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
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...
North Beverly
Oh God, ew. We've taken a sharp turn for the worst since our last review, and all it took was a 4 minute train ride! Welp...here's North Beverly. Oh boy, great start! We begin with the station parking lot, which is tiny (87 spaces) and, at least in the summer, very...
James Asks…
What is the best setting for taking photos in underground stations...should you use flash or non flash? Has there been times when MBTA employees or train operators have had a problem with you taking photos of trains and stations? Thanks for an interesting question,...
Hamilton/Wenham
A modern Commuter Rail station located in a downtown? A modern Commuter Rail station with character? No, no, I simply can't believe it. And yet, here it is: Hamilton/Wenham. Wow, that's a lot of bikes! The station is well-connected to the immediate area by foot, with...
Ipswich
Alright, now we're getting somewhere! Ipswich is a huge destination in the summer and its station is right in its downtown. The barebones mini-high. Although it's accessible, the station is plagued with a truly nothing mini-high platform. I mean, literally...
Rowley
Why does the first outbound Newburyport train not make Rowley? Geez, what's a guy gotta do to review the place? Go up to Newburyport and make a mad dash across the platform for the one-minute connection to an inbound train to take one stop going inbound? Yes. All that...
South Weymouth, Abington, Whitman, and Kingston
Look, it's four Old Colony stations. No one's gonna mind if I just bunch them all together in one review, right...? Our first stop. South Weymouth is as basic an Old Colony station as you can get. It's just one track with a long high-level platform stretching way out...
BAT: Rockland Flex (Flexible Route, Rockland to Brockton)
No, of course I didn't forget about the BAT's Rockland Flex service! It's a little minibus route that goes from Rockland to...I guess technically Brockton, but it's not the BAT Centre. Instead, the bus starts at Signature Healthcare... (also, for the record, I...
BAT: Brockton Route 5 (Brockton Hospital via Centre Street)
Alright, our final BAT route! It's another typical one, just running out to the eastern sections of the city and a little bit into Abington. Let's take a look at the 5. Getting on at the BAT Centre one last time. We went down Commercial Street, lined with weird...
GUEST POST: Framingham
Mike N. sent in an alternate take on Framingham Station. Thanks, Mike! I live in Framingham, and I’ve gone through Framingham station many times, for red sox games and other events. But, I’ve never reviewed it, but was recently inspired because of some changes that...
BAT: Brockton Route 4 (Westgate Mall via Pleasant)
Oh yes, here we are on the craziest route of the BAT (barring the 12). The 4 could honestly pass for an MBTA route based on its crowds! Here we go! I purposely got the 4 in the inbound direction so I would have to take it around its loop from Westgate. First, we...
BAT: Mini Maller Route 13 (Westgate Mall, Brockton)
Huh, apparently the Mini Maller doesn't use a minibus! It makes just as many deviations as a minibus would, but it does not in fact use one. Well, well! I boarded the bus at Market Basket, but we couldn't leave the mall until we served the other side of it, at Sears....
BAT: Brockton Route 4A (Westgate Mall via North Warren)
Who needs the 4 when you have the 4A, otherwise known as the less insane version of the 4? We'll get into how crazy the 4 is another time, but for now, here's its counterpart, the 4A. The bus at the BAT Centre. We went down Court Street, then turned onto North Main...