Public transport in Boston. (Cambridge, Harvard: how much, transfer, buying)

[kerianne321]

I'm moving to Boston (can't wait) but have never been there and was wondering about Public transport. Can I rely on it? Is there a subway and are buses reliable? If need be, I can get a car, but would prefer not too. Any help is much appreciated

[Baltic_Celt]

Keri -

Boston has one of the best public transportation systems (MBTA - Mass Bay Transit Authority) in the nation. There are lines that go all over/outside of the city, often & regularly (busses mainly every 10-min during rush-hour periods).

What do we have? Underground trains (subway) - red, blue, green, orange, silver, purple lines. Then each color has different trains, the green being the largest - A, B, C, D, E trains. I know I've left a few out. Street busses go all over Boston, out to the suburbs & even crosstown with some shuttles (to malls for example). Above ground trolly cars are also available. There is also Amtrak (from Backbay/South/North Stas.) & commuter rails (old fashioned "choo-choo" trains) leaving from South/North Stas. Gosh, we even have commuter boats that go out to the islands & pick up in downtown Boston.

Many folks do not have cars here, or if they do, they don't use them to commute to/from work. I have friends/co-workers who've never owned a car. You can easily manage here without one. The 1st 13-yrs I lived here, I didn't own a car.

How much does public transport cost? In town, roughly 90-cents/bus, $1.25/subway. But, it differs depending which busses/trains you take, where you board, where you exit, if you can get a free transfer, etc. You can purchase monthly passes (I think day passes may be available too, mainly for tourists), where you can take as many busses/trains (again it differs with which pass you need/purchase) throughout each & every day. Most regular subway/bus travelers purchase passes, as it's a few $ cheaper/mo, even if you don't use it other than for work commuting.

You have to check out the MBTA (locally known as the "T") site for info at "mbta dot com". It's way too extensive to give you further details. It depends on where you live, where you'll work/go to school, etc. You may have to switch colors of lines to get to one destination (for only 1 price) or you may be lucky & live near the only color train you'll need - many do, particularly students. Most colleges are on the greenline & all college websites will list directions (subway, bus, car) to/from the school. When you get into town, pick up bus/train schedules either at subway stations (marked by a huge "T") or local libraries. Other places may have them, but those are the ones I know about.

Good luck & welcome to Boston. You'll never have to worry about getting anywhere here. Some sort of transport will be going your way, probably rather often. Check out the Trip Planning feature on the "T" site. You can even download schedules to a Palm Pilot! Pretty cool, no?

Feel free to ask other questions as you become more familiar with what you need... Baltic_Celt

[smarty]

I agree with Baltic_Celt. You can always get from here to there via MBTA or the T. The only thing is depending where you start and end. You may need to go out of the way to get there.

For example, if you want to go from Boston College to Harvard, you will need to go into Boston via the green line and back out to Cambridge on the red line. However, if you travel via a car, it only a couple of miles and probably 5-10 minutes instead of 30 minutes. But it will cost you $10/15 to park in a garage around Harvard or 30 minutes to find a parking spot

[Miker2069]

Originally Posted by smarty

I agree with Baltic_Celt. You can always get from here to there via MBTA or the T. The only thing is depending where you start and end. You may need to go out of the way to get there.

For example, if you want to go from Boston College to Harvard, you will need to go into Boston via the green line and back out to Cambridge on the red line. However, if you travel via a car, it only a couple of miles and probably 5-10 minutes instead of 30 minutes. But it will cost you $10/15 to park in a garage around Harvard or 30 minutes to find a parking spot

So in effect about the same amount of time

[smarty]

Originally Posted by Miker2069

So in effect about the same amount of time

For poor people like me only .

Rich people park in garages... double parks (ticket cost about the same as valet)

[Hatless Wonder]

I've been riding the T every day for 6 years. If you have a choice, ride the subway. Buses are great if they show up, never mind on time.

[aushra]

That is what i like about big cities too. I am looking forward to relocating to Boston too.

[nenaboriqua]

Transportation in Boston is VERY reliable there are buses every 5-10 minuetes the trains are sufficent in timing taxis if needed. Congrats on ur move

[Hatless Wonder]

Maybe it's because I ride the bus, but the T has been so bad lately I'm seriously considering buying a car.

I had a staff meeting this morning at 10. I got to Sullivan Square at 8:50 for a 9:10 bus, which would have gotten me there by 9:40. It finally arrived at 9:35, and it only went as far as Harvard Square. I got to my meeting late, after shelling out $12 for a cab.

[LovelyBoston]

I don't like the buses -- the traffic in the city gets bad, and the buses are caught in it. But the subway is great, and goes everywhere. Really, you don't need a car if you're within walking distance of a T stop.

One caveat: if you get a place along the green line, and you live fairly far out (past the Kenmore Station stop, going outbound) then it matters whether you take the B, C, D, or E green line train to get home, because although they are all on the green line, they diverge; and waiting for the right one can take a while. B and C lines are pretty consistent, but if you need to D or E, you can be stuck waiting quite a while.