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
83 (Rindge Ave – Central Square, Cambridge via Porter Square Station)
The 83's primary function is to sew together the parts of East and North Cambridge that other buses don't serve. In that sense, it does its job well. The route is the opposite of straightforward, making a lot of crazy turns along the way. In Central Square, note that...
Transit Tales: That’s Just Gross!
My father and I got on the train at Downtown Crossing. It was crowded. He got a seat, I had to stand. Being packed in like sardines, I couldn't really see much. I did hear, however, the sound of a liquid falling onto the floor. I assumed someone spilled a drink or...
Porter
Porter is a fun station. It's the deepest in the system, meaning a 143-foot escalator ride. The escalator ride is great, with a mural of trains going down and a mural of birds going up. It can admittedly be kind of a scary ride, but it's worth it. It's also worth...
Transit Tales: Memorable Train Quotes
When I say "train quotes," I don't mean the train is talking: I mean automated stop announcements. Anyone reading this blog has likely been on a train with automated stop announcements; it's when there's an automatic prerecorded speaker that says the names of the...
28 (Mattapan Station – Ruggles Station via Dudley Station)
The only reason I wanted to take the 28 is because I'm a sucker for articulated buses. The 28 uses them all the time, so that's fine with me. The 28 is one of the 7 (!) buses connecting Mattapan and Ashmont stations to the Orange Line. It travels almost entirely on...
Transit Tales: The Snail Train to Snailsville
Getting from Harvard to Alewife should normally take about 5 minutes. But today, that trip took 20 (for the record, I wanted to take the bus being the transit-obsessed person I am, but it was my friend Calvin's turn to pick the transit method). We ended up...
Lechmere
UPDATE 5/24/2020: With the station in this form now closed, check out this retrospective! Lechmere is a station on its last legs. Once the Green Line West Medford extension is up and running, Lechmere will have been relocated and redesigned. Because of this, you can...
Fare Heights and Service Cuts on the Way – Again
As we all know, the MBTA is in serious debt. As we also know, fares rose 25% last year. Well, the fares are rising again - this time by 33%, on top of the fare raise from last year! There are actually two options: the 33% fare raise, or a smaller fare increase with...
Bay State Model Railroad Museum
In my post about the 30, I mentioned how I desperately wanted to visit the Bay State Model Railroad Museum, and how it's only open Wednesday nights. Well, twice a year they do an open house, and one of them is this weekend. My mother and I got the chance to go, and...
1 (Harvard/Holyoke Gate – Dudley Station via Mass Ave)
About a year ago, my father and I were at Dudley Station. We needed a bus to get home, and we ultimately ended up taking the 66 (which also goes to Harvard, but with a much wilder route). I was interested in the 1, and my father and I were back at Dudley a...
SL5 (Dudley Station – Downtown Crossing at Temple Place via Washington St)
To understand why we even have a Silver Line, you need to know the history behind it. When they first built the Orange Line in 1901, it was elevated over Washington Street (the EL, as it was called). For 86 years, it provided speedy transportation over the...
Harvard
Harvard is essentially the transit hub of Cambridge. You've got the Red Line, 13 MBTA bus routes, Harvard University Shuttle buses, and Longwood Medical Area shuttles. It's also the third busiest MBTA station (next to Downtown Crossing and South Station). Best of...
At Least the Blizzard’s Good For Something!
I understand that this blizzard's really bad for some people. 650,000 homes in the Northeast have lost power, people aren't allowed to drive, and the MBTA isn't running until Monday (hopefully). However, last night, my friend Max and I made good use of the blizzard....
350 (North Burlington – Alewife Station via Burlington Mall)
Let me start out by saying that my mother hates buses with a passion. So when she suggested taking a bus, of course I said yes! The bus in question was the 350, which I had actually been wanting to take for a while. The route travels to Mass Ave, then goes onto Mystic...
Service Change: Amtrak Northeast Regional and the 6 – Lexington Avenue Local
This weekend, I went to New York to see Cinderella on Broadway, and I took some fun train rides while I was away. To get to New York, we took Amtrak down. It's nice being able to enter the station and be able to immediately board the train. At an...