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
Service Change: RIPTA, Part 1 – 35 (Rumford)
Well, you know I wouldn't have gone to South Attleboro without a trip into Rhode Island, right? There were two buses waiting when my friend and I got here on the train: the 1 and the 35. Both were going to Providence, but the 1 continues further south from there, so...
South Attleboro
You know, every time I ride the Commuter Rail or Amtrak through Attleboro Station, I always think "Wow, this looks like a really nice downtown!" But South Attleboro? Ehhhhhhh. If you like big malls and decrepit train stations, this is the place for you. Looking down...
217 (Quincy Center Station – Ashmont Station via Beale Street, Wollaston, and East Milton Square)
Four trips per day in each direction, huh? Well, I guess I can see why this one was on the chopping block. The 217 is one of three routes that connect Quincy Center to the Ashmont/Mattapan Lines, via East Milton Square (the 215 and 245 being the...
225 (Quincy Center Station – Weymouth Landing via Quincy Ave and Shaw Street or Desmoines Road)
My plan once I got off the 222 at Jackson Square was to take the Commuter Rail one stop from East Weymouth to Weymouth Landing in order to catch the 225. And not just any 225 - I wanted the weekday-only variant that goes all the way down to Columbian Square, doubling...
Weymouth Landing/East Braintree
I just reviewed an elevated station, so now let's look at a sunken one! The next station over from East Weymouth, Weymouth Landing/East Braintree is right on the border of two towns. Also, it's sunken. Did I mention it's sunken? Okay, so it's not...
East Weymouth
I generally find the Old Colony Commuter Rail stops to be pretty boring. It seems like they're usually just bland platforms with big parking lots. Is East Weymouth any different? Well, at least it's elevated. I mean...okay, it's kind of elevated. Outside, the...
221 (Quincy Center Station – Fort Point via Bicknell Square)
I've now covered the two main buses on Washington Street in Quincy. The 220 and 222 run very frequently, especially at rush hour, carrying many people along the corridor. But there is one more route that runs along this street. One that only operates four times a day....
222 (Quincy Center Station – East Weymouth via Bicknell Square)
The Washington Street corridor east of Quincy is quite a busy one. I've already covered one of its well-used routes, the 220, which goes out to Hingham. Now we'll be taking a look at the other main one on this corridor, the 222. This bus stays in Weymouth for the most...
230 (Quincy Center Station – Montello Commuter Rail Station via Holbrook and Braintree Station)
Welcome to the southernmost bus route on the MBTA! The 230 is one of those suburban trips that stays on the same road most of the time and goes through multiple towns. So, is everyone ready for some Brockton-Holbrook-Braintree-Quincy action? Let's do this. The bus at...
Montello
Alright, let's switch gears to a proper Commuter Rail line. As one of the more transit-dependant cities in the greater Boston area, it makes sense that Brockton has more than one Commuter Rail station. The northernmost one in the trio of Brockton stops is the...
Uphams Corner
Uphams Corner Station is directly served by the 15, one of the busiest bus routes on the MBTA. Plus, there are some other routes a few blocks away, at Uphams Corner proper, that get quite a bit of ridership as well. So why do all these buses succeed where the...
Newmarket
Well, I have to give the city an A for effort. They took an industrial area and completely turned it around by putting fancy new signs up that advertise it as...an industrial area. Newmarket even has a website, which calls the neighborhood "Boston's most vibrant...
17 (Fields Corner Station – Andrew Station via Uphams Corner and Edward Everett Square)
The 17 is a short little route, taking only around 15 minutes to do the whole thing. Running between two Red Line stations, though, no one would take this from beginning to end. Like many other MBTA routes connecting two stations on the same line, it's all about what...
19 (Fields Corner Station – Kenmore or Ruggles Station via Grove Hall and Dudley Station)
This one never made sense to me - why would a route that runs through such transit-starved neighborhoods run weekdays-only? I guess it's because almost the whole of the 19's length is shared with other routes, but it was always a little weird to me. But this route...
CT3 (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center – Andrew Station via BU Medical Center)
Considering that the CT3 was on the chopping block in 2012, I assumed it would be pretty bad. I mean, I'm not a fan of the crosstown routes anyway, since they supposedly offer "limited stops" but really don't skip that many. So imagine my surprise when I found out...