The surprisingly high number of routes going between Malden Center and Wellington/Sullivan have never struck me as being particularly noteworthy. Some of them are unique: the 105 with its crazy Newland Street Housing route or the 97 for its Gateway Center detour. But the majority of them are just standard local routes, and the 104 is one of them.

We started out going over the Alford Street bridge, just like the 105. Then it became Broadway and we went through the industrial wasteland/disgustingly large parking lot area. But instead of heading up Main Street like the 105, we continued down Broadway through a mostly residential area. But soon we reached Everett Square, which had a bunch of cute small businesses.

The fairly nice view from the Alford Street bridge.

After that there was a pleasant mixture of houses and businesses. Eventually we turned onto Ferry Street, which is the unique portion of the route. After a fairly tall building (called Glendale Towers according to the bus announcement), it became a nice residential neighborhood. There was a school at the intersection with Cross Street (and the 105) and then businesses started to appear again.

Literally five blocks later we intersected with the 105 again (remember how I said that 105 route is really circuitous?) then we headed up Main Street. We turned onto Florence Street, the buildings now taller in Malden Center. Florence Street curved to the left, and we pulled into the Malden Center busway.

The 104 in Malden.

Route: 104 (Malden Center Station – Sullivan Square Station via Ferry Street and Broadway)

Ridership: A healthy amount of people rode the bus: about 30. Obviously no one went from beginning to end, but many people just used it as a feeder to the Orange Line. Based on my experiences on the 104 and 105, it seems like that’s what these Malden Center to Wellington/Sullivan routes are for.

Pros: Seems like a lot of people on Ferry Street use the bus, as this is very well-used. 30 people on a Saturday is pretty good. Some aspects of this bus’s schedule are great: every 15 minutes during rush hour is awesome, and every 30-35 minutes on Saturdays isn’t bad.

Cons: Unfortunately it’s every 40 minutes during the day, which is awful, and every 60-65 minutes nights and Sundays. Also, I noticed that heading into Malden, a number of routes take a really circuitous path through the center, the 104 included. It’s not like anyone used the weird route we took, but heading out of Malden on the 105 using the more direct Center Street, there were a bunch of people waiting! I feel that the buses should use Center Street going both ways instead of the current loop situation.

Nearby and Noteworthy: Everett Square seemed to be the nicest area along the route.

Final Verdict: 6/10
There have been a lot of mediocre routes lately… The main issue I have with the 104 is just that the weekday, night, and Sunday schedules are pretty bad. A fair amount of people used the bus on a Saturday. This doesn’t affect the final verdict for this specific bus (it would probably detract from Malden Center Station’s score when I get around to reviewing it), but the route it and its counterparts take in the center is pretty weird. Once again, I think they should just go down Center Street both ways.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates
In blog news, I’m thinking about starting a new type of post called “Diary of a Bus Adventurer.” It would basically be about what happens between the actual bus rides, because there are some interesting things that happen aside from the buses themselves. I’m taking some buses today, so maybe I’ll try a trial post.

Let me be clear right from the start: never take this bus from beginning to end. No one in their right mind would use this bus (which takes about a half hour in total) to get from Malden Center to Sullivan when the train can do it in a few minutes. So basically, don’t try this at home. With that out of the way, let’s take a ride on the 105.

I have no idea what’s going on with the destination board in this picture.

Leaving Malden Center, we headed down Center Street and picked up a fair amount of people at the very first stop, in front of a huge Super Stop and Shop (what makes it “super” I have no idea). Center Street became Eastern Ave, which was one of those neighborhoods with way too many auto shops and parking lots. Then we got to the really crazy part. Ready? Right turn on Bryant Street, left turn on Lyme Street, left turn on Willow Street, right turn on Bowdoin Street, right turn on Newland Street, right turn back onto Bryant Street, left turn on Cross Street. Wow.

I had been wondering what the Newland Street Housing was, and my assumption was confirmed: a development where all the houses are exactly the same. But many of the people on the bus got off here, and this is the only route to serve the neighborhood. There were also a few people who got on to go to Sullivan, and then we carried on.

If you ever take the 105 you’ll see a lot of these.

We then went down Cross Street, which was a nice residential street (for a change). There was a school at one point, but it was mostly just houses. We turned onto Main Street, which was a nice cross between residential and cute little businesses. It was like this for a while, with no one getting on or off the bus, and we soon got to a huge rotary. We headed onto Broadway, which was another neighborhood with grotesquely large parking lots. However, we did go by an MBTA bus yard, which was pretty cool. I could see a few really old buses, as well as an experimental bus not used in actual service.

A really bad picture, but you get the idea.

Broadway became Alford Street and we went by a giant factory (it was an industrial wasteland in general), then over a bridge. There was a view of the MBTA yard (see picture above), but the Boston skyline couldn’t be seen. We then made our way into the Sullivan Square busway, and we all got off into the darkness under the highway.

No garbled destination board this time.

Route: 105 (Malden Center Station – Sullivan Square Station via Newland Street Housing)

Ridership: The Newland Street Housing area was sort of a swap: people coming from Malden Center got off, and people going to Sullivan got on. The main purpose of this route is to connect the Newland Street Housing to the Orange Line. About 20-25 people rode in total on a Saturday afternoon.

Pros: Once again, this is the only route to serve the Newland Street Housing area, and it does that well. It seems to be fairly well-used by locals.

Cons: Seems like the schedule’s always a con. It’s about every 30 minutes rush hour (give or take), every 70 minutes during the day with service ending at 7:15, and every 60 minutes weekends. It’s not as terrible as other routes, but it could certainly be better. Also, if you’re in Malden Center and have to get to Main Street, don’t use the 105. Take the 99 or the 106, as they both run more often and are much MUCH more direct.

Nearby and Noteworthy: Your best bet at finding something interesting would be on Main Street or just in Malden Center. The Newland Street Housing isn’t noteworthy, that’s for sure.

Final Verdict: 5/10
Another 5. And just like the last one, this route has a purpose of serving a specific area, but its schedule drags it down. The 132’s schedule was worse, but the 105 still loses points on the crazy route it takes. Surely it could do something less…weird?

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates
Janitors on the MBTA are protesting about the planned layoffs of almost one third of the total cleaning workforce.

“Redstone Shopping Center – that sounds really cool!” was my first thought when I boarded the bus. Is it as cool as it sounds? Find out as we take a trip through the heart of Stoneham on the 132…

The first thing to note is that the 132 leaves from the much smaller second busway at Malden Center. Signage is so bad that I had no idea this busway even existed until I took this bus. We left the station with maybe 10 people on and headed up Summer Street. This was a residential neighborhood, and it wasn’t that nice. We turned onto Clifton Street and the neighborhood seemed to get better, then we turned onto Washington Street.

The bus in Malden.

There was a fairly large amount of people who got on at Oak Grove, then we went through an industrial wasteland-ish neighborhood. It got residential soon, though, and there were a few small businesses around Wyoming Hill Station. We turned onto West Wyoming Ave into another residential area, and then crossed Fellsway East into the wilderness.

Well, not the wilderness, but the Middlesex Falls Reservation. But it was just a forest, and we sped right through it. Suddenly I noticed some kangaroos behind a fence right by the road. After initial confusion, I realized we were going by the Stone Zoo. Literally going by – there aren’t any stops here. There was even a residential area after! But no stops.

A lovely view of Spot Pond.

We then turned onto Main Street upon exiting the reservation and started making stops again. It was a residential area, with a few businesses and a school dotted in. Soon we reached Stoneham Square, which actually seemed pretty happening. Most of the people on the bus got off here, leaving only four people. Main Street then became a haven for trashy businesses and overly large parking lots. I started to get worried about Redstone. And then, we arrived.

Yup, it’s a dump.

What was I expecting? For some reason, a legitimate mall. Anything but, it was basically a parking lot and a very mediocre store selection. But I had to hang out there for an hour until the next bus. If you want to know about how I entertained myself for all this time, check the Nearby and Noteworthy section below. Anyway, I headed back to the bus stop about 10 minutes before it was due to arrive (I’m not taking chances with hour-long headways).

The bus stop.

The stop was better than the Burlington Mall situation on the 350! There was a real bench here. A real bench! But whereas the Burlington Mall is a very popular stop, there were maybe three other people waiting here for the 132. The MBTA needs to get its stop priorities straight.

Finally!

Route: 132 (Redstone Shopping Center – Malden Center Station)

Ridership: There were maybe 20 people on the bus heading north. Most of them came on from the Orange Line, and quite a few people got off at Stoneham Square. There weren’t many that continued on to Redstone.

Pros: This route cuts right through the heart of Stoneham, and aside from the 99 (which barely goes into it anyway), this is the only bus that serves the town.

Cons: Let’s talk schedule. It’s every hour during the day, every 45 minutes during the evening (but not morning) rush, and every hour on Saturdays. There’s no service at night or on Sundays. Another note is that the bus makes no stops at all within the Middlesex Falls Reservation. I’m not sure if people would take the bus to Stone Zoo, but I feel like a stop close to it would be great, especially since there are houses nearby as well.

Nearby and Noteworthy: So what did I do at Redstone? Well, there was this weird place called The Paper Store that had a lot of different items on offer. There was a decent book section (considering the shopping center has no proper bookstore), a fair amount of toys, and lots of greeting cards. This is a Hallmark-owned store, after all.

Final Verdict: 5/10
It gets extra points for being pretty much the only bus that goes through Stoneham, but that doesn’t change the fact that it has issues. The main thing is the bad schedule, of course, but then there’s the issue of the Middlesex Falls Reservation. Is there some sort of protected land issue that prevents bus stops from being put in the area, or is there a different reason why there’s no stop for the Stone Zoo?

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates