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
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...
Harvard Shuttle: Quad Stadium (Quad – River Houses – Harvard Square)
After the Extended Overnight, I can't go around saying that any other Harvard routes are "hard to ride," but this one comes pretty close - the Quad Stadium route runs from 5 AM to 7 AM, and that's it. The early bird gets the worm, I guess. Just gonna creepily take a...
WRTA: 15 (Union Station Hub – Shrewsbury Center via Shrewsbury Street and Route 9)
In preparation for this review, I conducted an "extensive" "interview" with someone at my school who used to live in Shrewsbury. I asked her about the throngs of people that surely use the amazing 15 to get to the booming metropolis of Worcester. "Oh yeah, no one uses...
WRTA: 16 (Union Station Hub – Lincoln Plaza via Hamilton Street and Lake Ave)
Let's just keep on going around the loop we started with the 31! The 16 is the eastern side of the two-route loop, and it's got a few more deviations up its sleeve. Let's take this back into Worcester. The bus at the Lincoln Mall. We headed out from the Lincoln Mall...
WRTA: 31 (Union Station Hub – Lincoln Plaza via Grove Street and West Boylston Street)
Back in Worcester already? Hey, like I said, it's a system I've barely covered. Today we're taking a ride on the 31, which runs up to the north side of Worcester through a variety of different neighborhoods. It also forms part of a loop with the 16, but let's not get...
UMass Boston Shuttle: 4 (135 Morrissey Boulevard Lot – Campus Center)
UMass Boston recently (okay, a little longer ago than "recently") added a new shuttle route, the 4! It runs from the Campus Center to the parking lot of the former Boston Globe building, which UMass has now commandeered. How would I describe the route? A hot mess....
Littleton/Route 495
It's a good thing I reviewed this one after riding the LRTA 15, since I doubt I would've had any reason to come here otherwise - Littleton/Route 495 is in the middle of nowhere! It's one of those Commuter Rail stations that's really only meant to be a park-and-ride,...
Bonus Review: Worcester Regional Airport
This is definitely a change, but we're rolling with it. Nathan and I did the desolate foggy walk from Coppage Drive to Worcester Regional Airport, and I can't say I was expecting much. As it turns out, though, this is a legitimate airport, and the main building is...
WRTA: 2 (Union Station Hub – Tatnuck Square via Pleasant Street)
Who knows how many people actually use a bus to an airport that gets two flights per day, but luckily, the 2 serves other stuff on its way to Worcester. If it was just an express from the airport, I'll bet it would be empty most of the time! Coming out of the...
WRTA: 19 (Union Station Hub – Webster Square – Clark University via Main Street)
This is our final foray on the Main Street corridor here in Worcester, whose other routes we've already reviewed. The 19 is one of two key routes on Main Street, the other being the 27, and they combine to run every 15 minutes in theory. In practice, the 19 is...
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...