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
Random Photos: Shrouded in Fog
I was on the Red Line heading to Charles/MGH (where it seems many of these "foggy" pictures come from), and noticed that the upper half of the John Hancock Building was completely shrouded in fog. I managed to get a picture, despite the stupid fence they've put up...
93 (Sullivan Square Station – Downtown via Bunker Hill Street and Haymarket Station)
Have you ever noticed that finding a bus downtown is like finding a needle in a haystack? When looking for the starting point of the 93, I went to both of the major stops downtown (Otis and Summer, and Federal and Franklin) and the 93 stopped at neither. I had a paper...
Random Photos: The Driver’s a Pirate!
Get it? 'Cause the countdown clock says "ARR?" And pirates go "ARR?" Get it? Get it?
JFK/UMASS
"Attention passengers: the next Red Line train to Alewife is now arriving on the Braintree track." Darn! I was waiting on the Ashmont track! Now I have to run all the way back to the stairs, run all the way back to the mezzanine, run all the way to the other side of...
Service Change: UMASS Boston Shuttle (Route 1)
When I heard we taking the train to JFK/UMASS to go to the JFK Library for a school trip, I got pretty excited. When I heard we would be taking a non-MBTA shuttle bus from JFK/UMASS to get to the library, I got really excited. Keep in mind, however, that this was a...
21 (Ashmont Station – Forest Hills Station via Morton Street)
You may remember the 31. It was the only bus on this blog (as of yet) to score a perfect 10. Running from Mattapan to Forest Hills, its amazing speed combined with an amazing schedule (every five minutes and it's not even a Key Bus Route!) made it the near-perfect...
215 (Quincy Center Station – Ashmont Station via West Quincy and East Milton Square)
"There was a massive crash on 93 - the traffic's horrible," said my father over the phone. "Just wanted to let you know if you end up over there." I didn't think I'd end up over there, as there are no buses that go on 93 from Quincy Center. But little did I know as I...
Longwood
When you have to go to the Longwood Medical Area, you have two options: take the E to Longwood Medical Area Station, or take the D to Longwood Station. You can either wait for a train that never comes, or you can grab a train that runs pretty frequently. You can...
214 (Quincy Center Station – Germantown via Sea Street and O’Brien Towers) and 216 (Quincy Center Station – Houghs Neck via Sea Street)
Why do I always make these beach trips when it's cloudy out? It happened again with the 214/216 (which run as one route on weekends), but at least it wasn't insanely foggy this time. The 214 and 216 both serve a peninsula to the east of Quincy Center, with the 214...
Random Photos: Some High Speed Amtrak Trains
I was waiting at Ruggles for a Commuter Rail train to South Station (long story, maybe I'll tell it at some point). I saw one going the other way, and it was coming in pretty fast. The driver honked the horn, and didn't seem to be slowing down. As the high-speed...
Prudential
Prudential has a pretty grand entrance. Right in the Prudential Center, there's a nice big "T" sticking out of the wall, telling you there's a train station. The entrance itself is glass with another "T" on it. When I first saw it, I thought this station would get a...
Random Photos: A Train to Myself
I was on the train heading for Braintree, but practically everyone got off at Quincy Adams. I had the car to myself, and I took a picture. No, the bag to the right doesn't have a bomb - it's mine.
Random Photos: A Ride on Big Red
In late 2008, the MBTA took a pair of Red Line cars and removed all the seats. They called them "Big Reds," and were meant to increase passenger capacity. They later re-installed half the seats, but there are none in much of the train. I got to ride one of these cars...
712/713 (Point Shirley – Orient Heights Station via Winthrop Highlands or Winthrop Center)
There's no denying that the 439 offers a great ride. The fact that you're on a isthmus and surrounded by water makes for great views on both sides of the bus. There are some caveats, though - mainly the fact that the bus only runs five times a day, and that most of...
Transit Tales: Return of the Shuttle Buses
As you most likely know, the Longfellow Bridge has been closed on the Cambridge-bound side for a while. The work they're doing on it occasionally requires the Red Line to be closed on weekends. And you know what that means - shuttle buses! My father and I had the...