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
Lynn
I said in my post about Lowell that the station was pretty depressing. It was very functional and all, but just didn't feel...right. Honestly, though, Lowell doesn't even come close to how foreboding Lynn is. Really, this place is a dump. The tall,...
Beachmont
I love small neighborhood stations. I also love modern, recently renovated stations. And I really love elevated stations. Beachmont manages to embody all three of these things. And so, I love it! The station from across the street. Beachmont wants to let everyone know...
119 (Northgate – Beachmont Station via Revere Center and Cooledge Housing)
Well, I was very surprised at the view on this route. Honestly, I never suspected that there would even be one, but it was there, and actually pretty nice. But before we can get to the view, we have to start in pitland, the Northgate Shopping Center. Right when I got...
2nd Anniversary!
Wow. Has it really been two years? It feels like so long ago that I would be proud to have gotten 40 or fewer views in a day. Now, 300 or more is the norm. Back then, my plan was to do a post every Friday, or four a month. Yet in November of 2014, there were as many...
429 (Northgate Shopping Center – Central Square, Lynn via Linden Square and Square One Mall)
Well, this was a crazy one. The 429's primary purpose seems to be serving the Square One Mall in Saugus, along Route 1. It also goes all the way down to Northgate Shopping Center, which is another reasonably popular destination. Along the way from Lynn, it takes a...
North Station
If South Station is the king of MBTA stations, then North Station is most certainly the queen. (Back Bay is like the 6 of hearts or something.) This massive complex features 10 tracks, serving both the Commuter Rail and Amtrak Downeaster to Maine; an underground...
Lawrence
I was pretty upset that I had to walk over a mile to get to Lawrence Station from the MVRTA's Buckley Transportation Center. There's no street signage leading the way, so I had to go to a library to ask for directions. And the station's pretty far from downtown...
Service Change: MVRTA – Route 41 (Lawrence – Lowell) and the Buckley Transportation Center
Yes, I actually went on another non-MBTA transportation authority while in Lowell. This is the MVRTA (Merrimack Valley Regional Transportation Authority), which covers a large area around its hub in Lawrence, going as far as Hampton Beach in New Hampshire. The 41...
Lowell
In my post about the LRTA's downtown shuttle, I made a mistake. I said that the Robert Kennedy Transportation Center forms the whole of the complex: bus station and Commuter Rail station. But it turns out that only the bus station is the Kennedy Transportation Center...
Service Change: LRTA, Part 3 – 2 (Belvidere)
The 2 is a crazy route meant to serve residential areas to the east of Lowell. I had wanted to ride another LRTA route for fun, and the 2 showed up at the Kennedy Center. When I got in, I asked the driver if it would loop around and come back to Lowell. "This is...
Service Change: LRTA, Part 2 – 18 (Downtown Shuttle)
The Robert Kennedy Transportation Center (which also houses the MBTA Commuter Rail station), hub of the LRTA, is something like an 18 minute walk from downtown Lowell. It's doable for sure, but you could also just take the downtown shuttle operated by the LRTA. That...
Service Change: LRTA, Part 1 – 14 (Burlington Mall/Lahey Clinic)
Yes, as I not-so-subtly hinted in the last post, I did indeed take the LRTA up to Lowell from the 351. The system has 18 main routes, all fanning out from the Lowell Commuter Rail station. These are further divided into city routes and suburban routes, the former...
351 (Oak Park/Bedford Woods – Alewife Station via Middlesex Turnpike)
Well, I got far fewer strange looks than expected when I boarded this one. The 351 is a reverse-commute route, meant to transport people from Alewife to the scores and scores of office parks up in the northwest. As it's a commuter bus, it's rush hours only, and I had...
Random Photos: The Lowell Trolley (or not)
I was really excited to find out that Lowell actually has a streetcar service downtown. But it turns out it's seasonal. So, all I could do was take some pictures of one of the stations. An old Boston and Maine locomotive on display at the stop. It looks so enticing......
Random Photos: Safety Hazard at Lowell Station, Part 2
Needless to say, I walked quickly through here.