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
PVTA: G5 (Springfield/Dickinson/Jewish Home/Longmeadow)
How can any bus route be scheduled this incompetently? How can any bus route be scheduled this incompetently? Unless the PVTA has figured out how to slow down and speed up time, the G5 defies any sort of logic. The bus at Union Station. From Union Station, we...
PVTA: R42 (Northampton/Williamsburg)
Wow, this route taught me about the existence of so many new neighborhoods and towns! Williamsburg! Haydenville! Leeds! All that and more on the R42! This is about it for Williamsburg Center... Sam and I just took the route out and back in, but I'll be covering...
Northampton (Amtrak)
Huh...y'know, this station is practically identical to Greenfield, and yet...yeah, I just don't like it nearly as much. Why could this be? Well, we'll have to take a look and find out. Here's Northampton Station! Well, this platform looks familiar. Yeah, this is the...
PVTA: B43 (Northampton/Hadley/Amherst)
The B43 is one of the backbones of UMass transit...even though it's not actually run by UMass Transit. Providing a crucial connection between Northampton and UMass (plus Smith and Amherst Colleges), this route can get absolutely packed during the school year. During...
UMass Boston Shuttle: 2 (JFK/UMass – Library)
Finally, our last Boston-area route before I can switch entirely to the PVTA! Funnily enough, it's a route serving a different UMass - UMass Boston. This will finish our reviews of the university's small shuttle system. This was a nice bus. Due to a Red Line...
PVTA: R44 (Florence Heights via King Street and Bridge Road)
You know it's a bad route when it reminds you of the GATRA. We're not talking about the "empty, deviatory minibus" side of GATRA today, though...no, the R44 harkens most to the "somewhat less empty, deviatory full-sized bus" side of GATRA. It reminded me a lot of...
Logan Airport Shuttle: 22/33 (Serves Terminals A & B or C & E to subway station and to Rental Car Center)
The 22 and the 33 are the Logan Airport shuttles that everybody takes. Linking the Blue Line station and the Rental Car Center to the airport, they can often be quite busy - that's why there are two routes to even out the crowds better. We'll be looking at both today....
PVTA: Northampton Academy of Music
Being a big hub for the PVTA, one would imagine that Northampton would have a relatively substantial terminal. No? How about a moderately substantial terminal? A single shelter, huh? Well...okay, that works too... Huh. Yeah, it's basically just a shelter, and a dingy...
WRTA: Westborough Shuttle (Westborough MBTA – Computer Drive (Commuter)/Westborough Local)
Ohhhhh, we're in for a good one here...if "good" means "REALLY REALLY TERRIBLE." I don't even know where to begin with this one. Uhhh...okay, so it's split into three "routes" that only run at certain times: a "commuter" route at rush hour, a "downtown commuter" route...
PVTA: 31 (Sunderland/South Amherst)
Finally! Our first PVTA review! As you may know, I'm doing a Summer Transportation Institute at UMass, so it makes sense that the first review out here would be of one of the system's UMass routes. The 31 is actually one of the busiest routes on the PVTA (Pioneer...
Westborough
Westborough, Westborough, Westborough...it's a modern Commuter Rail station with a ridiculously high footbridge. That's about its only notable feature... Yup, that's a huge footbridge. Westborough has a sizeable lot, with 448 spaces, but according to this page, the...
Greenfield (Amtrak)
Welp...I'm officially jealous of Greenfield. Their bus system, the FRTA, only gets about 155,000 riders annually, yet they get this absolutely amazing terminal! Some of the T's antiquated hubs can get that much in a week! Oh well...as long as we're out here, we'll...
WRTA: 11 (Union Station Hub – The Fair Plaza via Vernon Hill and Greenwood Street)
I'm not trying to stereotype, but...are all WRTA drivers really mean? I mean, Nathan and I tried to go to the end and back from Walmart on the 11 twice. The first time, the driver wouldn't even let us on, so we ended up on the 1 instead; we were able to do it the...
FRTA: 23 (Sutherland/Greenfield)
I still have more WRTA routes to cover, but I figured I'd start interlining the PVTA stuff in between them to vary it up a bit. Except...what's this? Yes, my first PVTA review isn't even a PVTA review, but an FRTA review! This is a system I've been wanting to ride for...
WRTA: 1 (Union Station Hub – Mount Saint Ann via Providence Street)
The 1 used to be the shortest, stubbiest little route, and I always wondered how the heck it could possibly get ridership. Ever since the demise of the 22, though, the 1 has been rerouted to cover some of the lost service, as well as extended to Walmart for...some...