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)

110 (Wonderland or Broadway and Park Ave – Wellington Station via Park Ave and Woodlawn)

Feb 18, 2015 | | 2 Comments

“It’s actually rather uninviting, but there are some businesses quite close to the stop. We didn’t get to try any of them, however, as a 110 came (review coming at some point) and we continued our journey.” – Miles on the MBTA’s review of the 111. Well, if by “some point,” I meant over a year and a half later, then I guess I was telling the truth! Yes, for some reason I never got around to reviewing the 110 then. But now, let’s remedy that, as I got the chance to take the whole route all over again.

Excellent timing! The bus was there right when my train arrived.

Leaving the Wonderland busway, we made our way down North Shore Road, then turned onto Beach Street. This was a residential neighborhood, but there was a small plaza when the street merged into a rotary. From there, it turned back to houses, and continued like that until Broadway.

We were on Broadway for about a half-block before turning onto Park Ave, going solo. Passing a park (the street’s namesake, perhaps?), it then became entirely residential. I was wondering if the 110 was on its snow route, which bypasses a portion of Park Ave, but evidently we weren’t as we floored it over a huge hill. We crossed over Route 1 and stopped at Woodlawn, the quiet terminus of the 111.

This was also where we entered Everett, and Park Ave became Elm Street. It stayed residential all the way until the massive Everett High School. Here, we turned onto Ferry Street, which was a mix of houses and businesses. All of a sudden, we reached a massive traffic jam at the intersection with Chelsea Street. It took a full five minutes to make it through, after which we turned onto Chelsea.

The street was mostly houses, with a few apartments. Eventually, we joined some other routes when we turned onto Broadway (a different Broadway from the one before). It was lined with businesses, but before it got industrial, we turned off onto Revere Beach Parkway. Surprisingly, it was a quick run without any traffic, and we soon pulled into the Wellington busway.

Looks pretty bleak…

Route: 110 (Wonderland or Broadway and Park Ave – Wellington Station via Park Ave and Woodlawn)

Ridership: This route gets very high ridership, all things considered – there were about 35 people on my ride. However, in total, the 110 ranks 38th compared to other MBTA buses on weekdays, with almost 3,500 daily riders! It performs similarly well on weekends, with over 1,600 riders on Saturdays and a little over 1,000 riders on Sundays. On my ride, most people who got on at Wonderland got off along Park Ave, with people starting to get on for Wellington after Woodlawn.

Pros: This is an important crosstown route up north, cutting across both Revere and Everett. It has a good rush hour schedule (every 20 minutes, with additional short-turns from Wellington to Broadway and Park Ave) and a decent Saturday schedule (every 35 minutes). Alas, the rest of the time, the route is a bit… terrible. Read on…

Cons: Yeah, so considering how high this route’s ridership is, it has some terrible headways. It runs every 40 minutes during the day, and every hour nights and Sundays! Come on, 110! That’s awful!

Nearby and Noteworthy: Beats me. We went by some small businesses, but none of the ones I saw seemed especially notable.

Final Verdict: 6/10
I never know how to give a number to clearly important routes with really bad schedules. Do I increase the score because lots of people rely on the route, or do I lower it because the schedule is so bad? I decided to do the latter for this one, though not by too much. An improvement to the 110’s schedule would be great, though.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates (you’ll need ’em!)
Oh, you know, it’ll take 30 days minimum for the MBTA to get back to normal, and that’s without any big blizzards! Also, I’m pretty upset that Beverly Scott resigned as GM. I liked her!

Random Photos: Revere Beach in the Snow

Feb 18, 2015 | | 0 Comments

I’m not really a big fan of Revere Beach, but it was actually pretty cool in the snow. Maybe it was because the snow covered up the constant litter that permeates the beach in the summer.

“Unguarded Waterfront,” says the sign. I think that goes without saying!

Random Photos: Squirrel in the Rafters

Feb 18, 2015 | | 0 Comments

I’m back! I was finally able to actually get on the T! A lot of crazy stuff has been happening lately what with the blizzards, the shuttle buses, and Beverly Scott’s resignation (which I’m pretty upset about), but I haven’t been able to report on any of it. Instead, here’s a squirrel I found at Airport Station! Fun!

I thought it was a rat at first, and was kind of disappointed when it wasn’t.

Brookline Village

Feb 8, 2015 | | 1 Comment

After a trio of southern Red Line stations, let’s take a trip out west to the Green Line. In particular, we’re heading out on the D branch. And even more specific, we’re looking at Brookline Village, where my mother dropped me off from JP so I could take the train home. This is gonna be a quick one…

The shady, snowy platforms.

The station has a pretty urban feel, with tallish buildings on either side. It still has that tranquil D branch feel to it, though, with cool wooden shelters on both platforms (take that, Longwood). The station also has one of those CharlieCard shelters that come up along the D branch. These may not sound like much, but consider that the alternative, Riverway, is literally just a sign with a “T” on it.

One of the awesome wooden shelters.

The bus situation at Brookline Village is a whole other story. It’s only served by three routes, but they go all over the place. Even looking at Google Maps, I can’t tell which bus stops where! I do know that there’s a complete absence of shelters around the station. Now that’s just annoying! But the station itself is still nice.

A train coming in.

Station: Brookline Village

Ridership: With 3,230 riders per day, this is one of the highest-ridership stations on the above-ground portions of the Green Line. This is probably because the station is right in downtown Brookline.

Pros: It’s a nice D branch station. It has a more urban feel than some of the stations further west, but somehow still feels kind of tranquil. It’s that D branch power…

Cons: The buses around here go all over the place, and it’s hard to find some of them. Also, Brookline Village is kind of hidden on a side street. From Route 9, the only indication that a station exists is a small T logo on the side of the road.

Nearby and Noteworthy: When I was in second grade, I think, we took a field trip to the Puppet Showcase Theater right next to the station. I remember enjoying the show…

Final Verdict: 7/10
It’s just a standard D branch station. It’s not really worth seeing or anything, but it’s a nice place to wait. This was a short review for a simple station – a solid 7.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

Braintree

Feb 7, 2015 | | 4 Comments

Every Braintree branch station was originally opened with some form of parking (Quincy Center’s garage has since closed, but the point still stands). For the more northerly stations, the parking lots are somewhat secondary to the neighborhoods around them. But Quincy Adams and Braintree are basically dominated by massive parking garages. Today we’ll be taking a look at the latter.

The busway. Look how high that ceiling is!

I came into this station from the busway, so we’ll start there. And I have to say, this has to be the most overblown busway on the entire system. For only two bus connections (the 230 and 236), we get a big long road, a massively high ceiling, and countdown clocks for the Red Line. (Yes!!!) I guess I can’t complain, since it is rather nice, and certainly straightforward. It’s just odd that they would put so much into a busway served by only two routes.

The footbridge and T logo in the sunset.

From the busway, there’s a footbridge that leads out to the parking garage. The garage, by the way, is huge. It has 1,322 spaces, and yet it still gets overcrowded, with a less than 1% availability rate on weekdays. There’s a big T logo on the roof of the garage that probably isn’t visible from any roads, but it’s still kinda cool. There are a bunch of road signs advertising the station, though.

The ramps to the Commuter Rail platform.

The Commuter Rail platform is slightly north of the Red Line platform. It’s accessed by two ramps (one from the footbridge and one directly from the busway) that pass over Union Street. The scary part of getting to the platform is a level crossing over one of the tracks. Make sure you look both ways…

The Commuter Rail platform, with some freight on the right.

The Commuter Rail platform is pretty standard, as far as Commuter Rail platforms go. It’s a high-level center platform, with a simple shelter going along some of it. It also has an unsheltered portion that seems to be there just so longer trains can fit.

No Commuter Rail trains, but there was this cool CSX sighting.

As for the Red Line platform, I believe the busway is the only place you can enter to get to it. Outside of the entrance, there are a few newspaper boxes, as well as a wastebasket. Also, buried in the snow was a fallen sign for the convenience store in the station. I don’t know what it was doing outside – it seemed pretty useless.

The interesting waiting area.

Before we get to the mezzanine proper, though, I’d like to mention the station’s waiting area outside of fare control. It features some payphones, a bunch of benches, and a TV that was showing football when I was at the station. There’s also the aforementioned convenience store, with the generic name of “Braintree Cafe and Convenience.” I don’t think we’ll ever see a name as cool as the one at JFK/UMASS.

The mezzanine.

The mezzanine is fine. Its fare machines are sort of spread around the place, anticipating people coming in from different directions. Both the mezzanine and the waiting area suffer from bland architecture, but it’s not unclean or anything. Past the fare gates, there are two sets of stairs on either side heading up to the platform. Interestingly (and ingeniously), one of them has an up escalator and one has a down escalator.

The unique-looking platform.

I have to say, Braintree’s platform is pretty unique. Pretty much the whole thing is sheltered by a white ceiling, which leads down to similar-colored walls. As you can see in the picture above, it’s not the sort of architecture you see too often on the MBTA, if at all. Benches get their own enclosed areas, which are much nicer than at Wollaston (among other stations). Since both platforms are inbound (there’s a crossover to the north), they have these nice red “Next Train” signs to let you know where trains are arriving. Nice touch, Braintree. Nice touch.

Night was falling and my camera wasn’t cooperating. This was the best I could get.

Station: Braintree

Ridership: Pretty much as expected, this station’s ridership is fairly low. There are about 5,125 riders per day here, and it’s ranked just below Broadway. The Commuter Rail ridership is much lower, with only 72 people boarding here per day. The Blue Book only counts inbound trips for the Commuter Rail, though, so there might be more people who head outbound from here.

Pros: There are quite a few amenities here. The busway is great (if a bit overkill), the waiting room is pretty cool, and the platform is unique. This is also a great park and ride station, since it’s right next to a Route 3 interchange, and the garage is huge.

Cons: The Commuter Rail platform is kind of far from the Red Line platform, and the level crossing required to get to it is sort of scary to cross. Also, the mezzanine and waiting room have fairly bland architecture, but this station never feels dingy at all.

Nearby and Noteworthy: The surroundings of the station aren’t pedestrian-friendly at all, but Bugaboo Creek is a 15 minute walk away. It’s the only remaining location in greater Boston, but I do have to complain that they stopped singing the birthday song. They stopped singing the birthday song!

Final Verdict: 7/10
I think I like this station a lot more than I should. I normally hate these park and ride stations with nothing much else of note, but I do like Braintree. Indeed, it does have a lot of good qualities. The waiting room, in particular, is a nice touch.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

Wollaston

Feb 7, 2015 | | 5 Comments

UPDATE 8/16/19: This station has been completely rebuilt! Check out the new review here.

Wollaston is definitely one of the most notable stations on the Red Line. Does that mean it’s good? Hahahahahahaha, absolutely not. And being the only non-wheelchair accessible station on the Red Line isn’t something you want to be called “notable” for.

Sigh…what am I getting into here?

The platform is really ugly. Although it’s technically elevated, it’s not that high up and there isn’t much to see. It’s also in brutalist-style, making it really imposing. The benches are in these ugly waiting areas with peeling paint and dirty glass, but due to the weather, most people were waiting in the mezzanine. Speaking of which,..

The mezzanine was still freezing, though.

Descending the stairs (there’s no elevator), you reach an enclosed area with a couple of vending machines. After passing through the fare gates, there’s the mezzanine, which for some reason is below ground level. This means that it’s prone to flooding – probably not the best design choice to put it below ground, then.

When it’s not flooding, the mezzanine still isn’t very good. It’s spacious and all, but the architecture is pretty bland and ugly. And why does this station have an open skylight? For one thing, you can’t see the sky because the platform roof is in the way. For another, it just makes the place colder! The mezzanine also makes sure to remind you what country we’re in, with no fewer than three American flags in it.

That station sign is comically tiny.

The first entrance leads out to the station’s parking lot. It’s fairly large, with 550 spaces. The entrance, however, is still ugly and brutalist, with a tiny “Wollaston” sign. Really, it’s super small. Surprisingly, this station also has a “Pedal and Park” bike cage, which is a nice touch. It’s good to have these facilities in the middle of a dense area like this.

How is anyone supposed to notice this entrance?

On the other side of the tracks is another entrance. This one is pretty hidden – the only indication that it exists is a low Wollaston sign and a small T logo almost right next to a traffic light. Interestingly, there’s a small Chinatown on this side of the station, with a few businesses featuring Chinese lettering. And further down the street is a bus stop for the 211 and 217. It’s just a stop – no shelter or anything. But I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some concrete monstrosity bus stop, just like the rest of the station.

A train leaving.

Station: Wollaston

Ridership: Low, as expected – with about 4,625 riders per day, this is the least-used station on the Braintree branch. Wollaston’s surroundings are mostly residential, so for the most part it’s used by local riders. The summer might be a different story, when Wollaston Beach is open.
Pros: It’s nice that they have a sizeable parking lot and a bike cage, I suppose.
Cons: But everything else about this station is awful! The platform is imposing, the mezzanine floods all the time, and the western entrance is barely visible. Plus, it’s the only Red Line station that’s not accessible! How embarrassing, Wollaston!
Nearby and Noteworthy: The beach, I suppose. But actually, North Quincy is closer. You’re losing more and more of my respect as we go, Wollaston.
Final Verdict: 3/10
This is just an awful station. The architecture is really dated and imposing, it floods a lot, and most importantly, it’s not accessible! Since it’s the only non-accessible station on the Red Line, I should probably lower this to a 2, but it does have a few good features. By that I mean one good feature, and that’s the fact that there’s a parking lot and bike cage here. That’s still only worth a 3, though.
Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

Broadway

Feb 7, 2015 | | 3 Comments

I wanted to head down to Quincy Center, but the first train that had come was an Ashmont train. Rather than just wait it out for the next Braintree one (in ten minutes), I decided to just get on the Ashmont train. I didn’t want to have to change trains at JFK/UMASS, though, because it would be freezing. And I would have a few more chances to go to Andrew because there are some buses that terminate there. Broadway it is, then!

I love this platform!

The bulk of Broadway’s platform is really awesome. It’s a bunch of white pillars lined up, and each one has four different colored tiles. Each of those tiles has a different image on it – 200 in all, done by school students. The platform does have random pipes, but an effort is made to hide them. Take that, Prudential!

An old sign on the wall!

The MBTA even left an old Broadway sign on the wall when they renovated the station in 1985. Speaking of the walls, this may sound weird, but I really like them! They’re just white squares, but, I don’t know, they make the place seem brighter or something. I can’t say I’m really a fan of the dingy ceiling, though you can’t see it when you’re standing between the columns.

The “dodgier” end of the platform.

But there’s another part of the platform. I believe this is where they extended it for six car trains, because it looks like they really didn’t care about aesthetics when they built it. The columns turn from bright white to a blood-red color. Also, the ceiling stops trying to hide its dinginess and random pipes, while the walls turn from white to “gross tunnel gray.” I think I’ll head back to the nice part, okay?

Some really cool artwork.

Leaving the platform and turning around, there’s some excellent artwork above the stairs. It’s a bunch of steel sculptures of “domestic objects” that look fantastic. As for the stairs themselves, they also have an upward-only escalator to go along with them.

The mezzanine.

Alas, the mezzanine is a bit of a mess. Long and thin, it stretches between the staircases to both entrances. The white tiled walls are nice, but the ceiling is low and ugly (random pipes galore). And if my memory serves me right, there are only fare gates on one side of the mezzanine and none for the other entrance. That’s just ridiculous.

The secondary entrance.

The western entrance of Broadway is in this weird island in the middle of what becomes the Broadway Bridge. The entrance itself is nice, with glass and a T symbol facing an intersection. The weird thing about it is the sheltered bench on it. There aren’t any buses that stop here – why is this set up like a stop, then?

A rather tight place to take a picture.

The main entrance makes itself obvious, with a larger-than-average “Broadway” sign on the outside. Although somewhat cramped, this one also has glass, as well as some newspaper boxes and a wastebasket. There’s also a sheltered bench, but you know, buses actually stop at this stop. Broadway’s connections are pretty slim, though, with only the 9 and 11 to City Point, and the 47 to Central Square, Cambridge.

My camera didn’t seem to like Broadway, so it gave me a bunch of blurry pictures.

Station: Broadway

Ridership: This is one of the lesser-used Red Line stations, with only about 5,250 riders per day. This can probably be attributed to the lack of bus connections, as well as the fact that the station has mostly industrial surroundings. The exception is to the east, where there are apartments and businesses.

Pros: I love the main part of the platform. From the art to the colors to the old station sign, this is really nice. Also, the entrances are pretty good.

Cons: The extended part of the platform is kind of dumpy and dark, though. The mezzanine is quite bad, and this station doesn’t have too many bus connections.

Nearby and Noteworthy: The Red Line’s Cabot Yard is to the west of the station, and you can get a good view of it (as well as of the Boston skyline) from the Broadway Bridge.

Final Verdict: 6/10
This is one of those “meh” stations that has good elements to it, but isn’t worth seeing because of the other bad bits. Broadway has a great platform, as least the main part of it, and the art in the station is great. But the platform gets much worse at its extended portion, and the mezzanine is terrible. The station doesn’t get much ridership, either – it’s one of the lowest-ridership Red Line stations, in fact.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates
I feel bad for not being able to report about the MBTA of the past week. Um…well, basically, snow + old MBTA trains = bad things. Pretty much.

69 (Harvard/Holyoke Gate – Lechmere Station via Cambridge Street)

Feb 3, 2015 | | 5 Comments

I’ve taken the 69 a fair amount of times before writing this review. Most of those times have admittedly just been from the Cambridge Rindge and Latin school to Harvard Station (only a few blocks), because I’m lazy and sometimes miss the 68. However, I also took more than half the route about a week ago to get to a friend’s house. But the ride I’m talking about today is the one I took during my awful commute home – beginning to end.

A 1400! Too bad it’s nighttime.

There were two 69’s that came into the Lechmere busway at the same time (bunching…uh-oh). The front one was a normal New Flyer diesel, while a new 1400 Xcelsior was behind it. I, of course, wanted to ride the new one, but everyone else was heading for the diesel. A few had gotten on that bus when the driver of the 1400 got out. “Hey,” he said to the other driver, “I’ll take these guys.” Yes! We all filed onto the 1400 while the diesel drove off.

We swung around to the Monsignor O’Brien Highway, turned onto Third Street, and took a right onto Cambridge Street. It was a mixture of businesses, houses, and apartments, though the houses were gone after a little while. We crossed over a single railroad track, which I believe the MBTA wants to convert into part of the Indigo Line, and passed the King Open School.

Another blurry nighttime picture, this one at Harvard.

After that, it was mostly businesses with apartments on top, though we also passed a big apartment building. We reached Inman Square soon after, which had a bunch of businesses, as well as a fire station. It turned to houses after that, but there were also two big hospitals.

Ah, much better. This was time I took it to my friend’s house.

We then passed the massive Rindge and Latin school, where there were also some businesses frequented by students. Unexpectedly, we made a hard left turn onto Felton Street, then onto Broadway, joining the 68. We turned onto Quincy Street, passing Harvard Yard and a bunch of university buildings. Curving around to the south side of the yard, we arrived at Holyoke Gate, and I made the snowy trek to Harvard Station.

Another one at Harvard.

Route: 69 (Harvard/Holyoke Gate – Lechmere Station via Cambridge Street)

Ridership: This is a pretty heavily-used route – there were about 30 people who rode on my trip, during a Saturday night. Many of them used it for local service along the route, though a few actually took it from beginning to end. It’s a great crosstown route, after all.

Pros: As I mentioned, the 69 is a quick link from Harvard to Lechmere, scheduled at 17 minutes. Of course, it often takes longer, but we’ll get to that. For such a short route, the 69 serves quite a lot, cutting right through Cambridge on a street of the same name. Its schedule is mostly great, too: every 10 minutes during rush hour, every 20-25 minutes weekdays, and every 20 minutes Saturdays.

Cons: But every 40 minutes nights and Sundays is really bad, especially for a route with levels of ridership like this. Another problem with the 69 is that it has a habit of being late – in fact, it’s late so often that it’s sort of become infamous within Cambridge. And it evidently bunches, even on Saturday nights…

Nearby and Noteworthy: Here I am thinking I’m familiar with Cambridge Street, but now I can’t think of a single business on it! Shoot…

Final Verdict: 6/10
I can think of a few people who would want me to go lower. But ultimately, the 69 is still a route with a decent schedule that serves a lot. It does have some big flaws in terms of lateness and bunching, and that Sunday schedule is awful, but it’s still an important route that a lot of people use.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

236 (Quincy Center Station – South Shore Plaza via East Braintree and Braintree Station)

Feb 2, 2015 | | 2 Comments

I went to the South Shore Plaza many times when I was younger. My nana would always take me, and I have particularly vivid memories of riding the glass elevator up and down, over and over again. Visiting the Plaza again on the 236 was certainly nostalgic, and it was an interesting ride, too.

The downside to riding buses in the winter is the salt on the windows. Ugh.

Leaving Quincy Center Station, we headed down Hancock Street, going by lots of businesses. When I say “going by,” I mean going by at a snail’s pace, because there was so much traffic. The intersection with School Street had a light that just wouldn’t change. We were sitting there for at least 10 minutes in traffic waiting to make the turn onto that street.

Come on! Hurry up!

After that, we turned onto Franklin Street, still going by the businesses of Quincy Center. But after the street curved to the left, we became independent from other routes, and it got full-on residential. When it became Commercial Street and we entered Braintree, it started to feel more suburban in character, with large houses and front lawns. Of course, the street was much more narrow than usual due to some heavy snow buildup from the blizzard.

We crossed over a single railroad track, then turned onto Elm Street and crossed the same track again. Elm Street had slightly smaller houses that were closer together. After a small industrial section, we turned onto Middle Street, going over the Greenbush Line tracks and back to more houses. The street made a left turn, and snaked around south again.

I think there’s a river somewhere down there…

We turned onto Union Street, going by a police station and the National Guard, then crossed over a river that was hidden by the snow. There was some traffic on a big rotary going around a Route 3 interchange, but it certainly wasn’t as bad as the School Street Red Light of Doom. Right after the rotary we went up onto an elevated road that curved around to the Braintree busway, where lots of people were waiting to get on.

Not the same bus – this is the one I took back, seen at Braintree Station.

We headed down Ivory Street for a bit, then turned onto Pearl Street, going by malls named after both of those. There were a few normal businesses at South Braintree Square, after which we turned onto Franklin Street, which was once again residential. Soon we reached Five Corners, which had some retail, and merged onto Granite Street. We then turned onto a road that led past a small office park, and then ended up at the South Shore Plaza.

The bus at the Plaza. That one behind was a 240 heading up to Ashmont. Since when does the 240 go to the South Shore Plaza? Was it a faulty destination board?

Route: 236 (Quincy Center Station – South Shore Plaza via East Braintree and Braintree Station)

Ridership: There were about 20 people on my ride there, though a whole bunch of people were waiting at the mall – the bus left it with a pretty full load (this was a Saturday). This route seems to be split up into two: the section from Quincy Center to Braintree, for people going to the residential areas between those points; and the section from Braintree to the South Shore Plaza, which is a considerably shorter section, yet it seems to get more ridership.

Pros: This route is a fast link from Braintree to the Plaza – it’s scheduled to take 8 minutes. This is one of only two routes to serve the Plaza, the other being the 238, which isn’t nearly as quick. The 236 is also the only route to serve much of Braintree.

Cons: The schedule, for one thing. The route runs every hour weekdays and Sundays, and every 70 minutes on Saturdays. Every hour on weekdays sort of makes sense, since this is mostly a shopping route, but come on – every 70 minutes on Saturdays? Also, this route seems to be late a lot – our bus was at least 15 minutes behind schedule, and the one coming back arrived 10 minutes after it was supposed to. This could’ve been due to the Red Light of Doom, or perhaps the snow, but it was still annoying. Oh, and for those who work at the South Shore Plaza, sorry, but the 236 doesn’t go there in the morning.

Nearby and Noteworthy: The South Shore Plaza is huge, with lots and lots of stores to choose from.

Final Verdict: 4/10
If you need to get from the Red Line to the South Shore Plaza, then this is the bus for you. Just don’t miss one, because the schedule’s awful. And don’t use this if you work at the Plaza, because it doesn’t go in the morning, Also, don’t expect the bus to be on time, because it’s late a lot. But, you know, it’s great otherwise.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

Random Photos: Speedy Commuter Rail Train

Feb 1, 2015 | | 3 Comments

While waiting for the Red Line at Wollaston (this is all kind of building up to a review at some point), a Commuter Rail train came speeding by. It kicked up snow as it went along, and made for some pretty cool photos.

The back of the train (but technically the front).
The locomotive (which was the back of the train in this context…man, that’s confusing).

Random Photos: Tickets in Chinese

Feb 1, 2015 | | 2 Comments

There’s a small Chinatown around Wollaston Station, and so the MBTA decided to cater to that. Inside the station, they have a ticket chart in Chinese!

I wonder if this is the only one on the system.