excellent book). So, if we multiply 64 by 73% (the percent of above ground trackage), we get 46.72 miles. There you go!

90 (Davis Square – Wellington Station via Sullivan Square Station and Assembly Mall)

Feb 18, 2015 | | 1 Comment

I can handle a bus being 15 minutes late. Heck, even a half hour late is tolerable. You know, it happens. But 40 minutes late is just unacceptable! That said, the 5:20 trip of the 90 from Wellington to Davis seemed to be cursed from the beginning: faulty destination boards, excessively beeping fare machines, horrible traffic on narrow roads, and getting stuck in snowbanks were all highlights of my ride. This is gonna be a long one.

A bit blurry, but it was getting dark outside.
My trip was scheduled to leave at 5:20. But that time came and went. So did 5:25. And 5:30. It wasn’t until about 5:35 that the bus finally showed up. And it still said “Wellington” on the destination board, since the driver couldn’t change it. Also, the fare machine wouldn’t stop beeping. A great start to an even better trip…
We actually made it down Revere Beach Parkway, onto the Fellsway, and over the Mystic River without a hitch. Turning off soon after that, we let a few people on at Assembly Square, then continued down Assembly Square Drive. The Orange Line station was visible a few hundred feet away, but it was being replaced with shuttle buses.
Unfortunately, Sullivan Square was a bit of a mess. There was quite a lot of traffic as we turned onto Broadway and attempted to get into the busway. It took a while, but we finally managed to make it in, pick people up, and loop around back to Broadway. Broadway was lined with businesses, but we soon turned onto Cross Street.
This was a narrow residential street. It was fine at first, but at the intersection with Pearl Street there was a lot of traffic going the other way. The driver made her way across the intersection, but due to the traffic, parked cars, and huge snowbanks, we couldn’t fit down the next portion of Cross Street. This resulted in the bus getting stuck in the middle of a busy intersection waiting for free space.
Finally, someone gave us room to go by, and then we played the swerving game as we continued down Cross Street. After crossing over the Lowell Commuter Rail tracks, we prepared to make a right turn onto the McGrath Highway. There was lots of traffic, so we waited for an opening. When there was one, the driver attempted to accelerate onto the highway, but an unpleasant noise came out of the bus and we couldn’t move.
The driver kept trying to get the bus going, but as the noise persisted, I looked out the window to see a massive cloud of smoke coming from the back of the bus. Soon after, a disgusting smell filled the air, causing a few passengers to plug their noses in disgust. The driver decided to reverse the bus a bit, which caused all the lights to turn off.
Oh, for goodness’ sake.
At this point, a few of the passengers were understandably fed up. They asked the driver if she would let them out, but didn’t get the response they wanted. “I can’t do that,” the driver said, “it’s a safety issue.” So we basically just sat there for 10 minutes waiting for an opening in traffic while passengers continued to bug the driver. Finally, someone stopped for us, and the driver floored it. Slowly, but surely, we made it around the corner and onto the highway! “Thank you for your patience,” the driver said as we stopped for another huge traffic jam.
The 90 on Highland Ave – obviously not the same bus I took for this review.
Soon we turned onto Highland Ave, going by the Somerville High School and Somerville City Hall. We passed some apartments, which soon turned into houses. Eventually, businesses started to make a presence in the neighborhood. Just before Davis Square and all its retail, we turned onto Grove Street, then into the Davis Station busway. Finally!!!
And this one’s even more obviously not my bus! I have to wonder why it looks so high up in the picture, though.
Route: 90 (Davis Square – Assembly via Sullivan Square Station)
Ridership: There were almost 55 people on my trip, but I did get it during the peak of the evening rush hour. That said, the 90 always seems to be busy when I take it, with about 30 people each on my other two rides. In actuality, the route’s ridership is somewhat low overall, with about 1,200 riders per weekday, 700 per Saturday, and 400 per Sunday. On my ride, Wellington, Assembly, and Sullivan were the important boarding points, and people fed off the bus slowly after that.
Pros: This is a theoretically fast link between the Red and Orange Lines. It also connects a lot of Somerville to Assembly Square, and serves the High School and City Hall, too.
Cons: The schedule is really, really, bad. The route runs every 40 minutes rush hour, every 45 minutes during the day, and every 65 minutes nights and weekends. Plus, the route on Sunday only runs from 10:30 to 6:00. Also, even without the snow issue, that intersection with the McGrath Highway would’ve taken forever to traverse due to all the traffic and the route the bus has to take through it.
Nearby and Noteworthy: There were businesses along Broadway and Davis Square is fantastic.
Final Verdict: 4/10
Was I biased by all the problems the bus experienced? Probably. But is this still a bad route? Yes, it is. The schedule is terrible, and that one intersection is a mess. That said, it does serve a lot of Somerville and seems to be an important route, but unlike the 110, this schedule can’t be salvaged.
UPDATE 9/1/19: This route now only goes to Assembly, and the schedule is a lot better because of it! I’ll bump the score up to a 5.
Latest MBTA News: Service Updates (things are improving veryyyyy slowlyyyyy)