I'm Back! MBTA Review & More
I'm Back!
Hello everyone! I'm sure you all have been wondering where I went, as my last post was last year, in 2017. I had forgotten about this for a while, and also as I am going through college I have been focusing on other things. Also, I have not had many chances to ride any public transit in a while (though I did ride on the MBTA recently), so because I haven't been using public transportation recently, this has taken a back seat. Also, to be honest, living in Jacksonville, FL while there is public transportation (Jacksonville Transportation Authority - JTA), it isn't easy to use the system since pretty much all of Jacksonville is car oriented, and the JTA system just doesn't interest me as much. But, with all that said, I do want to continue this blog and continue to be more active. Lastly, please see the link at the bottom for a link to a transit enthusiast group, if you'd like to join, just click the link and we're happy to have you!MBTA REVIEW
In October, I had the chance to travel to Boston, MA to see Game 2 of the World Series. This was a trip I could not pass up, so of course I said yes. Boston is one of my favorite places, and love to visit any time I get a chance, so even though this trip wouldn't even be 48 hours, it was still exciting to go. I was tasked with planning our transportation options for the trip.
Arriving
My grandfather and I flew from Jacksonville, FL to Boston Logan Airport, and my stepdad flew from Greenville, SC to Boston and met us there. Our flight arrived first in Terminal C, so we took the MassPort shuttle to Terminal A to meet my stepdad. MassPort operates 6 shuttle routes around Logan Airport, Routes 11, 22, 33, 55, 66, and 88. We took Route 11 which stops at all terminals and is mainly for passengers with connecting flights. After waiting a few minutes, our bus arrived. We had one of the 40' NABI buses (photo below). After stopping at Terminal E (including a short layover for the operator), we continued to Terminal A. |
| MassPort shuttle arriving at Terminal C on Route 11. |
Once my stepdad arrived and we were all together, we took a taxi to our hotel. I was planning on us taking the SL1 and Red Line, but since we had our bags, we decided to just take a taxi. The ride was quick since we were in the mid day period - though, if you know Boston traffic, it can be bad at all hours.
Midday Trips
After checking into our hotel, we went to Quincy Market for lunch. The nearest T stop to us was the Broadway Station on the Red Line. The ride between Broadway and Downtown Crossing was quick, transferring to the Orange Line to go to Haymarket. We walked around for a little bit around the Quincy Market area before returning to the hotel.
To Fenway Park
A trip to Boston can't be complete without a meal in the North End, so we took the Red and Orange Lines to Haymarket again and walked to the North End for our dinner (which was great!). To Fenway we boarded a Green Line C-Branch train at Haymarket and travelled to Kenmore. The train started out empty, but at Government Center and Park Street the train got full and was standing room only. Nothing else noteworthy happened on that trip.
Return to Hotel
After the game (which the Sox won - 4-2), we boarded the Green Line again at Kenmore and went to Park Street. When we walked into the station, there were plenty of attendants and transit police to assist the crowds. A D-Branch train was waiting at the platform in the Inbound Direction. We boarded and the train was standing room only (as expected). Once arriving at Park Street, the operator announced the train would be going Out of Service instead of continuing to Government Center.
The plan here was to transfer to the Red Line to travel to Broadway, however there was a track fire, causing a suspension between Park Street and Braintree/Ashmont. We could have waited for shuttle buses, but decided to Uber instead because the crowds were starting to get crazy outside Park Street since no shuttle buses had arrived yet.
The plan here was to transfer to the Red Line to travel to Broadway, however there was a track fire, causing a suspension between Park Street and Braintree/Ashmont. We could have waited for shuttle buses, but decided to Uber instead because the crowds were starting to get crazy outside Park Street since no shuttle buses had arrived yet.
Right: A 40' bus arriving to transport passengers.
The Next Day
We had to check out today, so I decided to take the Silver Line to South Station and explore a bit. Our hotel was near the Washington St & Herald St stop. I only waited about 5 minutes until a SL4 bus arrived. The bus had an average-looking crowd. We arrived a few minutes later at South Station and I got breakfast at Dunkin Donuts (another must have for any trip to MA for me), and explored South Station, including a quick fanning session on the Silver Line underground platform (for SL1 to Logan Airport, SL2 to Waterfront, and SL3 to Chelsea) before returning to the hotel via the Red Line.
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| After exiting at South Station, the bus returns to Dudley Station on the SL4. |
Overall
I enjoyed my trip, and would definitely like to spend some more time in Boston to ride the T (I have rode the T before this trip, but it was before I was as interested in Public Transit as I am now). I believe I will be back in Massachusetts next summer, hopefully with some time to spend in Boston.
Facebook Transit Enthusiast Group:
In addition to this, I run a Transit Enthusiast group on Facebook, appropriately named "The Transit Enthusiast Lounge". If you'd like to join, we'd be very happy to have you, so please click the link!
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