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: Toronto, Part 7 – GO Transit to Guildwood
For a while I thought that GO Transit was just a generic name. But then I found out that GO stands for Government of Ontario, turning the name into a cool acronym. I love it! We had been seeing extremely long double-decker trains running near Union Station, but I...
Service Change: Toronto, Part 6 – 86 Scarborough and 190 Scarborough Center Rocket
The 86 coming back from the Toronto Zoo was by far the worst bus ride I've ever experienced. It's not the route that's the problem...no, the route's fine, going from Kennedy Station on the Bloor Line to the Toronto Zoo. It's the people that were on it. We got on...
Service Change: Toronto, Part 5 – 510 Spadina and 511 Bathurst Streetcars
The TTC refers to the 510 as something like "streetcar rapid transit," but I like to just refer to it as a Super Streetcar. Unlike most TTC streetcars (the 509 and 512 are the other two classified as SRT), the 510 runs in a median separated from other traffic. That...
Something I Totally Forgot to Mention About the Toronto Subway
Interestingly, the Toronto subway technically has 24 hour service. It's just that they're not actually operated by subway trains. Instead, there are Blue Night bus routes that run along entire subway routes during the night. That seems like a pretty efficient way to...
Service Change: Toronto, Part 4 – 505 Dundas and 506 Carlton Streetcars
The 505 was the streetcar we used most often, as well as my favorite of them all. It's just the variety of different neighborhoods seen along the route that makes it really interesting. This is another U-shaped line, going from Dundas West Station on the Bloor Line to...
Service Change: Toronto, Part 3 – 501 Queen and 504 King Streetcars
When writing the title, I thought about how easy it could be to misinterpret it as the Queen and King of streetcars. Rest assured, the streetcars are just named after the principal streets they run on; they don't have special titles. I was excited to ride the Toronto...
Service Change: Toronto, Part 2 – The Scarborough RT and the Bloor-Danforth Subway
So what does RT stand for? The other lines are all referred to as "subways," so the Scarborough RT must be different. RT must stand for rapid transit, right? What else could it be? But all the other lines are rapid transit, too... Anyway, the Scarborough RT is...
Transit Tales: To Dog or Not to Dog?
I've been taking the T to my summer job, and I wanted to share this little experience I had one day. It was rush hour, so it was of course absolute madness - I was holding onto a pole for dear life. I felt something hairy against my leg, and looking down I saw a big...
Service Change: Toronto, Part 1 (of many) – The Yonge-University-Spadina Subway and the Sheppard Subway
The layout of the Toronto subway is kinda...weird. There are two main subway lines: the Yonge-University-Spadina Line, and the Bloor-Danforth Line. However, only the Yonge-University-Spadina (which I will now be referring to as just the Yonge) Line serves the...
Random Photos: Toronto Skyline View From Algonquin Island
Consider this a teaser. There is much more to come. Click on it to make it bigger, if you so wish.
Random Photos: The View From the MET
I love a good skyline, so I was excited to visit the MET's rooftop garden. Here's the amazing view from up there:
Service Change: NYC, Part 2 – the E, the 6, and the Q
I did a Service Change about the New York subway 6 line over a year ago. I had taken it up to the Bronx, so the train was elevated and there were some very interesting views. Unfortunately my subway experiences this trip were entirely underground, but I have much...
Service Change: NYC, Part 1 – The Go Bus
Yes, I know I promised the new "Diary of a Bus Adventurer" post and a plethora of bus reviews, but I happened to be in New York for the past two days. I ended up taking quite a bit of transportation there, though, and I have a few Service Change posts in the works....
104 (Malden Center Station – Sullivan Square Station via Ferry Street and Broadway)
The surprisingly high number of routes going between Malden Center and Wellington/Sullivan have never struck me as being particularly noteworthy. Some of them are unique: the 105 with its crazy Newland Street Housing route or the 97 for its Gateway Center detour. But...
105 (Malden Center Station – Sullivan Square Station via Newland Street Housing)
Let me be clear right from the start: never take this bus from beginning to end. No one in their right mind would use this bus (which takes about a half hour in total) to get from Malden Center to Sullivan when the train can do it in a few minutes. So basically, don't...