Fenway

Dec 12, 2014 | Miles on the MBTA | 3 Comments

No, this is not the closest station to Fenway Park. Why does everyone think that? Oh, is it the really misleading name? Yeah, that’s probably it. The station is actually named after a road called the Fenway. But even the station tries to tell you it’s the closest one to the famous ballpark by featuring a mural that says “RED SOX – TAKE THE T TO FENWAY.” You’re only kidding yourself, Fenway Station.

Yeah, right.

This station has two entrances. The first one feeds into the parking lot of the Landmark Center, a big shopping, entertainment, and office complex. The other is a staircase that leads up to Park Drive. Up here there are also a few bus connections, namely with the 47 and CT2. There’s no proper busway (not that you need one with only two bus routes), but there are shelters on both sides. Not bad…

We’ve got the T logo, but no station sign. As you can probably tell by the foliage, I came here a while back.

The platform is pretty unique. Since most of the station is underneath Park Drive, a lot of the platform is sheltered. The walls are made of bare concrete, too, adding to the uniqueness. Now, “unique” doesn’t necessarily mean “not dingy.” It’s pretty dark under there, and there are even some random pipes running around. My worst enemy.

Under the bridge.

This station, like most Green Line stations, is front-door only boarding. Fenway does have the D Branch perk of at least getting CharlieCard machines. They’re in their own little shelter, even though it’s already sheltered by the bridge. Alas, there’s no way to cross between tracks except for two level crossings, which I always feel compelled to run across. I’d rather not take any chances…

A train arrives at the station.

Station: Fenway

Ridership: Surprisingly, this is the busiest station on the D Branch, and one of the busiest on the above ground portions of the Green Line. It gets almost 3,500 passengers per weekday, some of which probably come from the apartments nearby, and others work at the Landmark Center. And I’m sure quite a few people use this station to get to Fenway Park, too.

Pros: It’s a pretty unique station for the D Branch. Much of it is sheltered, and there are some nice amenities here. There’s no busway, but shelters in both directions is more than enough for only two bus routes.

Cons: The station’s kinda dingy under the bridge. Also, there’s no way to cross the tracks aside from two level crossings, which is annoying. Finally, it would be nice if they had a Fenway sign at the Park Drive entrance. I feel like that would make it more obvious that there’s a train station there.

Nearby and Noteworthy: Let me get this out of the way: this is not the closest station to Fenway Park. That honor goes to Kenmore, which is served by the B and C Branches as well. Landmark Center, however, seems like a good complex, and that’s exclusive to Fenway. Plus, the reviews all say that the parking lot is a mess – so just take the train!

Final Verdict: 6/10
Not that great, but certainly not terrible. It’s kinda cool how much of the station is under a bridge, which provides shelter, but also makes it more dingy. The bus situation is pretty good, but the track-crossing situation is not – a footbridge would be fantastic. And for goodness’ sake MBTA, change this station’s name to something less misleading!

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

Service Change: Lexington’s Lexpress – 3 (Depot Square – South Lexington via Marrett Road, Spring Street, & Hayden Ave)

Dec 10, 2014 | Miles on the MBTA | 0 Comments

When I found out I wouldn’t be able to get driven to piano lessons, I had to find a way to get there via public transit. I ended up with the following three options:

This weird Alewife shuttle thing to a housing development called Windsor Village, meant for commuters.
The Red Line to Central, then the 70A up to the Waltham-Lexington border.
The 62 to Lexington Center, then the Lexpress 3 route to a housing development called Lexington Ridge.

I was originally planning to take the first one, but hit some complications. For one thing, the schedule for the bus ominously says “For use by Windsor Village residents only.” Also, I couldn’t find any fare information. The website just gave a phone number to call for daily or monthly passes. This seemed much too complicated, But the second option would take almost an hour and a half, which is much too long. So, I picked door number three.

The Lexpress is the local bus system in Lexington. And can I just say, that name is the best thing ever. It’s a standard hub-and-spoke system, with all the bus routes radiating out of Depot Square in Lexington Center. There are six lines, all of which are very…loopy. The scheduling is interesting, as well, in that routes 1, 3, and 5 leave Depot Square on the half hour while 2, 4, and 6 leave on the hour. It’s weekdays only, but based on the ridership I saw (spoilers: not good), that makes sense.

It was dark and rainy when I set out for Alewife. This was quite a monster storm, as I found out later looking at the news. Another problem was that the 62 ended up being five minutes late, since the bus was coming to Alewife after a run on the 83. And the massive traffic jam heading up to Route 2 lost us another five minutes. I got fairly nervous by this point – the 62 was scheduled to arrive at Lexington Center at 5:15, with the Lexpress leaving 15 minutes later. And we were already 10 minutes late!

Accidentally getting off one stop early at the Lexington Post Office, I had to run to Depot Square. When I got there, I found that Lexpress actually had its own private busway! There wasn’t anything too special, but they had some schedules and benches set up. No shelters, though, which wasn’t the best in the torrential rain. There was a single bus waiting there, as well as one other person. She told me the waiting bus was a 5.

The busway. Note that as it was dark and raining, most of these pictures will be terrible…

Most of the Lexpress system is “flag-down” style, where there are no official stops. But they do have a sign put up in Depot Square.

Some schedules on the sign.

The 3 came a few minutes later. I took a (pretty bad) picture of the bus, which caused the driver to angrily open the doors. “Why are you taking pictures of the bus?” He yelled. I decided to tell the truth, and told him I was reviewing the system. “Do you have any authorization from Lexpress to take pictures?” He asked. “Well, I have the MBTA photo policy,” I replied (good thing I had printed it out). The driver calmed down and let me on. The fare is an even two bucks for adults, $1.75 for students, $0.75 for seniors, and free for children under five. If you’re transferring to another Lexpress bus, the second ride will only cost a quarter, but I don’t know why you’d need to make a transfer on a system like this.

You can’t really tell, but the bus said Lexpress 3 & 4. I guess that means there are only three buses in the whole fleet, running two routes each.

The minibus was pretty reminiscent of the ones in Montpelier. However, the seats on the Lexpress were different and though they were still comfortable, they lacked the seatbelts from the Montpelier buses. Not that that really matters. When the driver closed the doors, all the regular lights inside the bus went off, leaving only the ghostly red glows from the emergency exit lights.

Creepy…

For some reason. this one came out really bright.

The best picture I could get of the stop request sign up front. Sad, I know.

You probably noticed that the bus was completely empty in the above pictures. That’s because I was the only one on the bus for the whole trip. Not a single soul got on at any of the other stops, and I took the route all the way to the end, Maybe it was the rain or maybe it was the fact that I was going outbound, but that’s really bad ridership.

We made our way to Mass Ave, going by the businesses of Lexington Center. But soon after, we turned onto Waltham Street, which was a much more suburban residential area. The Lexington High School came and went, then it was houses again. There were a few businesses at the intersection of Waltham Street and Marrett Road, which we turned onto.

There were some more businesses at the intersection where we turned onto Spring Street, then it was residential once again. All of a sudden, though, we were in office park central. Turning onto Hayden Avenue with Route 2 in view, there were massive offices just lining the road. As you can probably imagine, it wasn’t the nicest neighborhood.

Eventually we rejoined Waltham Street, crossing under Route 2. There were a few businesses, then the bus turned into a residential complex where all the houses were the same. This was Lexington Ridge, and I had assumed we would just loop around the complex. That’s what it seemed like we would do, but then the driver reversed the bus to turn around. I feel like it would be easier to utilize the road loop then to turn a minibus around in the middle of a housing complex, but that’s just me.

I pulled the stop request cord (woo!) and the sign up front glowed red. It also made an interesting sound as if air was being released from somewhere. The driver opened the doors and all the lights came back on as I left. My eyes!

The driver kindly stopped so I could take this picture. Unfortunately, it probably wasn’t worth it.

And the bus leaves the complex at warp speed! This is probably my favorite picture of the bunch.

Charles/MGH

Dec 9, 2014 | Miles on the MBTA | 4 Comments

I get that the Longfellow Bridge needs to be fixed, but did they have to put that stupid fence up? It’s ruining arguably the best view on the entire MBTA system! I’m talking, of course, about the above-ground section of the Red Line leading to Charles/MGH. This section of the line offers truly amazing views, even the side that the fence isn’t covering (though the fence is blocking an awesome skyline view). But there’s also a station to talk about…

I have this one picture from an earlier post. Too bad I don’t have any sunny ones…

Charles/MGH is one of the few remaining elevated stations on the MBTA, which makes it even more fantastic. It’s also very modern, having gotten a renovation in 2007. The actual platforms, admittedly, aren’t especially updated, but they’re still pretty nice. The eastern end is sheltered, but with windows if you still want to see out. The western end is out in the open, and it offers its own awesome views. The only problem I have with the platform is that the whole thing shakes when a train arrives. I trust the station’s structural integrety, though.

The platform, looking toward the downtown skyline.

Both staircases lead to the same mezzanine. There are also elevators, which were added in the 2007 renovation. The escalators only go up, but I can live with that. The mezzanine is really quite beautiful, thanks to the station’s glass facade. The escalators circle around back to the fare-paying area, which is nice and large.

Okay, so this is more of the station’s entrance, but whatever.

The entrance is the only major problem I have with this station. It’s right smack in the middle of a not-very-pedestrian-friendly system of intersections. You’re gonna have to face some fairly fast cars if you want to get into Charles. Still, I suppose there’s nowhere else you can put it, so in the middle of the intersection it is.

The beautiful glass facade.

From the outside, this station looks really nice. Elevated stations can sometimes have a really dingy feel to them, but this one is beautiful. I mentioned the glass already, but they even have some art hanging up for passerby to see. And I particularly like the stylish MBTA logo they have on either side of the bridge. Branding is always important!

As you can probably tell, this was taken on a completely different day. But I love this picture!

Station: Charles/MGH

Ridership: Pretty high: about 12,000 people per weekday. Many of these, I’d imagine, are people working in the medical field, due to the fact that Mass General Hospital is right nearby. Beacon Hill residents, too.

Pros: It’s elevated! And it’s beautiful! Yes, I really like the awesome glass design of this station, and the platform is pretty hospitable, too. Plus, there’s the view. Currently it’s just of a fence, though the one out the other side of the train is all right. I prefer the skyline one, ultimately.

Cons: It can be a bit harrowing when the whole thing shakes when a train comes in. Also, I don’t like how the entrance is in the middle of a massive intersection, since that makes the station kind of annoying to get to. This is one of the few Red Line stations with no bus connections, but there’s nowhere for a bus route to go from here…

Nearby and Noteworthy: To the north are the tall buildings of MGH. There isn’t much of note up there, except for the Liberty Hotel – it’s interesting that they turned an old prison into lodging for tourists. To the south is the more interesting neighborhood of Beacon Hill. When you walk around there, you feel like you’ve been transported back in time.

Final Verdict: 9/10

Okay, so it may have a few minor flaws – the shaking and the entrance – but it’s totally worth taking the train over the Longfellow Bridge. The stupid fence is there right now, though the view from the other side is, as I said, not bad. It’s still one of the better ones on the system.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

The MBTA plans to offer youth and university passes in a year-long pilot program! Hopefully it works out…

Chinatown

Dec 8, 2014 | Miles on the MBTA | 2 Comments

Having a monthly pass is the best. Sure, you could walk from Chinatown to the Aquarium, about 15 minutes, but that requires energy. Why not take the Orange Line two stops to State, then the Blue Line one stop to Aquarium? I already paid for the month, so let’s do it! So naturally, this adventure from Chinatown to the waterfront started at Chinatown Station.

The first thing to note about Chinatown is that there are no free crossovers. This is partially due to the fact that the downtown Orange Line stations are built diagonally from each other for no reason. Really, why did they build them like that? It’s their fault that we have an endless walkway of death at State, and nobody likes the endless walkway of death! Also, the Chinatown platforms are at different heights, but not on top of each other. Why? What’s the point?

The first entrance. All photo credits, once again, go to my friend Chloé Gilligan.

The entrances, I have to admit, are really well integrated into the city. They’re literally integrated into the city, actually, as they’re all in building exteriors. Note that I only looked at the two that lead to the inbound platforms, because of those stupid crossovers, or lack thereof. So yeah, the first entrance is pretty standard, with a big T logo sticking out so people know there’s a subway station there.

And the second entrance.

The second entrance is a little more ornate. And by ornate, I mean there are some grates that vaguely resemble a pattern surrounding the Chinatown sign. There’s another T logo sticking out here, and this one also has an elevator.

The mezzanine.

Coming into the station, you’re greeted by a weird smell that seems to be a mix of urine and fish. Think of the smell at Downtown Crossing, then add fish to that. It’s not very pleasant. The mezzanine is also very stark and boring (both entrances lead to the same area). Low ceilings and ugly, metal poles are the main attractions here.

The platform.

Just like the rest of the station, the platform is really ugly. The ceilings are bare rock, and though they lack random pipes, they’re still unpleasant. There is an art installation, though – it’s basically just a bunch of multicolored poles. Not much, but I guess it’s something. I prefer the mural at Prudential more, though. As I said, I haven’t been to the outbound platform, but it looks like it’s slightly less repulsive according to this Wikipedia picture. This station is still pretty darn repulsive, though.

A train speeds into the station.

Station: Chinatown

Ridership: Not bad, but not good. Chinatown gets about 6,500 riders per weekday, making it 33rd on the system. It was reasonably crowded when we were there, and that was a Saturday. I’d imagine this station gets some tourist traffic, though Boston’s Chinatown can’t be that much of a draw.

Pros: Well, the art tries to spruce things up. And it’s nice that the entrances are in buildings.

Cons: For one thing, no free crossovers. That’s never fun. Also, the whole station smells like a mixture of pee and seafood – not a good combination. This station is one of those really ugly ones, too, with low ceilings and intrusive metal poles. Something I didn’t mention is that there’s a bus stop here, serving the SL4, SL5 and 11. But there aren’t any shelters, which is one of the key features of bus rapid transit! Come on, Silver Line!

Nearby and Noteworthy: Chinatown probably has some excellent local restaurants, but I know none of them. This station is also a stone’s throw (literally a block) away from Boylston and the theater district.

Final Verdict: 3/10
I was originally going to put this station on the same level as Prudential, a 4. They’re both ugly, have an art installation that’s not very noticeable, and are generally bad stations. Chinatown is actually better-looking than Prudential is, in fact. But then I thought of the smell, the fact that the Silver Line stop doesn’t have a shelter, and of course, the lack of free crossovers. Thus, this station scrapes a 3.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

World Trade Center

Dec 7, 2014 | Miles on the MBTA | 4 Comments

Courthouse was a hidden gem of sorts. The station was absolutely beautiful, yet it had the second-worst ridership on the entire system. (I can now say that it’s graduated to third-worst! Hooray!) World Trade Center is pretty much in the same boat. It’s really beautiful, and has the fifth-worst ridership on the subway system. It’s an improvement, I suppose.

The station itself is enclosed, but it’s actually not underground. It’s still below grade, though, and so after it Silver Line buses have to rise up to D Street. Now, I really hate how buses don’t have control over the traffic light at that intersection, but I’m not going to fault the station for it. It’s more just poor planning for the route on the MBTA’s part.

The first entrance to the station. All photo credits for this post, by the way, go to my friend, Chloé Gilligan.

But anyway, the station. The first entrance is on a bridge which conveniently leads to both the big World Trade Center on one side and the massive Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on the other. The bridge also offers some fantastic skyline views. There’s a commemorative statue outside the entrance, as well as a wavy rooftop. It’s pretty modern and welcoming.

And the second entrance, taken from the median of Congress Street (we didn’t jaywalk to it or anything…)

Both entrances are conveniently accessed by the same elevator shaft. The second one is on Congress Street, and is more to provide access to the area around the station (the other one is mainly for the two Centers). It’s another modern entrance, though a bit more standard than the other one. Still, good stuff.

Looking down into the mezzanine. Unfortunately there aren’t any pictures of the mezzanine proper.

The fare-paying area was again nice and modern but pretty standard. It was a lot bigger than what’s probably needed, but you can’t complain about that. And once you get through the fare gates, you see the greatest MBTA art installation this side of the Kendall Band. It lines the entire wall of the mezzanine, and at first glance it just looks like a long picture of fish. But when you walk along it, the fish move. It was absolutely fantastic. Not to mention there’s another wave design above the fish, giving the whole mezzanine an underwater feel.

From there, it’s extremely easy to get down to the platform. Two sets of stairs, one inbound and one outbound. The platform is really nice, too. As I mentioned before, the station is partially above ground. so a lot of natural light gets in there. Even at night, there are big tall lights along the walls which probably keep the station lit up. Man, this and Courthouse are some of the best stations the MBTA has to offer. But don’t talk about the ridership…

An overview of the platform with two buses at the station, one of which has a purple destination board!

Station: World Trade Center

Ridership: Oh, no. Can we not? Let’s just end the review here, 10/10, thanks for reading. Sigh. Yeah, this station fares slightly better than Courthouse, with almost 1600 riders per weekday over the latter’s 1300. But that’s still really bad, World Trade Center, so don’t look so smug. I’d imagine most ridership here comes on event days at the WTC or BCEC, though there are also some apartments and a hotel near here.

Pros: Just like Courthouse, this station is absolutely beautiful. I think I might even like it more than its western companion, just because of those fish. Courthouse was awesome and all, but it didn’t really have any art, per se. WTC has the fish as well as the whole underwater theme, which makes it very unique.

Cons: Yeah, yeah, the ridership, blah, blah, blah.

Nearby and Noteworthy: The constant development in the Seaport District is astounding. Every time I visit a new building has sprung up. A lot of them are residential, though, and not especially noteworthy. This station is basically in a no-man’s land between Fan Pier (served by Courthouse) and Liberty Wharf (served by Silver Line Way). Still, there’s the WTC and BCEC, so on event days at either this is the station to use.

Final Verdict: 8/10
Courthouse got a 7, pretty much for the sole reason that it’s beautiful. Well, I actually like World Trade Center a little more than Courthouse in terms of beauty, plus it gets marginally better ridership. For that, I’ll throw in an extra point. 8/10!

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

Salem (Before and After)

Dec 6, 2014 | Miles on the MBTA | 3 Comments

Man, this station used to be a dump. It had a low-level platform, a massive parking lot, and was just really ugly. Now, it has a high level platform, a massive parking garage, and some nice greenery to make the station look better. Throughout this post, I’ll be doing before-after pictures to compare the dumpiness of the old station to the betterness of the new one. Note that the “before” pictures will be exceptionally low in quality due to the fact that they were taken on a Nintendo 3DS. And unfortunately, I can’t put them side by side. But never mind that, let’s take a look at the drastically improved Salem Station.

Looking at the old station (I don’t have any overview pictures of the new one since the garage is in the way).

The entrance used to be pretty haphazard. You could tell it was an MBTA station thanks to the sign, but then there was a long set of rickety stairs that led down to the platform area. Now the entrance leads directly into the parking lot, and you can either take an indoor flight of stairs down, or use the glass elevator. I, of course, opted for the latter.

The old entrance.

And the new one, sadly lacking a “T” symbol.

The previous parking lot had just been, well, a parking lot. It had 340 spaces, which is actually pretty good. But as they say, bigger is better, so the new garage more than doubles that amount with over 700 spaces. There are apparently even spaces for electric cars here! The design of the parking lot also helps it stick out and lets people know, “Hey, there’s an MBTA station here!” I wish it had a logo on it, though.

The old parking lot.

Okay, so the fifth floor was the only one I looked at. But the view was amazing!

On top of that, the new station also has a waiting area. It was still being worked on when I was there – they’re going to put windows in and enclose it. But it’s already sheltered, and they’ve got benches. The new station boasts a bike area, too. It seems pretty expansive right now, but I guess they might add a cage. The MBTA website says a cage is there now, but I’m not sure if that’s an error or not. Either way, there’s a lot of parking for bikes.

The waiting area, admittedly kind of drab.

The busway of the old station was really primitive. It was basically just a sidewalk, though it did have an awkward bench in a wooden shelter. Now, there are pseudo benches, I suppose. I think passengers are expected to wait in the waiting room, which I guess makes sense. Annoyingly, they’ve kept the temporary busway from when the garage was being constructed, and to someone who hasn’t been there before, it looks like buses still stop there. They even have a “buses” sign pointing to it, which confused some tourists. Also, it’s annoying how they use outdated signs for the routes and just put white tape over the out-of-date stuff. Really, how expensive is it to get new signs?

The old busway.

And the new one.

Look, they’ve even kept the shelter from the temporary busway!

And finally, the platform. Although it’s single track (probably because of the lengthy tunnel that heads through downtown Salem to the south of the station), it becomes double quickly on either end. The old platform was mostly low-level, but I believe there was a ramp on the north side for handicapped people. Now, it’s fully high level, and it’s already looking pretty good despite the fact that they’re still building the northern part.

The old platform – blech.

And the new one. It’s a big dark, thanks to the shadow of the parking garage.

So overall, Salem Station has improved quite a lot over its predecessor. For one thing, there are elevators now instead of the crazy staircase from the old station. There’s also a waiting room, and a nicer busway. And finally, that parking garage is such an improvement over the lot they had before. Good job, MBTA.

An old locomotive at the old station.

And a new locomotive at the new station!

Also, a new passenger car leaving the new station.

Station: Salem

Ridership: Outside of Providence, Salem is the busiest station on the entire Commuter Rail system, not including the three hubs. In 2013, Salem averaged about 1200 inbound boardings per day. That certainly justifies the 700 space parking garage, doesn’t it?

Pros: Aside from the three hubs (North and South Stations, and Back Bay), this is the best and most modern Commuter Rail station I’ve ever been to. It has a whole bunch of amenities that don’t exist on the rest of the system. Fully high level platforms, in particular, are a pretty rare sight on the Commuter Rail. And the garage? It’s massive! It makes this a great park-and-ride station. There’s a nice busway, a convenient waiting area, and elevators to serve the garage. They’re even working on bike paths around the station! What doesn’t this place have?

Cons: These are mostly just pet peeves: I wish the entrance had an MBTA sign, I wish they got rid of the temporary busway, I wish the bus signs weren’t outdated, and I wish some parts were better lit.

Nearby and Noteworthy: There’s so much to do in Salem. Check the Nearby and Noteworthies on the 451 and 459 for some of them.

Final Verdict: 9/10
This is the Commuter Rail station that all other Commuter Rail stations look up to. It may have a few flaws, but in terms of Commuter Rail standards, this is one of the best. I’m excited to see what they do with it as construction draws to a close. I don’t know when I’ll be able to come back up here, but there’s still one Salem bus I haven’t ridden yet, the 465. Hmm…

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

455 (Salem Depot – Wonderland via Central Square, Lynn)

Dec 6, 2014 | Miles on the MBTA | 2 Comments

The 455 used to go all the way down to Haymarket, but during the bus massacre of July 2012 it was cut back to Wonderland. Trips to Wonderland had previously been weekend service, but now it goes there full time. That’s not to say that the cutbacks made the schedule bad, though; this is the most frequent bus that serves Salem.

This route is coordinated with the 459 on weekdays, since they both share local portions. Whereas the 450 and 456 go through a part of Salem with trashy businesses and large parking lots, the 455 and 459 serve a nicer, more residential area. I’m certainly not complaining.

So, we did the typical Salem bus loop, leaving the other routes by turning onto Congress Street. Going over a bridge, we then passed the Shetland Office/Industrial Park. (office on the schedule, industrial on the stop announcements, no idea which one is right.) Right after, we turned onto Harbor Street, a cute residential road, then again onto Lafayette Street.

This street had a mixture of houses, apartments, and architectural styles. There were a few really cute businesses at this one intersection. It wasn’t with a major street or anything, but you could tell the businesses were locally run. The scenery was mostly houses for a while after that, until a retail block at Loring Ave, which we turned on.

We went past a development (“Rainbow Terrace”), and then Salem State University. It went back to houses after that, then it got rural and marshy for a bit. Loring Ave turned to the left, and there were some businesses, as well as some developments and apartment complexes. This was Vinnin Square, with a connection to the 441 and 448 to Marblehead. We soon entered Swampscott and Loring Ave became Essex Street.

We went by a cemetery, Essex Street went over the Commuter Rail tracks (luckily with no level crossings, cough, cough, 451), and we passed Swampscott High School. Pretty soon after, we entered Lynn, and the businesses-house ratio slowly grew. We turned onto Chestnut Street, then Union Street, and eventually it became all businesses as we came into downtown Lynn.

Turning onto Silsbee Street, Mount Vernon Street, Spring Street, Broad Street, and finally Market Street, we stopped at the Lynn Commuter Rail station. There were a fair amount of people waiting here, but unfortunately we were about 15 minutes early and had to wait here. After the long layover (though without any pen personifying, cough, cough, 451). we finally continued up Market Street.

We then turned onto Common Street, which had houses on one side and Lynn Common on the other. There was some retail when Common Street became Market Square, then we turned onto Western Ave. This was a mix of businesses and houses, then at West Lynn Garage we switched drivers for some reason.

Going through Lynn had been pretty slow, so the next part was quite a relief. After a stop at the G.E. River Works Plant, Western Ave became Salem Turnpike, and it was a straight run through marshland. The driver floored it, and we made no stops along the way. At Brown Circle, we made our way to the American Legion Highway. There was another rotary, Bell Circle, where we turned onto VFW Parkway. This led us to yet another rotary, which led into the Wonderland busway.

The bus in Salem.

Route: 455 (Salem Depot – Wonderland via Central Square, Lynn)

Ridership: There were about 30 people who rode this bus, about half of whom got on in Lynn. That’s a pretty good amount for a reverse-peak run just before rush hour. Not everyone got off in Wonderland – some people got off at local stops after Lynn.

Pros: First and foremost, the schedule for this bus is really good for a 400 route. It’s every 15 minutes during rush hour, every 35 minutes during the day (with every other trip being a 459), every hour at night, every half hour on Saturdays, and every hour on Sundays. Not to mention there are also 450 weekend trips that go from Salem to Wonderland, though those don’t run as often. I also like how this route serves the more residential eastern part of Salem, over the uglier western part served by the 450 and 456.

Cons: The 450W is a much faster ride to Wonderland on weekends, since it bypasses downtown Lynn. That part can be really annoying on the 455, especially if you have to wait there. Also, every hour on Sundays isn’t great, but it’s not terrible for a 400 route.

Nearby and Noteworthy: Salem, once again. There is so much to do in that city! I should go during Halloween sometime.

Final Verdict: 8/10

Overall, this bus is pretty good, mainly for its schedule. The only real problem I have with that is the Sunday schedule, though the headways become every half hour when you factor in the 450W. That said, it could be annoying if you were trying to head into downtown Lynn on a Sunday. But overall, the 455 seems to get the ridership to match its good schedule, and considering how far it takes you, it’s a pretty good route.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

It’s the 14th Annual Fill-A-Bus with gifts! Learn how to donate here.

451 (North Beverly – Salem Depot via Cabot Street or Tozer Road)

Dec 6, 2014 | Miles on the MBTA | 12 Comments

This route is really isolated: it’s the northernmost MBTA bus route; it only runs eight times a day; it’s one of the most expensive buses for the MBTA to run; it was on the chopping block in 2012; and it goes down a road on which not even Google Street View has travelled! They’ve gone all the way down to Antarctica, but Tozer Road is just way too inaccessible for them. Anyway, let’s waste no more time and head up to Beverly on the 451.

455 photobomb in the background!

Leaving the busway with just one other person riding, we headed down North Street through downtown Salem. We then turned onto Norman Street, which became New Derby Street after a massive intersection. Then we turned onto Hawthorne Boulevard, which is where the 451 leaves all the other Salem routes. Going by Salem Common, we passed the infamous Salem Witch Museum, then turned onto Winter Street.

What a bridge!

It was residential here, with some beautiful old architecture. Then we turned onto Bridge Street, which had a few businesses in between the houses. At around this point, one of the passengers suddenly said “Is this the Wonderland bus?” Upon finding out that it wasn’t, he swore loudly as he left the bus to head back to Salem Center for the 455. So eventually, with one fewer passenger, we headed onto Bridge Street’s namesake, a large bridge. Heading over the Danvers River, we entered Beverly on the other side.

The view of Beverly.

We headed down Cabot Street, initially going by houses and then some businesses. These got nicer and more happening as we went along – there was even an old-fashioned movie theater! Interestingly, the 451 bypasses the Beverly Commuter Rail station, though that seems to be in a more industrial area, and anyway, it’s covered by the Beverly Local Bus.

I love that sign!

Soon we turned onto Elliott Street, which was more residential. Annoyingly, there were two level crossings with the Commuter Rail on this section, which meant the bus had to stop and open the doors to check for trains twice. We then turned into the big parking lot of the Cummings Center, which seemed to be a strange office park/mall mixture. When we left that, we had to cross over the level crossings again, which made this part of the route take a really long time.

There would normally be some nice fountains here, but they were probably turned off for the winter.

Going back down Elliott Street, we turned once again onto Cabot Street, which was a nice residential area. After crossing over the Commuter Rail tracks again (and with some more stopping and door-opening action), there were a few trashy businesses. Then we went by a park and had another level crossing with the Commuter Rail tracks! Geez, Louise!

We went by a few schools, but it was mostly residential fare. At an intersection with some more trashy businesses, we turned onto Dodge Street and crossed Route 128. There was a big mall, then it turned residential once again. The businesses came back at North Beverly Station, which we passed but (thank goodness) didn’t cross over. There was one more stop after the station, which was announced as Super Stop & Shop, the second one to appear on the route, in fact. Yes, both Stop & Shops on the 451 are in their elusive “super” forms.

I was the only one on the bus by this point, but I didn’t want to get out here and wait an hour for the next one. So, I just sat there in the back. The driver eventually turned off the vehicle, which made things even more awkward. Quietly checking my schedule, it looked like we were 15 minutes early and would have to lay over for that long.

It was all right at first, but then the driver started to loudly whistle. Did he notice me? Would he kick me out? It got even weirder when he started to personify his pens…out loud. “I need you, and you,” he said in between the whistling. I thought he was talking to me at first, which would’ve been really creepy. I was so relieved when he started up the bus again (still whistling) and maneuvered it out of the small mall we were in.

So we headed back down Enon Street, and then Dodge Street again. But this time we turned onto Tozer Road, a very rural street that didn’t have sidewalks or even Google Street View! We went past “Beverly Commons,” which seemed to essentially be a gated community, and then we crossed the darn Commuter Rail tracks again. After crossing Route 128, we passed a lot of industrial warehouses, and apparently a tennis club.

It’s just endless, snowy woods.

We went by a “green energy park,” which is pretty cool, then after turning onto Sohier Road, we passed the Beverly High School. It got residential again, and we went by a middle school. We turned onto Colon Street, Cabot Street (crossing over the stupid tracks again), and then Rantoul Street. Turning once again onto Elliott Street, we crossed over those rascally tracks twice, stopped at the Cummings Center, (with two people getting on this time!) and then crossed over the tracks again.

“Massachusetts Economic Opportunity Area.” I guess that’s what the Cummings Center is…

We headed back through the nice businesses of Cabot Street, and then went back over the bridge. Unfortunately, the driver was driving in the left lane, so the view from the bridge was pretty bad. The Commuter Rail tracks have a separate bridge over the Danvers River, but you can’t see it from the road one. Actually, I’m surprised the tracks don’t just have a level crossing with the river! They have about a million of ’em already!

An industrial view of Salem.

We headed back down Bridge Street, Winter Street, Hawthorne Boulevard, and New Derby Street. Then we turned onto Washington Street, going past lots of nice businesses. We then turned onto Bridge Street, and drove into the Salem busway.

And the bus back in Salem,

Route: 451 (North Beverly – Salem Depot via Cabot Street or Tozer Road)

Ridership: This is one of those extremely local routes where very, very few people ride. There were only six passengers who rode the bus up towards Beverly (not including the guy that wanted the 455) and only seven coming back.

Pros: Although Beverly has its own local shuttle, the 451 goes much further north than it, and also serves Salem Station, a minor bus hub. Other than that, though, there aren’t many good things about the route.

Cons: Namely, the schedule is terrible. The bus only runs eight times a day, weekdays only, with a gap in between rush hours. I mean, it gets pretty poor ridership, but that’s a really bad schedule.

Nearby and Noteworthy: The “downtowney” part along Cabot Street in Beverly was really nice, particularly that movie theater. This is also the only bus that goes by the Salem Witch Museum (admittedly kind of a tourist trap, but still worth a look), though it’s a short walk from the Salem Station. The route also goes by the New England Pirate Museum, which I went to when I was younger. I seem to remember liking it, and it has pretty good Google reviews.

Final Verdict: 4/10

Look, I know this is the only MBTA route that serves Beverly, and it’s definitely worth a ride if only for the bridge over the Danvers River. But good luck trying to do so, because the schedule is terrible. The ridership is bad, but this route ought to stick around, being the only one in Beverly.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

450/450W (Salem Depot – Haymarket or Wonderland Station via Highland Ave)

Dec 4, 2014 | Miles on the MBTA | 1 Comment

A long time ago, on one of my very first for-fun bus trips, my father and I took the 459 up to Salem. I mentioned in that post how we got stuck up there, and a 459 back to Boston never showed up. At one point, there was a 450 that came, but for some reason I didn’t want to take it. Think of this ride as an apology for so rudely ignoring that bus.

Leaving Haymarket, we headed up North Washington Street for a bit before turning onto Valenti Way, then Beverly Street. We then took the highway ramp towards Logan Airport, heading into a tunnel. We came back up for a few seconds, then floored it into the Callahan Tunnel under Boston Harbor.

I thought a picture in the Callahan Tunnel would look cool. I was wrong.

We came out in East Boston, and Route 1A rose onto a bridge. We went very close to the airport, but instead of taking the exit for it, we stayed on Route 1A. Going by Airport Station, the highway rose up again for a bit before coming back down to ground level. The first stop outside of Haymarket was in an industrial area, but we just sailed right past it.

There were a few off-site parking lots for Logan Airport, as well as some hotels with shuttles there, along this portion of the route. We went through an extremely industrial area (it was just a bunch of vats), which was announced as Suffolk Downs. I mean, Suffolk Downs is close, I guess, but you can’t actually see it from where the bus runs, and who uses the 450 to get there? We then went through Bell Circle, which is where the 450W on weekends joins up with the route from Wonderland.

We continued onto American Legion Highway, or Route 60. There was a massive church and yet another Logan Airport-related hotel (even though we were pretty far from there by now), but there were also a few houses along the highway. Unfortunately, though, it got industrial again at Brown Circle, where we headed up on the Salem Turnpike.

The view from the Turnpike.

The driver floored it, since the road was just a straight run through massive areas of marshland. There were a few industrial warehouses along here, but it was mostly just the reeds of the Rumney Marsh. But then, right out of nowhere, there was a massive (and I mean huge) factory that appeared by the road.

Why, hello there!

Then we slowly went onto a bridge over a river, and Salem Turnpike became Western Ave. We were in Lynn now, and it was once again industrial. At the West Lynn Garage, the driver pulled over and another one crossed the street to our bus. The two drivers conversed for a bit, (too long, to be honest – we were on a schedule!) then the other one took over the bus. After that, Western Ave became a mix of houses and businesses.

At South Common Street, many of the routes leave Western Ave to serve downtown Lynn, but we didn’t join them. This meant a relatively speedy ride compared to if the bus served downtown. Western Ave was still a house-business mixture, though with more of an emphasis on the former. At Eastern Ave, we were joined by the 456. and then we went on a bridge over a pond.

The view of the pond.

We went through a residential area, then we entered Salem, Western Ave became Highland Ave, and the surroundings got a whole lot dumpier. There were a few houses, but for the most part it was ugly businesses with massive parking lots. My fa-vor-ite. Finally, it got nice again, and we were back in a residential area.

We passed the huge Salem Hospital, and when Highland Ave became Essex Street, there were some nice businesses (without massive parking lots, thank you very much). Then we went through a fantastic-looking residential neighborhood, with very old-fashioned houses. In downtown Salem, we turned onto Summer Street and then Norman Street, going by plenty of businesses. We turned onto Washington Street at a massive intersection that took quite a while to traverse, then we turned again onto Bridge Street. From here, we made our way to the new Salem busway.

The bus back at Haymarket.

Route: 450/450W (Salem Depot – Haymarket or Wonderland Station via Highland Ave)

Ridership: In total, there were almost 25 people that rode this bus. That’s pretty good for a route of this caliber, and the fact that it was midday. There were only about 10 people that got on at Haymarket for the express portion, and the rest used the 450 for local service. I was the only one that went all the way to Salem Depot, with everyone else getting off in the center.

Pros: This route gives Salem a direct link to Boston, and saves lots of time by bypassing downtown Lynn (unlike the 459, though that goes from Salem to the Seaport and Financial Districts). There’s still a bit of traffic heading down Western Ave, but the bus travels very quickly for most of the route. I also like that this route has weekend service as the 450W to Wonderland, but…

Cons: The schedule’s pretty bad overall. It’s every half hour during rush hour, every 80 minutes during the day, every 60 minutes at night, every 70 minutes Saturdays, and every 60 minutes Sundays. Not only is it an unconventional schedule, (why does it run more often at night than during the day, why does it run more often on Sundays than Saturdays, etc.) but there are also some trips that start/end at the West Lynn Garage. One other thing: this bus goes so close to the airport, why not serve it? It would make a faster ride from there to Salem than the 459.

Nearby and Noteworthy: Downtown Salem for sure. Because as the holidays rapidly approach, witches are on everyone’s minds, right? Right?

Final Verdict: 5/10
As a North Shore express bus, this is pretty good. But I saw some fairly decent ridership that makes me think that the schedule could stand to get a boost. I mean, every 80 minutes on weekdays is kind of ridiculous. And make sure your bus isn’t terminating at the West Lynn garage! Because that place is pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates
October 2014 had the MBTA’s highest ridership ever. It was the first time it surpassed 37 million passengers in a month. Also, the federal government will be paying for half of the Green Line extension! This is happening, people!

Random Photos: Portal of Power, Part 2

Nov 30, 2014 | Miles on the MBTA | 0 Comments

Looking at a Silver Line bus leaving the portal. Photo credit to my friend Chloé Gilligan.

Random Photos: There’s a Bathroom at Wonderland?

Nov 30, 2014 | Miles on the MBTA | 4 Comments

You may know that I loved Wonderland as a station. Well, I just found another reason why it’s awesome. I was waiting on the platform for an inbound train, and I saw these two women go through a door that said “Ladies room.” “Wow,” I thought, “Is there a men’s room, too?” Turns out there was! And both bathrooms were right on the platform! It was kind of stinky in there, but overall it was clean (not that I checked any of the stalls). This was a genuine surprise for me.

They really need to make this more obvious. It just looks like a random door until you look up close.

Yes, I took a panorama. I couldn’t fit the whole bathroom in one shot!

Random Photos: View From the Salem Parking Garage

Nov 30, 2014 | Miles on the MBTA | 0 Comments

As you may know, I love going on parking lots. So, I had to check out the roof of the new one in Salem. It was really awkward because there was a guy working up there, who didn’t respond to my “Hi!” or “I’m just checking out the view.” But the view was pretty fantastic, even if there weren’t any skylines.