The blog that started it all! Check out reviews of every bus route and train station in Boston, as well as ongoing reviews of the regional bus systems in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Recent Posts from Miles on the MBTA
BRTA: 34 (North Adams Loop)
And here's how you get from the North Adams Walmart end of the 1 to North Adams proper. Is the 34 a direct shuttle route that lessens the pain from having to transfer from the 1 just to get to downtown North Adams? Or is it an all-over-the-place mess? Uh-oh. I'll say...
BRTA: 1 (North Adams/Pittsfield)
Okay, that's kind of a lie, though...the 1 goes as far as the Walmart in North Adams. It's technically in North Adams, but it's pretty darn far from anything else in the city. But this is the BRTA's only link from the northern part of its system to Pittsfield, so...
BRTA: 2 (Pittsfield/Lee)
Time to continue our trip into Pittsfield! There was a timed connection between the 21 and the truck minibus running on the 2, so we can begin this shindig right away... Oof, not a great angle. Coming down the hill from the Lee Premium Outlets, our...
The Longest Bus Ride in America
My friend Nathan and I have just completed (well, sorta - read more to find out) the longest bus ride in America: Greyhound Schedule 1675 from New York City to Los Angeles. We live-Tweeted the whole thing, and it is truly an experience. From the highest highs (the...
Service Change: Riding the Entire DC Metro in a Day
Alright, let's start 2020 off with something fun. Back in mid-November, Amtrak had a 50% off deal, making it the perfect opportunity to accomplish two goals: finally complete the Northeast Corridor, and ride the entirety of WMATA Metrorail in a day. I started on...
226 (Columbian Square – Braintree Station)
Day two of new MBTA routes, and we're heading down to Braintree to ride the first 226 ever! Oh wait...the first trip leaves before the first Red Line train gets there. Huh, okay, hang on... Day two of new routes, and we're heading down to Braintree to ride the second...
61 (North Waltham – Waltham Center)
Isn't it great that this service change fell on a Sunday? Since the 226 doesn't run on Sundays, I'm able to get day-one reviews of both that and the other (seven-days-a-week) new route introduced this rating that we'll be talking about today: the 61. Perfect! The last...
Guide to the MBTA’s Winter 2020 Schedule Changes (BETTER BUS PART 2!)
Schedules have been released! It's Better Bus Part 2! We've got some brand-new routes; we've got some cut routes; and we've got a myriad of little schedule changes in between the big ones that don't really matter but that I still have to talk about anyway! Let's go!...
Holbrook/Randolph
Why is my last ever Commuter Rail station review of Holbrook/Randolph, a station that's less than 15 miles from Boston, gets served by every single Middleborough/Lakeville Line train, and has connections to two, count 'em, two local bus routes? The world may never...
BRTA: 21 (Lee/Great Barrington)
Despite reviewing the BRTA's hub at Pittsfield first, my friend and I didn't actually start our day there. Instead we parked at Fairgrounds Plaza, the first stop of the 21, which we took toward Pittsfield at the beginning of the day. If you're looking for gorgeous...
Ari and Miles rate Boston Magazine’s “40 Ideas”
There's no post tonight...on this blog. But check out the collab I did with Ari "Amateur Planner" Ofsevit over on his blog - we review Boston Magazine's "40 ideas to save transportation in Boston"! Each one gets a score from 1-10, and an often snarky explanation why!...
Pittsfield (Amtrak)
Well, now that we've finished the FRTA, there's nowhere else to go but west. It's time to tackle the BRTA, the westernmost RTA in the state, covering a big vertical rectangle of land spanning from Williamstown to Great Barrington. But before we can get to the system...
Service Change: A Day in Virginia (Richmond and Hampton Roads)
So you can take Greyhound from Philly to the Hampton Roads area for a little over 30 bucks one-way? And you can do overnight buses each way so you don't have to spend the night anywhere? And one itinerary involves a five-and-a-half hour layover in Richmond, allowing...
FRTA: 22 (BlueLink Connector)
Why does the 22 have a colored name? Does that make it important? Because it only runs four trips a day. It doesn't serve Greenfield. It almost entirely duplicates other routes. No, doesn't seem important to me. The bus approaching at Turners Falls. We boarded this...
FRTA: 24 (Crosstown Connector)
The 24 is probably the FRTA's best route, but our experience on it was one of the worst. It all started when a real clunker of a bus showed up at the JWO Transit Center about 25 minutes late... This'll be a fun ride! Hopefully. So the 24 runs from Greenfield Community...