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
Concord
Welp, we're headin' out to northwestern suburbia now. Don't let the hillbillies get you! But yes, Concord is actually one of the busiest stations on the Fitchburg Line, and it's right near the center of town. This place has some great character, but...
Abandoned Hospital!
For a change of pace from my usual reviews, here are the photos I took at the abandoned Boston Regional Medical Center! All of the pictures are taken from outside - don't worry, I didn't trespass! The beat-up parking lot. Looking through a glass door. A narrow...
99 (Woodland Road – Wellington Station via Main Street and Malden Center Station)
The MBTA runs a bus route to an abandoned hospital. I'm not sure if I made myself clear enough: THE MBTA RUNS A BUS ROUTE TO AN ABANDONED HOSPITAL. And I mean proper abandoned, like, falling apart and everything! The 99 is the culprit, and it all starts at Wellington...
411 (Kennedy Drive or Jack Satter House – Malden Center Station)
The 411 has to be one of the most diverse - and crazy - routes on the MBTA. It includes a few strange deviations, including one through marshland in Revere! Keep in mind that this route sometimes uses new Excelsior buses, so it can be very odd to see them up north of...
430 (Saugus Center – Malden Center Station via Square One Mall)
After the wonderful downtowns of Wakefield and Peabody, I had high hopes for Saugus Center. Unfortunately, as my friend Nathan and I stepped off an outbound 428, it was clear that it wasn't much. Standing next to a rotary with only a few gas stations and pizza joints...
WRTA: 22 (Union Station Hub – Shoppes at Blackstone Valley via Millbury Center)
It's strange that despite taking a way more indirect route than the 4, the 22 somehow manages to only take three minutes longer to get from Worcester to Blackstone Valley. Whereas the 4 has a lengthy express section and is mostly direct, the 22 is all local and...
GUEST POST: 171 (Dudley Station – Logan Airport via Andrew Station)
Sam Hegg got to ride on the incredibly rare 171, and wrote a fantastic review of the route. Thanks, Sam! The 171 is a special route because it only runs two one way trips to the airport. Sure, there are a lot of routes that run one or two trips a day, but what makes...
WRTA: 4 (Union Station Hub – The Shoppes at Blackstone Valley via Millbury Street)
The 4 doesn't seem like the most noteworthy route at first glance - it's a pretty short one that runs between Worcester and some suburban mall. However, it has two factors that make it an interesting ride. The first is that the route has a lengthy express portion,...
WRTA: 80 (Downtown Hub Loop)
This is a bit of a strange one, because this bus doesn't exist. You know, usually I link to a page on the authority's website about the route I'm reviewing, but that can't be done for the WRTA's 80 because it literally doesn't have a schedule page! The only way to...
Worcester
It was 2:29 PM. I was perched just inside the doorway of my Chemistry classroom, ready to bolt. Suddenly, the chime of the bell went off, and I sprinted out of the room, just ahead of Nathan across the hall. We both dodged around the crowds heading down the stairs and...
GATRA: Scituate Loop (SLOOP)
Hmm...I feel like going to Scituate today. But alas, Greenbush isn't anywhere near the town center, Scituate Harbor. Maybe there's an alternative way of getting there? Here, I'll use my trusty friend, Google Maps, to find out. Okay, well, I guess I give up. Thanks for...
Greenbush
Greenbush doesn't really have the same end-of-the-line feel that many Commuter Rail termini have. After all, this station is effectively in the middle of nowhere, whereas a lot of the Commuter Rail's biggest terminals are right in downtowns of cities. Still, despite...
RIPTA: 22 (Pontiac Ave)
The area around the Warwick Mall is not a suitable place for pedestrians - especially not at night. Cars speeding along big wide roads with intermittent sidewalks, huge parking lots everywhere, and an absence of crosswalks all contribute to a nerve racking experience....
RIPTA: 12x (Arctic/Route 117 Express Park and Ride)
There's a place called "Arctic" in Rhode Island? "That sounds like the most amazing place ever!" was my initial thought when I discovered the 12x while poking around the RIPTA website. Always looking for an excuse to visit Rhode Island, I rushed to the 3:30 Commuter...
62 (Bedford VA Hospital – Alewife Station via Lexington Center and Arlington Heights)
Alright! The final Alewife review! You know, most of Alewife's buses fall into the same mold: weekday-only routes serving northwestern towns that only get riders during rush hour. Although the 62 doesn't satisfy the weekday-only requirement, the rest basically holds...