7 (City Point – Otis and Summer Streets via Summer Street and South Station)
When the Silver Line Waterfront was first opened, it consisted of three routes: the SL1 to the airport, the SL2 to the Design Center, and the SL3 to City Point. The SL1 and SL2 still exist (obviously – I’ve reviewed them both), but the SL3 was eliminated in 2009 due to low ridership. Part of the reason was that most of the SL3’s trip followed the 7 on Summer Street. Everyone was still using the 7 over the Silver Line, probably because the 7 goes all the way to Downtown Crossing whereas the Silver Line terminates at South Station.
Whatever the reason, the SL3 is gone but the 7 is still here. Think of the 7 as a City Point to downtown express – of the five City Point buses, the 7 is the fastest. After a nice walk on the Head Island Causeway (right near the City Point beach), I walked back to the “City Point Bus Terminal.” I was a little unsure about this, as the driver of the 10 to City Point had kicked me off before we had gotten there. There wasn’t really much there, just a small building for bus drivers and a bus sign. Since the sign was there, I assumed I was allowed to wait. There wasn’t a bench, so I sat on a little barrier.
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| I think there’s a mistake. I just said the Silver Line doesn’t run here anymore! |
It was a really weird neighborhood. To get to the bus terminal from the beach, I had to walk down a street with houses on one side and a massive wasteland with a “no trespassing” fence on the other. There was barely a sidewalk, if you can call it that. There was a large cluster of shifty-looking people I noticed on my walk, just hanging out beyond the fence. As for the actual terminal, there’s a huge field to the south, a huge factory to the west, the wasteland to the east, and some strange vats (it’s apparently a power plant) to the north. Not to mention it was getting dark, as well.
Luckily, the 7 drove in a few minutes later. “Am I allowed to wait here?” I asked the driver when she got out. “No,” she replied, “but you can get on if you want.” I got on the empty bus and just waited while the driver went on break. We were sandwiched between two buses, and in the one on the right, I noticed its driver doing some exercise routine. Five minutes later, the driver came back and we were off. I couldn’t help noticing that there was a City Point Bus Terminal announcement, so apparently buses used to drop people off here.
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| Think of this as an “exclusive visit” to the City Point Bus Terminal. |
We headed down strange East 1st Street, going by the cluster of people again. Soon we turned onto P Street, going through a nice area with three-story apartments. At just about every stop, one or two people would get on the bus (and every time, the driver would open the doors before stopping the bus – I always hate that). We turned onto East 4th Street, and my first thought was the 121. On both East 4th Street and Lexington Street (the street the 121 runs on), there are closely-spaced apartments, and both streets are very narrow. Our bus had to swerve aside a few times so cars could pass.
There was a tiny little park between East 4th Street and Emerson Street. It may be cute in the summer, but since it’s winter, the grass was all dead and there were snow patches everywhere. There were some businesses at the intersection of East 4th Street and L street. Here, we turned onto L, which soon became Summer Street. There were a lot of potholes in the road as we went by a huge factory, and the bus bounced around a lot. “Sorry, this is supposed to be fun!” shouted the bus driver.
At the factory, there’s an alternate routing of the 7. It turns onto East 1st Street, then again onto Pappas Way, joining with the regular routing at Summer Street. During rush hour, every other bus uses this route, and I actually really want to try it. It looks like a legitimate industrial wasteland, and Pappas Way looks like it has so many potholes it’s unsuitable for buses.
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| The Design Center, glistening in the sunset. This was on the Summer Street bridge. |
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| I did get this somewhat nice picture of the Financial District, though. |
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| Those headlights seem really bright, don’t they? |
Cons: The problem is the weekend schedule. On Saturdays, it runs every 40 minutes (essentially one bus shuttling back and forth), and it doesn’t even run on Sundays. I’ve always thought this bus’s schedule is a bit wonky.
Nearby and Noteworthy: The East Broadway @ Farragut Road stop is right next to the beach (don’t go all the way to the end like I did – that neighborhood is really weird, and you have to walk a while to get to the beach). I recommend taking a walk on the Head Island Causeway – it’s a little ways down the road, but the views it offers are absolutely fantastic. I may do a “Random Photos” with the pictures I took.
Final Verdict: 8/10
It’s just too bad the crazy schedule isn’t better. This bus has so much going for it: the speed, the views, the fact that it goes right downtown… and the rush hour and (to a somewhat lesser extent) weekday schedules are amazing. Every 4 minutes? That’s 10 buses running on this small little route! It’s just too bad the weekend schedule’s so bad. I feel they could stick in an extra bus on Saturdays (bumping service up to every 20 minutes), or even run a single bus on Sundays for every 40 minute service? The ridership I saw seemed decent enough…
Latest MBTA News: Service Updates
Yesterday, a Green Line train derailed near Fenway Station. 10 people were injured.
Random Photos: Bunching Buddies
I was at Sullivan Station, and noticed two 89’s right next to each other. This is bunching taken to a whole new level…
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| It’s just fantastic. Not that I like bunching, but it’s fantastic. |
Random Photos: A Ride on a Security Camera Bus
I was pretty excited when I was able to ride not one, but two of the new buses equipped with security cameras. Some people seemed to find the screen on the bus quite amusing…
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| I apologize for the product placement… |
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| Hey, I can see myself! |
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| Just in case nobody noticed the screen at the front. |
Kenmore
I had been wanting to go to Kenmore for awhile, simply because of the countdown clocks they installed there. I finally got the chance to visit after – what else? – taking a bus. And the busway, I have to say, is pretty darn…awesome. Just the fact that a station in the city has a busway is amazing, but this is a really nice, modern structure. Although it’s in the median of the street, there is an underground passage via the station proper. You don’t actually have to pay to use it, so if you’re not coming from the train, you can still get to the busway without much hassle.
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| I wasn’t really sure how to describe it, so I hope this picture suffices. |
The busway itself is also very modern. There are numerous maps around, some subway and some bus. There’s a black bench that runs along the length of the busway as well. There are both stairs and a urine-smelling elevator one can use to get down to the station proper. As for bus connections in general, there aren’t actually that many. The five routes range from hopelessly overcrowded (the 57) to somewhat decent schedules (the 8, the 60 to a lesser extent) to somewhat horrible schedules (the 19, the 65). It’s too bad such an amazing busway only serves five buses.
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| Two entrances in one! |
As for the other entrances, there are two – one on either side of the street. They both offer a staircase as well as a urine-smelling elevator. And both of them have really disgusting passageways to the main station. Somewhat reminiscent of the Winter Street Concourse between Park Street and Downtown Crossing, the passageways are dark, dingy, and disgusting. At least they don’t have the ugly pipes and random doors in the Winter Street Concourse, although the Concourse is much better lit.
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| Blurry, but you can see how gross it is. |
The station mezzanine is much, much better. There are Boston Red Sox references all around here (and for good reason – Kenmore is actually closer to Fenway Park than Fenway Station is), including an information booth painted entirely in Red Sox livery! The mezzanine also has generous amounts of glass, something I personally love. It had a very hectic feel to it, with everyone walking quickly to get to their trains.
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| I love this mezzanine. |
Kenmore’s platform is nicely organized. The point where the B,C, and D Lines split, there are actually four tracks running through here. Two are for B Line trains, and two are for C and D Line trains (which share a tunnel for a few hundred yards past the station). The platforms themselves are simple (some may say bland), but I actually like them. Unlike some stations (*cough* Prudential *cough*), I didn’t really find the pipes on the ceiling to be that ugly. Is it just because there aren’t as many? I have no idea.
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| Well, I like it. |
Of course, we can’t forget about the elusive countdown clocks. Kenmore Station, as I said, is the location of the Green Line’s first countdown clocks. Well, sort of. They don’t actually tell you when the next train is coming, they only tell you where the next train is going (Riverside, Cleveland Circle, etc.). And it’s only on the outbound side, as everyone knows where the inbound trains are going. There are even announcements to compliment the clocks. They may not have times, but it’s a start.
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| Well, I suppose the pipes seem a little more conspicuous here… |
Station: Kenmore
Ridership: This is definitely the big Fenway Park station. I believe the MBTA runs special Green Line trips here on game days to serve the hoards of baseball fans. I believe there are also a few B.U. buildings around here, so students may also use this station.
Pros: I really like the busway, especially since it even exists. Most stations in Boston have their bus connections at random street intersections that are impossible to find (I’m looking at you, Downtown Crossing), but Kenmore has a proper busway. I also like the modern mezzanine, and the platforms, though some may find the latter to be bland and ugly. Oh, and the countdown clocks. You can’t forget about the countdown clocks.
Cons: As I said, some may find the platform bland. But what’s worse, in my opinion, are the really ugly passageways used to get to the mezzanine. Also, bus connections are rather slim. Finally, the countdown clocks don’t show the time, but they’re still the only ones on the system and are pretty cool anyway.
Nearby and Noteworthy: Right near the station is a typical massive Barnes and Noble. It seems like there are less bookstores everyday, but it’s nice that this one is still there.
Final Verdict: 7/10
I think overall, this is a really nice station. The mezzanine is modern, the busway is fantastic, and the platforms are nice, in my opinion. Though bus connections are slim and that passageway is disgusting, this is still a pretty good station.
Latest MBTA News: Service Updates
A renovated Yawkey Station is set to open Monday, when the new Framingham/Worcester Commuter Rail schedule kicks in. It will be the MBTA’s first “zero net energy” station, with solar panels and a photovoltaic power plant next to it. The full station is set to open in 2017.
Miles on the MBTA is Now on Twitter (and a Big Thanks to Universal Hub)!
I’ve never really wanted a Twitter account. The whole 140 character thing just irritates me, and I’ve never seen the need to get one. The only reason I got an account was that one day, I got a surprising amount of views on my blog, all of whom were looking at one particular post. I checked to see where they were coming from, but it was from Twitter and it wouldn’t let me see the link. I tried going onto Twitter to search “MBTA” to see if I could find it, but I had to get an account to do it. So, although I didn’t want to, I did.
I just named the account “Miles on the MBTA,” but figured I wouldn’t revisit it. I searched “MBTA” now that I could, and found a post written by Adam Gaffin. He’s the founder of the popular local news site, Universal Hub. I had been featured on the site once before, with my account of the trip with Adham Fisher. This time, though, it was a Random Photos post about someone scratching out the “U” and the “R” in “Watch your step.” (Watch yo step) I was so happy to have been featured on such a popular Twitter page, but I don’t believe I ever thanked Adam in any posts.
Well, a few days ago Adam featured me once again, this time both on Twitter and on Universal Hub proper. It was my tirade about the MBTA’s online subway map, and aside from that post rocketing up to the top five most viewed of all time, I also got the largest number of views in a day: 1500. So thank you Adam, as well as all the new readers coming from Universal Hub.
So what does this have to do with the new Miles on the MBTA Twitter page? Well, the Twitter posts from Adam, as well as one too many emails telling me to return to the site, inspired me to revisit my page. I added some photos and made it look nicer overall. Keep in mind that this will probably be like my Facebook page – there won’t be any live updates or anything while I’m riding the bus, simply because I don’t have a smartphone. I’ll probably just “Tweet” every time there’s a new post on the main blog, with possibly the occasional quip about the MBTA. But you should still follow, anyway – it’s free, right?
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| I wasn’t sure what to put here, so I just did a generic Twitter logo. Image Source |
The MBTA Needs to Update Its Online Map
I was looking at the Interactive Street Map version of the MBTA subway map on its website. It’s essentially Google Maps with MBTA lines over it. You can click on each stop and it tells you bus connections, what Commuter Rail zone the station’s in if served, gives you accessibility, parking, and bike information, and allows you to view the station page. A fantastic feature, but I found a lot of things wrong with the map, which I will show through screenshots taken on my computer (you’ll probably want to click on them to make them larger).
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| The biggest issue is the fact that the Silver Line appears to have a million more stops than it actually does. If you click on most of them, they just say “Point,” and that’s it. They only go away if you reload the page. |
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| As you can see, it just says “Point.” |
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| There are way more buses than that serving Dudley. Also, the Silver Line is listed under “Subway.” Don’t make me laugh. |
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| I don’t even know what’s happening here. |
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| If you look at Aquarium, it says it’s served by the 6 bus. The 6 was eliminated in 2009. If you click on the schedule link, it just takes you to the list of MBTA bus routes. Whoops. |
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| It irritates me how a) the lines don’t correspond to the tracks shown on Google Maps, and b) the stops don’t correspond to the stops on Google Maps. This happens in a lot of places. |
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| Sorry, MBTA, but Terminal D was eliminated in 2006. Also, they forgot to mention the other buses that serve Logan Airport. |
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| Again with the tracks not corresponding. Hmm, the Red Line seems to go on a massive bridge between JFK/UMASS and North Quincy. |
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| The MBTA brought back the 48? Oh, wait, it’s a map error. Silly me. |
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| I also looked at the Commuter Rail map. The Newburyport/Rockport Line seems to be missing. |
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| This is actually Beverly Depot. It’s labeled as “Point,” for some reason. |
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| At Salem, the 468, which was eliminated in 2012, is shown, but not the 465, which still exists. |
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| South Station has a lot of problems. First of all, our good friend, the 6, is listed. And second, it lists the 441, 441W, 442, and 442W. The 441 and 442 from Marblehead never served South Station (they used to go to Haymarket before getting cut back to Wonderland in 2012), and the “W” variations from Marblehead would’ve terminated at Wonderland! |
501 (EXPRESS BUS Brighton Center – Downtown via Oak Square and Mass Turnpike)
The 501 had one of those drivers that hates when you take pictures of them. He said that I needed to have his permission to take pictures of the bus. I wasn’t really sure what to say, so I just said “Okay, sorry,” and went to the back. Neither of us mentioned it again.
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| Was it even worth getting yelled at for? This picture is terrible! Look what strange effect the rain had on it. |
The 501 is a typical I-90 express bus. It started, like all the other ones, at Federal and Franklin Streets, and then headed over to Otis and Summer Streets. We made our way to Surface Road, heading past the Chinatown Gate, then headed onto I-90. The John Hancock Building and Fenway Park were both visible, then we headed up onto the bridge over Storrow Drive (with a great view of the Charles River). We went through the special bus and truck lane at the tolls, and it got more suburban heading from there.
The traffic started just before the Newton Corner exit. Luckily we got off there and didn’t have to deal with it for very long. We did a crazy loop around Newton Corner before heading down Tremont Street, along with the 57 and the 503 (exactly the same as the 501, except it starts at Copley – that should be an interesting review).
This was a nice little residential area, and like when I rode the 57, it was hard to imagine that the Green Line once went down here. At Oak Square, Tremont Street merged into Washington Street. There were a lot of businesses around here, and everyone but me and another woman got off. There were mostly apartments on the section following Oak Square, but we soon got to Brighton Center.
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| The back of the 501. It could be a half-decent picture if it were the FRONT. |
I personally love Brighton Center, if only because the brick architecture on most of the buildings is simply amazing. There were actually a few stops announced as “Brighton Center,” and the remaining woman on the bus got off at the second. But I stayed on assuming there was more, as the driver didn’t open both doors and kneel the bus like they always do at the last stop.
And there was more. We turned off of Washington Street onto Winship Street at the Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital. There was a short stretch through a residential area, and then we reached a little patch of grass apparently called Jackson Square. We made a tight loop around Jackson Square, then headed back up Winship Street. I didn’t want to go back downtown, so I got off at one of the Brighton Center stops. The driver must’ve thought I was crazy: first I take pictures of the bus, then I go around the loop for no reason. Sorry, driver.
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| A few days later, I was back downtown and saw the 501 at Federal and Franklin. It had the exact same driver in it, and I don’t think he noticed me sneak a better picture. Ha ha! |
Route: 501 (EXPRESS BUS Brighton Center – Downtown via Oak Square and Mass Turnpike)
Ridership: There were only about 10-15 people on the bus, if I remember right. Everyone used this bus for the express service; there was no one who got on for the local portion. This is probably because a) the local portion’s pretty short, and b) the local portion is mostly just supplementing the 57 (except for the short stretch on Winship Street, which is in walking distance from the 57 anyway), and most people want to go to Kenmore.
Pros: As I learn more about this bus, I see less and less pros, but here’s one: although it only runs during rush hours, it’s every 12 minutes, which is a very good frequency for an I-90 express bus.
Cons: Of course, it’s rush hour only. I didn’t see much ridership, but perhaps that’s because it was 3:00 when I rode. Unfortunately, the route the bus takes isn’t very direct, as it essentially doubles back on itself at Newton Corner. The MBTA seems to have realized this, as some trips exit off of I-90 much earlier, right after the bridge over Storrow Drive, and take a more direct route down Cambridge Street. This routing is apparently 10 minutes shorter than the normal routing. It’s a bit weird, though, that ALL outbound buses in the morning use it, and some inbound buses in the evening use it. I feel they should just alternate them, pretty much like how they do it in the evening. But the worst thing about this route is that the 57 from Kenmore is actually FASTER to Brighton Center. I suppose you’d have to take the Green Line to Kenmore first if you’re heading from downtown, but I can’t believe the local bus is faster than the express. But I suppose if you want a less…crowded experience, you can take the 501, but the choice is only available during rush hour.
Nearby and Noteworthy: I said above how much I love Brighton Center. There’s the architecture, like I mentioned, but also the fact that it’s almost all small businesses. Sure, there are a few bank chains and a Dunkin’ Donuts, but for the most part you’ll only find small businesses in Brighton Center. And I LOVE that!
Final Verdict: 3/10
You can tell I don’t like this bus just by looking at the sheer length of the cons section. But really, the schedule’s bad, the route’s pretty bad (although I like the “alternating routes” idea), and the local bus is faster than the express to Brighton Center. If you’re going to Oak Square, though, keep in mind that the 501 is scheduled to be a whole minute faster than the 57. But of course, you only get the choice during rush hour…
UPDATE 9/1/19: The change is pretty minor (outbound 501s in the evening rush will serve Newton Corner), but I’m mainly here to correct this awful score! A 3??? It’s a perfectly serviceable commuter route! Give it an 8!
Latest MBTA News: You may remember how the MBTA sent out a request for naming rights proposals a few months ago. Well, only one company showed interest: Jet Blue wanted to rename the Blue Line, which is actually pretty brilliant, but their bid was less than the minimum bidding price. So don’t expect to see any new station or line names anytime soon. Also, the MBTA is increasing service on the Framingham/Worcester Commuter Rail line. See the new schedule (which is effective March 10) here. Finally, check out this cool video – it’s a simulation of the Green Line extension to West Medford.
Random Photos: Keeping Watch Over the Humans
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| Very photogenic! |
Random Photos: Dystopian City
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| Perhaps the Zakim Bridge, seen on the left, is actually a massive torture device. |
Random Photos: Shrouded in Fog
I was on the Red Line heading to Charles/MGH (where it seems many of these “foggy” pictures come from), and noticed that the upper half of the John Hancock Building was completely shrouded in fog. I managed to get a picture, despite the stupid fence they’ve put up because of construction.
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| Not as tall as it normally looks. |
93 (Sullivan Square Station – Downtown via Bunker Hill Street and Haymarket Station)
Have you ever noticed that finding a bus downtown is like finding a needle in a haystack? When looking for the starting point of the 93, I went to both of the major stops downtown (Otis and Summer, and Federal and Franklin) and the 93 stopped at neither. I had a paper schedule of the route, which showed the bus going down Devonshire Street, so I headed there. I finally found a bus stop at the intersection of Devonshire and Milk. Checking the paper schedule again, I found that the next 93 came in 5 minutes, and what’s more it was one of the elusive Navy Yard trips (the bus runs every 20 minutes on weekdays, but every hour a trip goes via the Navy Yard and the Constitution).
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| There was a lot of smoke billowing out of a sewer, as you can see in the picture. Just before the bus came, some people were even taking pictures in front of it! |
When I got on, the driver told me that I should’ve been waiting around the corner at Franklin Street and Washington Street. Gee, sorry. It’s not my fault Boston has such a complicated street system. There were about 7 people on the bus, all of whom got off at Franklin and Washington. There were quite a few people waiting to get on, though, and many of the seats were filled by the time we left.
The bus does a figure-8 loop downtown involving lots of turns, so I won’t get into too much detail. After Post Office Square, we headed up Congress Street, serving State and Haymarket. Inbound, I believe the 93 directly serves the Haymarket busway, but we just stopped at a street corner close to it (where a few people got off, surprisingly). Some early morning and late night buses short-turn here, as well.
From there, we followed the 111 route up North Washington Street and over the North Washington Street Bridge. But whereas the 111 would head up onto the Tobin Bridge, we turned right onto Chelsea Street. Now most 93 buses would directly turn onto Vine Street from Chelsea Street, but as this was a Navy Yard bus we went onto 5th Street instead. Unfortunately only the sails of the Constitution were visible, not the boat itself. I did get a picture of the U.S.S. Constitution museum, but that’s not really the same thing (and the picture was terrible, anyway).
The neighborhood around the Navy Yard was absolutely beautiful, though, with old fashioned buildings and even street signs. Unfortunately, after navigating a short loop, we came back onto Chelsea Street and into the shadow of the Tobin Bridge. This didn’t last for too long, and we soon turned onto Vine Street, rejoining regular service.
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| Nice, but the Constitution would’ve been better. |
Vine Street almost immediately became Bunker Hill Street. I absolutely loved the neighborhood – dense, different colored apartments, interspersed with small businesses. During this portion, the bus stopped at almost every stop to either let people on or drop them off. The road was also very hilly – so hilly, in fact, that when there’s snow or slippery road conditions, the bus takes an alternate route on Medford Street. There was a great view of the area from the front of the bus as Bunker Hill Street started going downhill, and then we went around the rotary near Sullivan Square.
At about this time, there was actually another 93 that passed our bus. We had apparently been bunching, but as Bunker Hill Street is so narrow the other bus probably couldn’t get by. It was a race in heavy traffic to get to the station, and the other bus ended up winning. But as we were pulling into the Sullivan Square busway, I noticed another 93 laying over. Would there really be three 93’s leaving Sullivan at the same time? Apparently not – the bus ahead of us went out of service, and our bus became a 101. As I got off, I noticed the countdown clock said the train was arriving (the driver’s a pirate!), and just as I rushed onto the platform it closed its doors. Darn.
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| Hello, other 93! |
Route: 93 (Sullivan Square Station – Downtown via Bunker Hill Street and Haymarket Station)
Ridership: Pretty heavy – all in all, about 40 people rode our bus. No one went from beginning to end, as you can probably expect; most people got off or on from their houses. There wasn’t anybody who got on or off on the Navy Yard loop.
Pros: It’s one of the two buses to serve Charlestown (the other being the 92), and this one cuts right through it. The schedule is also fantastic, running an amazing every 8 minutes rush hour, then every 20 minutes during the day, every half hour in the evening, and every 20 minutes on Saturdays. And there was definitely healthy ridership, which is reflected in the schedule. Finally, it’s one of the very few local buses to actually go downtown, so that’s definitely a plus despite the fact that the stop is impossible to find.
Cons: Every 40 minutes on Sundays isn’t so hot. And actually, I think it’s unnecessary to serve the Navy Yard. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the ride, but nobody got on or off there.
Nearby and Noteworthy: The typical Charlestown historical stuff: the U.S.S. Constitution, easily accessible even without the Navy Yard routing, and the Bunker Hill Monument, which is just a little closer to the 93 than it is the 92.
Final Verdict: 8/10
Direct service from downtown to Charlestown is pretty great, especially since the Orange Line used to serve it (but now obviously doesn’t). I believe the 92 more closely follows the route of the original EL, but the 93 cuts right through Charlestown. The schedule’s great for the most part, but the Sunday schedule could use a bit of work – every half hour or even every 20 minutes would be much better, especially if the Sunday ridership is anything like the ridership I saw. I personally don’t feel the Navy Yard routing is necessary, though; does anyone actually use it? Leave a comment if you know. But overall, a pretty excellent route.
Latest MBTA News: Service Updates (I’ve been forgetting to include this for a while!)
Nothing much has developed in the last few days, unfortunately.
Random Photos: The Driver’s a Pirate!
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| Get it? ‘Cause the countdown clock says “ARR?” And pirates go “ARR?” Get it? Get it? |
JFK/UMASS
“Attention passengers: the next Red Line train to Alewife is now arriving on the Braintree track.” Darn! I was waiting on the Ashmont track! Now I have to run all the way back to the stairs, run all the way back to the mezzanine, run all the way to the other side of the mezzanine, run all the way back down the stairs, and probably miss my train. See, JFK/UMASS has two separate platforms, one for Ashmont trains and one for Braintree trains. If you choose the wrong one heading inbound, you could miss your train.
Now admittedly, this setup is better than how it was before, when Braintree trains just bypassed the station (making the unnecessarily long distance to North Quincy even longer). They added a new platform for Braintree trains in late 1988, creating the setup still used today.
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| The mezzanine – probably my favorite picture for this station, just because of my classmate’s strange expression, and my English teacher’s strange swagger. |
This station has two entrances, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to visit the first (being on a school trip and all). All I know about it is that it’s off of Columbia Road, and that it presumably leads into the mezzanine. The mezzanine, incidentally, is very nice. It’s enclosed, but there are numerous windows so it has a very airy feel to it. Aside from the typical vending machines and trash cans, the mezzanine has two things worth noting. The first is the small shop, which would normally be a standard subway station convenience store if it didn’t have its awesome name.
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| I pity the fool who doesn’t shop here. |
When I was little, I always loved going into a store like CVS and seeing myself on the security camera display. They actually have one of these in the JFK/UMASS mezzanine, and I got that same excitement out of seeing it. Like the ones in CVS, it’s fairly unnecessary, but I absolutely love it. The other good thing about the mezzanine is that it’s a pseudo-solution to the inbound platform problem. You can wait in the mezzanine and just go to the corresponding platform when they make the announcement, but there’s unfortunately only one bench.
The second entrance to this station is via the busway. It’s an ugly, rusting staircase that’s enclosed but still out in the open. Leading to the mezzanine, the one good thing about it is that it offers a fairly good view of the Boston skyline.
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| Of course, there’s that big fence in the way, but there’s not much you can do about that. |
Now the platform(s) itself isn’t much. Its architecture is very bland: ugly white roof, grey floor, and out-of-place metal pillars. It does have some convenient wastebaskets scattered around, but really, they don’t have much use. What’s more, the station’s right next to a big, ugly, loud highway, a big parking lot, and an industrial wasteland to the north. All the more reason to wait in the mezzanine.
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| A guy seems to have gotten into the picture, |
Although you sort of forget it even exists, there is also Commuter Rail service here. The Greenbush, Middleborough/Lakeville, and Kingston/Plymouth lines all stop here at a platform parallel to the Red Line tracks, though how often? On weekdays, most trains simply bypass the platform, something I witnessed firsthand. Of course, it’s pretty useless if you’re heading inbound, but if you live in the area outbound service is probably convenient.
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| Fairly generic for a Commuter Rail platform. |
In terms of bus service, this station isn’t very noteworthy. There are only four MBTA buses serving this station: the 5, which has inconsistent service here and has a terrible schedule anyway; the 8, which has a decent schedule; the 16, which only serves this station during rush hour; and the 41, which also has a decent schedule. There is also shuttle service from here to UMASS.
Being served by only four buses, you’d expect the busway to be very simple. But actually, based on what I’ve seen, it’s unnecessarily complicated. Are two lanes really necessary for only four buses? Or is one lane entirely meant for UMASS buses? Leave a comment if you’re more familiar with the setup.
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| An aerial view of the busway, from the big staircase. Seems there’s only a lone shelter if you’re catching a bus from the middle area. |
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| I don’t like running pictures together, but I wanted to include this one. Peekaboo! |
Station: JFK/UMASS
Ridership: This is definitely a student-heavy station. A lot of people use the shuttle bus from UMASS to get here. Also, being the station before the Ashmont and Braintree branches split (well, technically – I think they should do the same extra platform treatment on Savin Hill as well), there are probably a few people who do a quick transfer here.
Pros: I really liked the mezzanine. And that store had a really cool name.
Cons: First of all, the platforms are as annoying as they are ugly. Having a train coming on the wrong one must be really, really annoying. Second, Commuter Rail service here is pretty bad, with trains just bypassing the station most of the time. And finally, the bus situation is absolutely terrible. It’s got a bad busway, plus it’s only served by four buses.
Nearby and Noteworthy: The JFK Library is only a free bus ride away. I had a lot of fun visiting with my school. Even if you can’t go, their website has some amazing interactive exhibits to check out.
Final Verdict: 4/10
There are a lot of bad things about this station, but the mezzanine gives it extra points. It’s nice and airy, and it has that amazing store which I’m sure has fairly sub par food, but its name is fantastic. Everything else about the station, however, is terrible. The platforms are ugly and inefficient (though there’s not much you can do about that), most Commuter Rail trains zoom right by, and bus service is terrible. The most frequent bus serving the station is the UMASS shuttle! But then again, I suppose that’s why UMASS is in the station name.
Latest MBTA News: MBTA bus service is running on a Saturday schedule for President’s day. Yes, I know I’m late. Insanely late. Like, this news doesn’t even matter anymore late.
Service Change: UMASS Boston Shuttle (Route 1)
When I heard we taking the train to JFK/UMASS to go to the JFK Library for a school trip, I got pretty excited. When I heard we would be taking a non-MBTA shuttle bus from JFK/UMASS to get to the library, I got really excited. Keep in mind, however, that this was a school trip, and often my classmates or teachers would get into the pictures. This is more for the upcoming JFK/UMASS post, but there are a few times it happens here.
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| The bus at JFK/UMASS, with a light snow falling. |
Let me just make it clear here that this shuttle is completely FREE!!! You don’t even need a student ID like you need for the Harvard shuttle buses. The inside of our bus was absolutely beautiful. Big, poofy, seats (no reclining, unfortunately, but you can’t have everything) lined the bus, and I’m sure they were very comfortable. I wouldn’t know, as I had to stand. At least I didn’t get stuck in the bendy part like my friend did, though he said it ended up being kind of fun.
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| This was taken after most of the people had gotten off. |
Leaving JFK/UMASS with a full load, we made our way to William T. Morrissey Boulevard (making some really sharp turns for an articulated bus!), which parallels I-93. We passed the building for the Boston Globe (I received sarcastic responses when I excitedly pointed it out), and soon after turned onto Bianculli Boulevard, entering UMASS. There was a nice view along here of Dorchester and, in particular, that big rainbow gas tank.
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| This picture was harder to take than it looks… |
There was a lot of construction on University Drive East. The bus went around a small loop, and a few people got off; this was the main campus stop. As we were going to the JFK library, we went to the next stop, which is actually right in front.
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| You can see the back portion in this picture at the library. |
After visiting the library, we went over to the university cafeteria and had lunch. The bus that came to pick us up from there actually wasn’t articulated, so our large group had to split up. It was a cool hybrid bus, though, and was again nice and quiet on the inside.
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| They have these nice signs telling you where each route goes. |
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| There’s some construction going on behind the bus. |
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| The interior of the hybrid bus was much like the articulated bus, only not articulated. |
For some reason, this bus omitted the JFK Library stop, instead going through the UMASS sports complex on University Drive North. It then went back onto William T. Morrissey Boulevard and back to the station.
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| No automatic stop announcements here. Just this sign, represented here by an awful, blurry picture. |
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| Another view from Bianculli Boulevard. |
A few notes about the UMASS shuttle buses: there are three routes in total, but only one operates on weekends. This is the 2, which to my understanding follows the same route as the 1 but makes more stops. It runs a consistent schedule of every 20 minutes every day. The 1 runs weekdays only, but every five minutes during the day and every 10 minutes at night – so basically, there’s much more frequent service to the Red Line on weekdays than on weekends. There’s also the 3, which takes a much different route than its counterparts. This one goes to the UMASS Bayside Lot, which is located north of the main campus. It runs every five minutes weekdays only during fall and spring (which may be a lie, as I saw a few 3s on our trip), and although the Bayside Lot is fairly close to the train station, this route doesn’t stop there. But hey, it’s free, and that’s what counts, right?
Here are some of the miscellaneous pictures I took:
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| A hybrid bus running on the 3. |
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| A normal diesel bus running on the 3 (what happened to fall and spring, UMASS?). |
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| A wild MBTA bus, seen in its natural habitat. |
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| Actually, I would assume that’s its natural habitat in the background there. |
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| I kept seeing these buses everywhere and I wasn’t sure what they were. They didn’t seem to be official UMASS buses. |
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| A 1 that we didn’t actually ride. |
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| The view from the JFK Library, shown here just because it’s so beautiful. |
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| Like I said, absolutely beautiful. |
21 (Ashmont Station – Forest Hills Station via Morton Street)
You may remember the 31. It was the only bus on this blog (as of yet) to score a perfect 10. Running from Mattapan to Forest Hills, its amazing speed combined with an amazing schedule (every five minutes and it’s not even a Key Bus Route!) made it the near-perfect bus. The 21 is the 31’s Ashmont cousin, and unfortunately it’s not nearly as good.
One thing that is good about it is the ridership. The bus was packed leaving Ashmont, and I was lucky to get a seat. We started out heading down Dorchester Ave with most of the other Ashmont buses. We soon turned onto Gallivan Boulevard, running with a short stretch before getting joined by the 26 route (which operates as a loop via Gallivan).
Unfortunately, the traffic previously seen when riding the 215 was back in full force. We were moving very slowly and all I could do was look at a bunch of houses that looked the same. Soon Gallivan Boulevard merged into Morton Street and the traffic got a little better. There were some businesses as we went over the elusive Morton Street station, where of course no one was waiting.
Right after that, the 26 went away but we were joined by the 31 a few blocks later at Blue Hill Ave. Traffic started up again here, unfortunately. Houses became apartments, but soon we were crawling through Franklin Park. Someone got off at the Shattuck Hospital, then we turned off to avoid the overpass, and pulled into the Forest Hills busway. What was scheduled to take 15 minutes ended up being double that.
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| Another bus is peeking in, but I can’t tell what number it is. |
Route: 21 (Ashmont Station – Forest Hills Station via Morton Street)
Ridership: As I said before, this bus was absolutely packed. I counted about 50 people who rode in total. However, I was surprised at the number of people who got off along the route. I was expecting almost the entire crowd at Ashmont to go to Forest Hills like what happened on the 31, but that wasn’t the case (although that said, some people did go from beginning to end). I suppose it’s because whereas the 21 serves a large residential area along its route, the majority of the 31 is in Franklin Park (and its section on Blue Hill Ave is shared by two other buses, one of which is a Key Bus Route).
Pros: It’s nice to have a Forest Hills link from Ashmont, too. Although it runs with the 26 for most of the residential portion, it serves as a nice supplement. Plus, the ridership was fantastic.
Cons: Let’s talk about the 31’s schedule for a minute: it runs insanely frequently, something many MBTA buses don’t. Although it runs about every 10 minutes rush hour and every 20 minutes during the day (which isn’t too bad), it runs every 70 minutes nights, every 45 minutes Saturdays, and every hour Sundays. Have you see the Saturday ridership, MBTA? 50 people rode on my bus. The fact that it runs every 45 minutes with this many passengers is unacceptable, and I’m sure there’s similar ridership on Sundays.
Nearby and Noteworthy: Again, mostly residential and then Franklin Park. The few businesses around Morton Street Station didn’t seem too enticing.
Final Verdict: 3/10
Okay, so it’s a supposedly fast link between the Red Line and the Orange Line (but not when there’s traffic), but frankly, I really hate this schedule. You rarely see this much ridership on any MBTA bus, let alone one that runs every 45 minutes. If you’re going to Forest Hills from Ashmont during the weekend and you miss a 21, just take the trolley to Mattapan and use the much more reliable 31. It’s quicker, and it runs so much more often.
Latest MBTA News: Something I forgot to mention in the last post is that the MBTA is installing sophisticated security cameras in its buses (the link has a good video about it). I think this is probably a good thing, and hopefully there will be less…occurrences, shall we say, on buses. The part that interests me is the fact that they will actually have flat screens in the buses for passengers to see what’s going on.