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
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...
GATRA: Wareham/Middleborough/Lakeville MBTA Connector
GATRA! GATRA GATRA GATRA GATRA GATRA! I MISSED YOU, MY FRIEND! IT'S BEEN TOO LONG! LET'S HEAD DOWN TO WAREHAM ON THE...UH..."Wareham/Middleborough/Lakeville MBTA Connector." Really slips off the tongue, GATRA. Wait, that says "OWL Link 4"... Ah, so it turns out that...
Middleborough/Lakeville
This is one of the biggest jumps I could possibly make - we're going from the PVTA in western Mass to an MBTA station just a few towns away from Cape Cod. And just like the Cape itself, Middleborough/Lakeville is a boring place. Boom, roasted! Sorry, I just don't like...
PVTA: 39 (Smith/Hampshire/Mount Holyoke)
Well, here we are. The last PVTA route. This took way longer than I thought it would, but we've finished the second-busiest RTA in Massachusetts. Our final route is quite possibly the most scenic one on the whole system: the 39, the one Amherst route that doesn't...
PVTA: 38 (Mount Holyoke/Hampshire/Amherst/UMass)
One of the great things about the Amherst area is the Five-College Consortium, allowing students to take classes in five great colleges, all in relatively close proximity to each other. One of the most important connectors between them is the 38, which serves four of...
PVTA: 34 (Campus Shuttle/Northbound) and 35 (Campus Shuttle/Southbound)
It's so weird imagining a deviatory loop getting busy, and yet here we are! The 34 and 35 run a crazy figure-8 loop around the UMass campus in opposite directions, and we're about to see how many deviations are possible within it! The 34 coming into Southwest. We...
PVTA: OWL (Westfield State University Shuttle)
You thought Harvard's shuttle system was confusing? Well, yeah, you're right, but here's a college shuttle that may be able to give Harvard a run for its money. I'm talking about the OWL, the PVTA's shuttle within Westfield State University! Why's it stopping all the...
PVTA: R10S (Westfield Center/Westfield State University)
When I reviewed the R10 over the summer, it was on its school vacation routing, where it runs all the way to Westfield State University. During the school year, however, the R10 terminates at Westfield Center and they run a shuttle route, the R10S, from there to the...
PVTA: P11 (Holyoke Community College/Springfield Express)
What, you thought I was done with the PVTA? Nope, I still have to do the school year routes! Sam and I took Peter Pan out there recently so that I could truly complete the system. Let's start things off with the P11, an express route from Springfield to the...
Update
Full disclosure: I have not started writing the Downtown Crossing review. The reason for this is that I'm in the pit band for my school's production of West Side Story, and next week is Tech Week. That means I'm going to be getting home at 10:30 every night with...
PVTA: 36 (Olympia Drive/Atkins Farm)
A little over 3 months after I left Amherst, we're finally finishing my summer tenure with the PVTA! And what better way to end that summer with a summer-only UMass route? Yes, today we'll be looking at none other than the 36, a route which kinda defies logical...
PVTA: R14E (Springfield/Agawam Industrial Park)
Here's another lost PVTA bus! The R14E was a rush hour-only (mostly) express route from Springfield to, as the name suggests, the Agawam Industrial Park. It's gone now, but I rode it over the summer before it was cut, so we can see what it was like. The bus at Union...
PVTA: WS (Ware Shuttle)
Oh no oh no oh no OH NO OH NO OH NO! NOT ANOTHER ONE! NOT ANOTHER DEVIATORY MINIBUS SHUTTLE THING! All I can say about the Ware Shuttle is...beWare!!! Ha! OH MY GOD WHAT IS THAT?? This was quite possibly the worst minibus, and indeed the worst BUS, I've ever been on...