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
Wellesley Farms
Well, that station name is misleading. I don't see any farms, just a ton of huge houses! Coming down Croton Street. There are a few entrances to the Wellesley Farms inbound platform. One of them is a staircase from Glen Road - pretty standard. You could also use the...
Islington
This is Endicott. It's just Endicott. Cool, can I end the review now? Okay, okay, fine, we'll look at Islington. The entrance. Okay, one thing I'll say about this stop is that it has a really unassuming entrance from Carroll Ave, and that's kinda cool. It feels like...
Norwood Depot
Apparently two minutes of train time makes a big difference. Contrary to its southern neighbor, Norwood Depot is actually quite pleasant! Approaching the station. This station is in a much nicer neighborhood than Norwood Central, with some pleasant TOD apartments...
Norwood Central
Oh, nice, so Norwood Central is in a downtown or something? That's awesome! Maybe it'll have a Needham Center-type feel where the station is literally integrated in the town center. Or maybe it'll be in the middle of a wasteland of parking lots and industrial...
GUEST POST: West Natick
Here's another one from Mike N. Enjoy!In my recent review-writing spree, I wanted to do some more Worcester line stations. Coming back from my dentist appointment, my mom let me hop out of the car for a few minutes at West Natick and I reviewed the station.Starting...
Four Corners/Geneva
Our final Fairmount Line station is a pretty cool one! Four Corners/Geneva is full of ramps and passageways, and the long staggered station platforms span quite a large distance. Let's dive in. Gazing down the outbound platform. The station has that classic...
RIPTA: 3 (Warwick Ave)/4 (Pawtuxet Village/Warwick Neck)
You have no idea how big of a weight off my shoulders it is to be done with the 3. This route has haunted me ever since I found out about it, because it's really two separate routes. The 3A and the 3B spend less than half their running times together! Look at this...
Kennedy Plaza
I've covered so much of the RIPTA, but I have yet to do a formal review of its main hub, Kennedy Plaza! This changes now. Inside the main building. Kennedy Plaza's indoor waiting area always has a ton of people in it. It gives you all the amenities you could ask for,...
RIPTA: 27 (Broadway/Manton)
We're still going to northwestern Providence, but this one is a little...weird. The 27 has a strange loop thing within North Providence, and I had a master plan to ride the whole thing around in separate chunks. Thus, we're starting this trip at Stop & Shop to...
RIPTA: 55 (Admiral/Providence College)
We've got a theme going on with these 50s routes: direct, frequent lines to the northwestern parts of Providence. Yeah, they're boring, but we gotta do them. The 55 has a few more deviations than the ones we've seen before... The bus at Kennedy Plaza. We headed up...
RIPTA: 57 (Smith Street)
Here's another frequent, direct RIPTA route serving northern Providence. Indeed, this time we're starting in North Providence, a separate town entirely! The 57 is the most direct route into Providence proper, so let's see what it's like. The bus in North Providence....
A Curious MBTA Rider Asks…
I take the Lowell line in everyday. I have never seen or heard of anyone stopping at Mishawum. I am doing research on Mishawum and I have a theory and wanted to hear your input. There is a 4:22 PM train from Lowell to Boston which goes through Mishawum. I...
RIPTA: 56 (Chalkstone Ave)
It's always nice to come back to a system that actually knows what it's doing. The RIPTA runs the 56 every 15 minutes, which really is awesome. Though Josh and I rode it on a Saturday, when its service drops to half-hourly, it was clear that this is a great route....
UMass Lowell Shuttle: Yellow North Line (Inn and Conference Center (ICC), North, University Crossing, Downtown)
Guys, this is a one-off. I am not coming back to this ridiculously planned system that uses gas-guzzling, lung cancer-causing hunks of trash to run its routes! But let me back up. Ahem...the Yellow North Line. After the LRTA 20, Nathan and I decided to try out...
LRTA: 20 (Downtown/UMass North)
The LRTA added the 20 to its network of routes without much fanfare. It has a very slapped-together feel in that there's no schedule. We just get the vague guideline of "service every 20 minutes" from 7:00 AM to 10:40 AM, weekdays only. What strange times! What could...