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
CATA: Green Line (SEASONAL: Blue Gate Meadows Parking Lot – Rockport Loop)
Welp, here we are. Our last CATA route. And luckily, this summer-only "Green Line" Rockport Shuttle is a great one. And of course, the last trip is on one of these buses. I boarded the bus at Rockport Market and we headed up Broadway before turning onto Mount...
CATA: Green Line (Gloucester – Rockport via Eastern Avenue)
For such a low-ridership, inefficient, and primitive system, it's kind of amazing to see how intricately-scheduled the Gloucester to Rockport routes are. They interline the Red and Blue Lines perfectly into the Green Line to allow for hourly service on the latter,...
CATA: Stage Fort Park Trolley (SEASONAL: Stage Fort Park – Downtown Gloucester – Good Harbor Beach – Rocky Neck)
Apparently the Stage Fort Park Trolley has been running for eight years. You would think that would be enough time for people to actually, you know...use it. Oh no... Yes, this thing uses a fake trolley, and it is soooooo much worse than the ones RIPTA uses....
South Station
It's the fifth anniversary of this blog, and we've gotta do something special for it! Here we are: South Station. The biggest station on the MBTA. The busiest station on the MBTA. The last station on the MBTA. Let's. Do. This. Well, this isn't starting us...
CATA: Purple Line (Gloucester – West Gloucester – Essex Town Line)
It turns out that "Essex Town Line" means exactly that: this route starts right at the border between Essex and Gloucester. There's not even a signed stop or a proper loop! The bus literally just bangs a u-turn in the middle of Eastern Ave and comes straight...
CATA: Purple Line (SEASONAL: Ipswich – Essex – Crane Beach)
Reviewing a summer-only route in January...great. The Ipswich-Essex Explorer (say it three times fast!) is Ipswich's summer shuttle to Crane Beach, and that's where 99% of the riders take it. Of course, being the stickler I am, I had to get one of the three...
CATA: Yellow Line (City of Beverly Shuttle)
Who knew Beverly had its own circulator route? And who knew it costs a mere 50 cents to ride, or 25 cents for seniors and people with disabilities? It has an 8 dollar monthly pass! Of course, to get where you want to go on the Yellow Line, you have to sit through...
Rockport
The final stop on the Rockport Line, and its namesake! What kind of epic terminal station does it have? Is it full of amazing amenities? No? Well, okay then... The parking lot. Rockport has a strange layout. The parking lot has 88 free (!) spaces, and it wraps around...
Manchester
I was gonna do the Beverly Farms/Prides Crossing combo during the morning rush one day in the summer, but nope - the conductor decided to just skip Beverly Farms, which is a flag stop, without asking anyone if they were getting off there. I ended up at Manchester...
Beverly Farms
A mere 0.8 miles away from Prides Crossing, we have a station that actually gets, you know, service. What does Beverly Farms have to offer over its microstation cousin? We'll find out. The platform. Okay, the outbound side of Beverly Farms has basically nothing, so we...
Montserrat
Wow, I totally forgot to post this after North Beverly, but anyway...this is going in reverse from what I actually did one summer day, but I walked from Montserrat to North Beverly in half an hour! Who knew they were within somewhat close walking distance? Well, here...
Mishawum
In the 90s, Mishawum was on top of the world. With its attractive highway location, it had a huge parking lot, a Logan Express bus connection, and tons of riders. Then, in 2001, Anderson/Woburn opened up. All of a sudden, Mishawum became almost completely obsolete,...
GUEST POST: Forge Park/495
Mike N. sent in another guest post, this time of the terminus of the Franklin Line: Thanks to my uncle Robert, I was able to get some footage and review the station at the end of the Franklin Line. Let’s hop right into this review! The station is very snowy, however...
Prides Crossing
Oho, a microstation! How many trains per day does Prides Crossing get? Three in the morning and five in the evening. Unlike your typical Hastings, though, Prides Crossing actually has itself some amenities. Let's see what they are... Okay, then. Huh. Well, it...
Beverly
Beverly: the point where the Newburyport and Rockport Line come together, as well as the third-busiest station on the whole Commuter Rail. So why is it so subpar? Looking down the platform. We'll start with a good part: the platforms. I gotta say, the shelter to...