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
Portland METRO: METRO Pulse
The METRO pulse is the hub of the Portland METRO...sort of. Well, four out of eight of its routes serve it. That's...pretty hubby? I guess? Well, it has a proper facility and everything, so I figured we'd take a look at it. The outdoor boarding area. The outdoor area...
Portland Transportation Center
For a reasonably small city, Portland really knows how to do transportation. Aside from its frequent bus system, they also combined Amtrak and Concord Coach Lines operations into one intermodal terminal: the Portland Transportation Center! Let's see how it looks. Some...
Amtrak Downeaster!
Man, I love the Downeaster! Not only is it scenic (especially coming into Portland), but it's also incredibly cheap. If you book early (three days in advance, I think), the fares are: $24 to Brunswick! $20 to Portland! $10 to Haverhill, quite literally cheaper - and...
Service Change: New York, Part 2 – Q35 (Between Rockaway Park, Queens, and Brooklyn College, Brooklyn)
A bus in New York City that's...fast? Well, this is a new one! The Q35 is a quick route from Brooklyn College (a station on the 2 and 5) to Rockaway Park Beach in Queens. On my summer ride, the route had healthy ridership from beachgoers, as well as locals heading...
Dome Car on the Downeaster!
I took my first ride on the Downeaster yesterday, and the scenery was quite beautiful. However, it was made even more beautiful by the fact that yesterday was the first day the line was using a heritage dome car in its set! Until September 18th, certain...
Service Change: New York, Part 1 – B11 (Between Flatbush and Brooklyn Army Terminal)
Going crosstown in New York is always hellish. It doesn't matter if you're in Manhattan, the Bronx, or, in the case of the B11, Brooklyn - it's always going to be incredibly slow. At least the B11 had some nice scenery to watch while constantly being stuck at red...
The Fastest T Rider Alive!
Here is the director's cut of a documentary that I made about my second attempt at beating the record for the fastest time going around the MBTA! Can I make it? Find out here! (Use this link if the video player doesn't work.)
GUEST POST: Transit Tales: Fun on the 1
This is a guest transit tale by Sam Hegg about an individual of note on the 1 bus. As somebody who has taken the MBTA daily for almost my whole life, I’ve seen a lot of people. Big people, little people, loud people, quiet people, snobby people, nice people, rude...
436 (Liberty Tree Mall – Central Square, Lynn via Goodwins Circle)
Okay, let's talk about the 435 for a sec, a route which I gave a 7. This is a prime example of the fact that I can be incredibly wrong sometimes, because the 435 sucks. It doesn't run nearly as frequently as it should, so it's always packed all the way up to the...
465 (Salem Depot – Liberty Tree Mall via Peabody and Danvers)
Huh...this is one of the more interesting routes on the MBTA. It's just weird to me that there's a bus from Salem to the North Shore and Liberty Tree Malls, then onwards to Danvers! What's more, it even runs on Saturdays, which was the day my friend Sam and I rode the...
710 (Contracted Bus: North Medford – Medford Square, Meadow Glen Mall, or Wellington Station)
Hmm...ever got the feeling that the MBTA doesn't care much about its contracted routes? After all, the route destinations on the website (and in this post title) for the 710 are WRONG! The bus never terminates at Medford Square or Meadow Glen Mall - the two...
LRTA: 13 (Billerica via Edson)
Looking to get from Boston to Lowell by bus, but the 14 has too many office parks for you? Well then, perhaps the 13 is more up your alley! It doesn't take you quite as far south as the 14, but it still runs to the northern terminus of the 350, where you can...
LRTA: 14 (Burlington Mall/Lahey Clinic)
It's fitting that the first LRTA route to be properly reviewed on this blog is also the first LRTA route I ever rode. This time, though, I took the entire route from Lahey Clinic to Lowell! What is this long trip like? Let's find out! The bus at the Lahey Clinic. From...
Tappan Street, Dean Road, and Englewood Avenue
Okay, it's time for our final trio! Our final...boring trio. Yeah, these stations aren't too special. I do have memories of hanging out at Dean Road and watching the trains with my dad when I was really little, though, so that counts for something. The platform at...
Washington Square
These C stations are just too good! Washington Square is one of the line's "accessible" stops, which means it has a lot more amenities than what we've been seeing before. Let's take a look. The platforms. The station feels a lot like an E Line stop, with wide...