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
RIPTA: 242 (West Warwick/Coventry Flex)
Gosh, it's too bad the 13 and the 29 end so far apart from each other. Seems like the only way to take each of them from beginning to end is to ride out and back. Hang on...what's this? A Flex bus in West Warwick and Coventry? And it connects the two routes together?...
RIPTA: 13 (Coventry/Arctic/Warwick Mall)
For RIPTA standards, the 13 is about as far out as you can get on a local bus. In fact, this route goes so far out that it doesn't even go to Providence! That's right, we had to get this thing from the Warwick Mall. Boy, I sure do love that bus stop in the middle...
MVRTA: 41 (Lawrence – Lowell)
Isn't it sad how the only bus that runs in Lowell on Sundays isn't even run by the Lowell bus system? Yes, today we're checking out the MVRTA 41, doing its multi-jurisdictional trip from Lawrence to its milltown cousin to the west! Tight quarters here at Buckley. Of...
MVRTA: 75 (Lawrence Special Employment Service)
It's time for Part 2 of our duo of weird commuter shuttles! Now we're doing the MVRTA 75, which will take us from the scary land known as Raytheon to the Buckley Transportation Center, another scary land. Well, at least it's civilization. Obviously I wasn't about to...
The Great Race to Chelsea: The Video!
The Chelsea video is finally here! The T added a new branch of the Silver Line to Chelsea in April 2018, the SL3. How does the new route stack up time wise against the other ways of getting to Chelsea? Miles, Jordan, Nathan, and a host of other characters race to...
LRTA: 11 (IRS/Raytheon via Route 133)
Today, we're entering the strange world of IRS/Raytheon commuter shuttles. LRTA runs one, and MVRTA runs one (they just eliminated a second one). The LRTA route, the 11, is bidirectional, so we'll be taking a look at this one first as we head towards Raytheon in...
MART: 7A (Lunenburg Shuttle)
Ohhh, this one's a real monstrosity. The trouble began when my 7 arrived at Lunenburg Crossing seven minutes late. That should've been okay, though - there were ten minutes of screw-up time between the scheduled arrival of the 7 and the scheduled departure of the...
MART: 6 and 7 (Intermodal – Burbank – Fitchburg High – Intermodal – John Fitch – Lunenburg Crossing)
Darn it, MART, of course you have to call these two routes the same thing so I have to review them in one post! I actually rode the 6 and 7 on two different days, so this'll be a bit strange, but have it YOUR way, MART! People getting on the 6 in Fitchburg. Beginning...
My Day on the Hartford Line Was Really Weird (plus station reviews!)
So the CTrail Hartford Line opened up on Saturday! I...uh...I don't think I've ever seen so many strange characters in a single day. Read on, and you'll find out every weird thing that happened to me, as well as reviews of every station on the line. The whole mess...
MART: 8 (Monument Square ‐ The Mall at Whitney Field ‐ Orchard Hill Park – The Mall at Whitney Field)
Time to ride MART's local Leominster shuttle kinda thing! Yeah, I dunno, this is a weird one. We're doing "Whitney Field" as one word? Really? I boarded the bus at the start of its loop in Leominster just north of Monument Square, just to get the full experience...
MART: 11 (Intermodal – Great Wolf Lodge)
The 11 is scheduled to leave Wachusett Station at 7:45 AM. The first Fitchburg Line train of the day is scheduled to arrive at Wachusett Station at 7:45 AM. Well, obviously, that transfer didn't work out. Time for Plan B: walk to Great Wolf Lodge from Wachusett. Now,...
RIPTA: 59x (North Smithfield/Lincoln Express Park and Ride)
Okay, so this is the 59x. It's an express route that runs three trips in each direction every day. And...uh...well, just take a look at the bus it was using... UMMMMMMMMMM... Alright, so we're riding a tourist trolley to Slatersville! Uhh...that's...interesting. How...
RIPTA: 9x (Pascoag)
Finally, we're going back to civilization! Sorry, all that Woonsocket and Burrillville stuff was starting to wear me down. Let's just take the 9x back into Providence! Oh man, that rain is a-comin' down! It was pouring, so the bus was a very welcome sight as we waited...
RIPTA: 282 (Pascoag/Slatersville Flex)
This is the complete and utter wrong type of route to run as a flex. "Where you going?" the driver asked when Sam and I got on the 282 at its Walmart timepoint. "Sayles Ave," I responded. "Where the 9x stops." "I don't know where that is," the driver...
RIPTA: 281 (Woonsocket Flex)
"Didn't you used to live in Kingston?" the woman on the Flex line asked. "Uhhhh...yeah," I responded. Why does it have to be so hard to call for a Flex ride? "I want to go from Price Rite to the North Smithfield Stop & Shop," I said. "I'm sorry, I need exact...