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
MWRTA: 4N (North)
Oh come on, can't this system have one good route? I thought the 4N was perfectly fine when I rode it, but further investigation has revealed that it's almost completely redundant to other routes! ARGH!!! I was going to get on this bus, but it broke...
MWRTA: 10/11 (Natick Circuit Counterclockwise/Clockwise)
You thought the 3 was crazy? Ha! You ain't seen nothing yet. The 10 and the 11 are...well, let's just review them. The 11 coming into the Natick Mall. First of all, the MWRTA does not have an online map for this route, so I am totally going by my pictures right...
MWRTA: 2/3 (Framingham Circuit Clockwise/Counterclockwise)
Welcome to the MWRTA's premiere routes, the 2 and the 3! Crazy schedule? Lots of deviations? Yes and yes! The 2 at the Natick Mall. I boarded the minibus at the Natick Mall, and we looped around onto Flutie Pass. Next, we turned onto Shopper's World Drive, then Ring...
MWRTA: 8 (Wellesley)
From one of the busiest stations on the MBTA to a horrible bus route on a horrible bus system that only uses minibuses. Cool! Ugh... After struggling to locate the stop at the Natick Community Center (it has no sign, and I had to ask an employee inside where it was),...
Downtown Crossing
Downtown Crossing is a labyrinth. I mean, we've all used this station before, either to transfer or to get to Downtown Boston. But seriously...does anyone know just how many entrances and exits this place has? My friends and I walked around reviewing this...
Natick Center
Natick Center asks the question humans have been asking for millennia: why? More specifically, why does this station make absolutely no sense? I mean... What the heck is this platform?! The inbound platform of this station is just...what?? Most of it is high-level,...
Ashland
Another boring Worcester Line infill station? Well, at least Ashland is the last one... Holy moly, that's a lotta commuters! The majority of the Ashland platform is low-level, with everything you would expect at a modern Commuter Rail station: a typical shelter, some...
Southborough
Southborough...I dunno, it's Southborough. Not much to say here. The platform. Southborough's platform is a long low-level affair, with bike racks and shelters on both sides (featuring a bit of historical information) and benches and wastebaskets spread around. There...
West Natick
The Worcester Line is interesting because past Boston Landing, it's basically half accessible and half non-accessible stations. What's more, the line is split halfway between them, with all of the non-accessible stations in a clump; ditto for accessible ones. West...
SRTA: NB 1 (Fort Rodman)
During my brief stay in New Bedford, how could I not resist riding at least one SRTA route? I only had about an hour until my bus back to Boston was departing, so I had to do something quick. The 1 caught my eye: it runs every 20 minutes to a peninsula in southern New...
GATRA: Wareham – New Bedford Connection
What the heck is this route and where did it come from? The Wareham - New Bedford Connection sprung up on the GATRA website with this announcement page, featuring two maps saying exactly the same thing, some points of interest at each terminus of the route, and the...
GATRA: Link 2 (Cranberry Plaza to Buzzards Bay)
Wareham is considered by some to be part of the Cape. I personally would disagree - to me, you're only on the Cape if you go over the canal. Well...today we're actually visiting the Cape, because the 2 heads into Bourne, canal and all! I didn't have time to get...
GATRA: Link 3 (Shangri-La to Cranberry Plaza)
Cool, a complete stinker that's also really short. Let's get the 3 out of the way. NOT THIS STUPID TRUCK MINIBUS AGAIN! We headed out from Cranberry Plaza onto Cranberry Highway, which split into two one-way sections. Along this bit, we turned onto Glen Charlie Road,...
GATRA: Link 4 (Cranberry Plaza to West Wareham)
Argh, I'm getting deja vu! The truck minibus...the double-deviation...this is literally the same thing as the Wareham Middleborough/Lakeville MBTA Connector. The only difference is that the Link 4 only goes about halfway. YOU AGAIN! We left Cranberry Plaza on...
GATRA: Link 1 (Wareham/Onset/Wareham)
Is this...a useful GATRA route? That people...use? What?? Wow!!! Apparently the Link 1 is a halfway-decent bus! Okay, the vehicle itself is terrible, but the route is good! This is at Cranberry Plaza. I'm starting this review at the southern terminus of...