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
RIPTA: 51 (Charles Street)
Ahh, here we go! This was the route my friend Nathan and I used to get back from CCRI, and it definitely seems superior to the 73. The 51 is a straight shot, with the trunk route remaining almost entirely on Charles Street down to Providence. The bus coming from...
RIPTA: 73 (Fairlawn/CCRI)
The RIPTA doesn't seem to care at all about the 73. For one thing, it's a Pawtucket route, which means it instantly gets less priority. Also, its schedule (and ridership) is absolutely abysmal. And just look at the beauty of a vehicle they gave this thing: Oh my gosh,...
RIPTA: 1 (Eddy/Hope/Benefit)
The 1 is basically omnipresent wherever you go on the RIPTA. It serves the authority's two biggest transit hubs, as well as two Commuter Rail stations. A merger of three former RIPTA routes, the 1 runs through some incredibly varied neighborhoods, and can be very...
Transit Tales: A Rather Troublesome Commute
I was doing my daily commute to my summer job in Central Square. Unfortunately, as I got down to Alewife, I had just missed a train. "Oh well," I thought. The next one would still get me there on time. OR WOULD IT??? No, it would not. Things seemed fine at first,...
556 (Waltham Highlands – Downtown Boston via Newton Corner, Central Square, Waltham, and Newtonville)
It's a shame that my last I-90 express bus had to be so...I dunno, generic. The 556 isn't a particularly interesting route. I guess we'll, uh, take a look, then. Enjoy! The picture I took when I actually rode the route was so bad that I came back to Boston the...
Hersey
Well, I think this is officially my favorite Needham Line station. Yes, Hersey is by far the most isolated one, and the only one without a bus connection, but those only add to its tranquility. Oh, and the station is also in the middle of a golf course. We are most...
Highland
Ah, it's good to be back on the Needham Line! It's been too long since I've seen those tiny mini-highs with no benches. Well...okay, maybe not that part of it. But Needham Line stations are always very tranquil, and Highland is certainly no exception. The...
37 (Baker and Vermont Streets – Forest Hills Station via Belgrade Ave and Center Street)
Being on an almost-empty bus during rush hour is an interesting experience. However, this seems to happen a lot with the Belgrade Ave routes from Forest Hills. Since the crowds for them are timed with train arrivals, the buses operate on a first-come, first-serve...
Dedham Corporate Center
I feel like being stuck at any Commuter Rail station for an hour will make you dislike it. This was unfortunately the case with Dedham Corporate Center, and I was in a pretty bad mood during my long wait here. Um...I'll try to be objective here, okay? Or maybe...
Dedham Local Bus
This bus is a mess. You may have seen these MBTA paper schedules of the Dedham Local Bus. Looks simple enough, right? Well, they've changed the route since then. Now, it's this: What is this madness??? Now do you see what I mean by "mess"? Okay, let's take a closer...
Endicott
One of the things I don't like about the Franklin Line is that it just has too many dang stops. Endicott is three minutes away from both of its neighboring stations (Dedham Corporate Center and Readville), and has a very local kind of feel. It's also not very...
Franklin/Dean College
It's the namesake of the Franklin Line! And having been stuck in the downtown for over an hour, I'm quite familiar with it and all of its attractions (or lack thereof). Still, despite how boring the town may be, I'm reviewing the station, not its surroundings. Thus,...
GATRA: Tri-Town Connector
The layout of the GATRA baffles me. The authority runs many different "systems" that are completely disconnected from each other, and many of them are seemingly unknown. For example, the Tri-Town Connector, which runs from Norfolk Station to a Big Y supermarket in...
Norfolk
I met someone from Norfolk once. It was at an awful camp at the Museum of Science, and this kid would commute there every day from Norfolk Station. I specifically remember him pronouncing it "Norfork" and saying I wasn't "allowed" to pronounce it that way because I...
Forge Park/Route 495
So, I rode the Franklin Line for the first time! My friends Harry and Zach and I took it all the way to the end, and it was a pretty nice ride. Personally, I enjoyed seeing the varied stations along the line - there's a lot of variety, and each one seems to have its...