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
LRTA: 15 (Chelmsford/Westford via Route 129/110)
I think I have some sort of psychological inability to just take the train to or from Lowell. I mean, after this day on the LRTA, I could've just grabbed the Commuter Rail home, but no - I wanted to take the 15 to its terminus just over the Littleton border and walk...
LRTA: 2 (Belvidere)
Darn it, I chose the wrong route to take! I could've done a 5 out to Drum Hill and back and been able to get a second local route in there, but instead I grabbed a 2 - this meant I could only do one route. Oh well...at least I got to meet an incredibly nice bus...
LRTA: 18 (Downtown Shuttle)
"I have a transfer," I told the driver as I boarded the bus. The woman gave a cursory glance at my slip. "You shoulda gotten a shuttle transfah," she said in a grumpy voice. Okay, sorry I didn't realize that the LRTA has three types of transfers! Transferring to...
LRTA: 16 (Chelmsford via Chelmsford Street)
Another long deviation-filled route going from Drum Hill Plaza to Lowell? The 16 isn't quite as crazy as the 17, but honestly, I think it might even be worse. Let's find out why! The bus coming into Drum Hill Plaza. We left Drum Hill Plaza and made our way around onto...
LRTA: 17 (North Chelmsford via Middlesex Street)
Oh geez, this one is a mess. Here, take a look at the 17's map: Alright, let's take votes for what this thing looks like! Is it a dragon? Maybe a baby stroller? I feel like I'm looking at a constellation or something. Look, the point is that this thing is insane, and...
LRTA: 10 (Dracut/Tyngsboro)
I wasn't about to hang out at the Pheasant Lane Mall waiting for the next 19! No, I decided to take a lovely walk into Massachusetts, across the Merrimack River, and back up to New Hampshire to Ayotte's Stateline Market, the terminus of the 10. And since this is our...
LRTA: 19 (SEASONAL: Pheasant Lane Mall via Middlesex Street)
A holiday season-only bus route in February? Well, it's better than a summer-only route in January! Not only does the elusive 19 only run from Black Friday to the beginning of the new year, but it also travels to New Hampshire! I'm very excited to say their state...
LRTA: 12 (Tewksbury via Route 38/Wilmington Train Station)
Hey, the LRTA is a thing! Yeah, I've made the least progress with LRTA, so it's time to change that. Here's the suburban 12 route from Wilmington to Lowell! Good to be on this system again! We headed out from the Wilmington Commuter Rail station onto Main Street,...
GATRA: Medway T Shuttle
Oh man, I always get so excited when I do a GATRA review! How many deviations will we make? How few people will use the route? Well, the Medway T Shuttle makes no deviations...and gets lots of people. Huh. The minibus: a bright haven in the middle of the...
Plimptonville
This is the mother of Commuter Rail microstations: one train in the morning and one train in the evening. Plimptonville is a tiny stop in the middle of nowhere within Walpole, and it gets the lowest ridership on the entire system. Could this be the worst station on...
Windsor Gardens
The Franklin Line deviates to serve a housing development? WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO??? Okay, okay, it's not a deviation, it's right there on the line. And Windsor Gardens Station actually gets great ridership considering what it's serving. So no, this won't...
Harvard Shuttle: 1636’er (Quad – Peabody Terrace – Mather House via Memorial Hall)
It's the Saturday before Halloween. We're riding a bus route around a college campus in the late evening. Oh boy, this should be fun... Thanks for being slow! Hot of the heels of our Evening Van trip, Jaret, Nathan, and I needed to get back to civilization from our...
Harvard Shuttle: Evening Van Service
Nathan was working at Harvard for a while, and one of the perks of that position was access to their Evening Van Service, an Uber-like minibus that runs around the Harvard area from 7 PM to 3 AM. We were looking at its service area on the app to try to find the...
WRTA: 33 (Union Station Hub – Spencer – Brookfield via Main Street and Route 9)
Welcome to one of the longest and most rural routes in my jurisdiction. The 33 is a sprawling bus heading straight west from Worcester, terminating at various points, but Nathan and I took it at its very longest: for two trips in each peak period, the route is...
WRTA: 40 (Union Station Hub – Downtown Loop)
Remember the 80? That free little downtown loop that didn't exist anywhere? Well, the WRTA has scrapped that and replaced it with a larger and not-free loop, the 40. They really pushed this one, going as far as to give it...an actual schedule online. Well, it has to...