Commuting to Boston for work from Providence (Pawtucket, Coventry: purchase, live in)

[VermontNationalDC]

I will be relocating to Providence within the next month and was wondering if any one can explain to me the best way to get to Boston for work... train (Amtrak?? express??) bus or car. Average commute time and miles? Any info or advice would be incredible. Hope to hear some replies.

[GermanSpy]

Originally Posted by Paulc1383

I will be relocating to Providence within the next month and was wondering if any one can explain to me the best way to get to Boston for work... train (Amtrak?? express??) bus or car. Average commute time and miles? Any info or advice would be incredible. Hope to hear some replies.

It depends where you are in Providence. If you're close to Downtown you can hop on the T commuter rail in Downtown Providence and ride right into Boston (South Station). It takes about an hour. If you're not in the Downtown vicinity you probably want to get to a T station somewhere and ride the train.

I would not recommend commuting by car/bus at all unless you keep strange office hours and won't be hitting the streets around the rush hour times.
Traffic is tough.

[rockfisherman]

Originally Posted by Paulc1383

I will be relocating to Providence within the next month and was wondering if any one can explain to me the best way to get to Boston for work... train (Amtrak?? express??) bus or car. Average commute time and miles? Any info or advice would be incredible. Hope to hear some replies.

I used to do it. Best way is the MBTA, see: MBTA.com > Official Website for Greater Boston's Public Transportation System

You can take the commuter rail from Providence or nearby MA towns into Back Bay Station in Boston. The ride from Providence to Back Bay is an hour from South Attleboro, a little more from PVD. Add to that the time to get to the station, wait time for train, and then commute time in the city from Back Bay station, and you're looking at an hour and a half one way.

[TheJickler]

Originally Posted by Paulc1383

I will be relocating to Providence within the next month and was wondering if any one can explain to me the best way to get to Boston for work... train (Amtrak?? express??) bus or car. Average commute time and miles? Any info or advice would be incredible. Hope to hear some replies.

This depends a lot on not only where you live in Providence, but also where you (will?) work in Boston. I have been driving from Providence (east side) to South Attleboro for a year, and that drive is 10-15 minutes. The train to Boston takes one hour. You can get off in Back Bay or in South Station in Boston. Luckily, I work directly across the street from South Station, sp I have a very easy commute.

Don't drive - you will hit a lot of traffic around the 95/93 split, and it's not worth it. The monthly pass for the train is expensive ($235 for me) but it's still better (and probably cheaper) than driving.

Good luck - Providence is a pretty cool city.

[hamsandwizh]

The monthly pass for the train is expensive ($235 for me) but it's still better (and probably cheaper) than driving.

Question about that monthly pass? And thanks to the person above for a link to the site. But that pass, which is monthly, does that mean you can ride the Zone 7 only? or like Zone 1-7? And is it unlimited use for that month?

Thanks, sorry I'm SURE these might be stupid questions but I've used a commuter rail round trip once, from Old Town San Diego to Oceanside and that was it. The rail and public transit systems in San Diego, and well in Phoenix also, are not nearly as good or big as it is in the New England area.

[GermanSpy]

Originally Posted by hamsandwizh

Question about that monthly pass? And thanks to the person above for a link to the site. But that pass, which is monthly, does that mean you can ride the Zone 7 only? or like Zone 1-7? And is it unlimited use for that month?

Thanks, sorry I'm SURE these might be stupid questions but I've used a commuter rail round trip once, from Old Town San Diego to Oceanside and that was it. The rail and public transit systems in San Diego, and well in Phoenix also, are not nearly as good or big as it is in the New England area.

Zones are based on distance. Let's say you want to commute from Downtown Providence to South Station in Boston. Providence is pretty far away, it's in Zone 8. Get closer to Boston and the zone numbers get smaller. Now, if you purchase a monthly pass for a zone you can ride the distance to that zone. So a zone 8 pass would let you go through 1 to 8, of course, since in order to get to zone 8 you need to pass through 1 to 7.

You can ride the train as much or as little as you like with your commuter pass. A zone 8 pass would cost 250$.

[TheJickler]

Originally Posted by hamsandwizh

Question about that monthly pass? And thanks to the person above for a link to the site. But that pass, which is monthly, does that mean you can ride the Zone 7 only? or like Zone 1-7? And is it unlimited use for that month?

Thanks, sorry I'm SURE these might be stupid questions but I've used a commuter rail round trip once, from Old Town San Diego to Oceanside and that was it. The rail and public transit systems in San Diego, and well in Phoenix also, are not nearly as good or big as it is in the New England area.

As posted by Germanspy, I think, you could get a zone 8, which enables you to ride from Boston to Providence. It also lets you ride to any Zone 8, which means pretty much everywhere. You can also use the card for unlimited subway access, so I think it's a pretty good deal.

Check out the MBTA website.

[emilybh]

Originally Posted by Paulc1383

I will be relocating to Providence within the next month and was wondering if any one can explain to me the best way to get to Boston for work... train (Amtrak?? express??) bus or car. Average commute time and miles? Any info or advice would be incredible. Hope to hear some replies.

It should be about 40 miles or so. For driving routes why don't you check-out Mapquest. I think if I were you I might drive farther (closer into Boston) and pick up the "T" there. Then your monthly pass wouldn't cost so much and the ride on the "T" would have fewer stops and not take as long and the traffic getting to whatever station you choose to get the T at probably won't be any worse than it is en route to S. Attleboro.

I live in Newport and when I go to Boston, usually drive to Quincy,MA park my car and take the T. By the time I get there I've driven 4/5 of the way to Boston.

I would think the closer you get into Boston in your car, the shorter your overall commute will be.

[sandsonik]

I used to commute from Coventry (south of Providence) to Boston and would take the MBTA from South Attleboro rather than Providence. This station is on the Pawtucket/So Attleboro line right off the highway. It's only 5 minutes down the highway from the Providence station but the parking is much cheaper (Providence has garage parking while So Attleboro has numbered spaces in a shopping ctr lot) and the T pass was cheaper as well. Also, back then there were more trains going to and from So Attleboro as not all of them went all the way to the end of the line in Providence. I think that situation has improved greatly, but it's a consideration in case you end up working late some night!

You'll find Amtrak to be generally useless; there aren't nearly as many trains as the MBTA, the times are mostly awkward for the work commuter and the fares are much more expensive.

Bonanza bus line also runs several buses a day between Boston and Providence but it tends to be more students or day trippers than daily commuters and I don't know the details on that cost anymore.

[wxjay]

Originally Posted by emilybh

It should be about 40 miles or so. For driving routes why don't you check-out Mapquest. I think if I were you I might drive farther (closer into Boston) and pick up the "T" there. Then your monthly pass wouldn't cost so much and the ride on the "T" would have fewer stops and not take as long and the traffic getting to whatever station you choose to get the T at probably won't be any worse than it is en route to S. Attleboro.

I live in Newport and when I go to Boston, usually drive to Quincy,MA park my car and take the T. By the time I get there I've driven 4/5 of the way to Boston.

I would think the closer you get into Boston in your car, the shorter your overall commute will be.

I would strongly advise against this. Take the train from Providence or S Attleboro and then get off at South Station or Back Bay if you need connections to the T. Driving all the way to the south or west side of Boston to catch a T is risky, especially when it comes to parking at the T stations. The last thing you want is to drive to a T station and find all of the parking is gone.

Also, try to get on the train in Providence or S Attleboro. You will be able to find a seat on it. By the time you get to Attleboro (which is a HUGE stop for the Commuter T), the train will likely get almost to capacity and seats will be at a premium. Usually by Canton Junction or Rt. 128, the train's seats are full and it's standing room only.