Comings & Goings

I find it ironic that at one time Boston's transit system won the A. N. Brady Safety Medal so often that it was asked to stop competing in order to give other cities a shot at winning. Now, hardly a week seems to go by without something going wrong.

The Brady Medal was awarded for "the best work done during the year by an electric street railway [subway trains counted too!] in America in accident prevention and industrial hygiene." The way things have been going lately, it looks like the T is out of the running.

The Commuter Rail fender bender was somewhat minor. Thank goodness there were no serious injuries. The Red and Orange Line meltdowns, on the other hand, nearly paralyzed downtown transit. The Red Line was shutdown between Harvard and JFK/UMass as fire crews tackled an electrical fire. I am a bit foggy on the electrical layout, but track-wise there are crossovers at Kendall and Broadway that could have made the isolated area much smaller. Overkill? Maybe. My thanks to anyone in the Power Department for any clarification. At least Orange Line service bounced back relatively quickly.

With all this transit mayhem, who knows what will happen next? Aliens stealing all the NABI's at Arborway? I could only imagine what the T Riders Union would have to say about that.

On a personal front, I've been getting a mixed bag. Monday morning found me on car #01746. There is nothing special about the car - it is just like the other 57 1700-series Red Line cars - except for one thing: it smelled of urine and death. Well, maybe not "death" per se, but the stench could have reasonably led to it. The floors of the car also looked suspiciously wet. #01746 is now on my "Do Not Ride" list.

I was also gleefully entertained by a senile old man on the 08. As he railed against the dangers of smoking and relived his days as a former boxer (he constantly reminded us of that fact), he would take a break and begin yelling at this one woman in the back of the bus. No clear reason, he just wanted to shout obscenities at her. The rest of us found it all to be pretty funny.

Later on I spotted the elusive 275 at JFK/UMass. Here's the picture I snapped:

Now I just need that shot of the 274 at Moon Island.

Well, enough of my ramblings. I'll have more notes from the underground later...

Ed Dana Would Be In Tears...

Pick your poison: 19.5% fare increase or draconian service cuts. As the MBTA booklet I received yesterday points out, it's "your service, your choice". The MBTA is proposing an overall fare increase to generate added revenue ($69,000,000) to "maintain the same level of service to its customers for the next two years." So what does a 19.5% fare increase look like exactly? Below is a sampling of some of the proposed new fares and pass prices:

Local Bus $1.50 (w/CharlieCard) - $2.00 (cash or CharlieTicket)
Monthly Local Bus Pass $47.00
Monthly Inner Express Bus Pass $102.00
Monthly Outer Express Bus Pass $150.00

Rapid Transit $2.00 (w/CharlieCard) - $2.50 (cash or CharlieTicket)

Monthly Link Pass $69.00

Commuter Rail Zone 1 - $5.00

Commuter Rail Zone 2 - $5.50

Commuter Rail Zone 3 - $6.00

Commuter Rail Zone 4 - $6.75

Commuter Rail Zone 5 - $7.25

Commuter Rail Zone 6 - $7.75

Commuter Rail Zone 7 - $8.25

Commuter Rail Zone 8 - $8.75

Monthly Commuter Rail passes would range from $69.00 (Zone 1A) to $280.00 (Zone 8)

For those of you who want fares to stay exactly as they are now, the MBTA would have to make drastic cutbacks in service to compensate. Even then, it would only save $55,000,000 and (in the eyes of the MBTA) be a bigger blow to commuters.

The following bus routes would be discontinued entirely:

Route 04 North Station - Boston Marine Industrial Park
Route 05 City Point - McCormack Housing Development
Route 08 Kenmore Station - Harbor Point
Route 17 Andrew Station - Fields Corner Station
Route 18 Andrew Station - Ashmont Station
Route 25 Ruggles Station - Franklin Park via Warren Street
Route 29 Mattapan Station - Jackson Square Station
Route 33 Mattapan Station - River & Milton Streets
Route 34E Forest Hills Station - Walpole
Route 48 Jamaica Plain Loop
Route 52 Watertown Yard - Charles River Loop OR Dedham Mall
Route 55 Park Street Station - Queensbury
Route 59 Watertown Square - Needham Junction
Route 60 Kenmore Station - Chestnut Hill
Route 62 Alewife Station - Bedford VA Hospital
Route 72 Harvard Subway - Huron Avenue
Route 76 Alewife Station - Hanscom Air Base/Lincoln Labs
Route 78 Harvard Station - Arlmont
Route 79 Alewife Station - Arlington Heights
Route 83 Central Square, Cambridge - Rindge Avenue
Route 85 Kendall Station - Spring Hill
Route 90 Wellington Station - Davis Station
Route 121 Maverick Station - Eagle Square OR Wood Island Station
Route 136 Malden Center Station - Reading
Route 137 Malden Center Station - Reading
Route 170 Dudley Station - Waltham Industrial Parks
Route 201 Fields Corner Station - Neponset Belt Line
Route 202 Fields Corner Station - Neponest Belt Line

Route 217 Ashmont Station - Quincy Center Station via Wollaston
Route 230 Quincy Center Station - Montello
Route 236 Quincy Center Station - South Shore Plaza
Route 238 Quincy Center Station - Crawford Square
Route 240 Ashmont Station - Crawford Square OR Avon Square
Route 245 Quincy Center Station - Mattapan Station
Route 274 Long Island - Moon Island
Route 275 Long Island - Downtown Boston OR Albany Street Garage
Route 276 Long Island - Boston Medical Center
Route 277 Shattuck Shelter - Park Street Station
Route 325 Haymarket Station - Elm Street via I-93
Route 350 Alewife Station - North Burlington
Route 351 Alewife Station - Oak Park
Route 352 Haymarket Station - Burlington via I-93
Route 354 Haymarket Station - Woburn via I-93
Route 355 Haymarket Station - Mishawum via I-93
Route 431 Central Square, Lynn - Neptune Towers
Route 434 Haymarket Station - Peabody Square
Route 435 Central Square, Lynn - Liberty Tree Mall OR Danvers Square
Route 436 Central Square, Lynn - Liberty Tree Mall
Route 439 Central Square, Lynn - Nahant
Route 448 Marblehead - Downtown Crossing via Paradise Road
Route 449 Marblehead - Downtown Crossing via Humphrey Street
Route 451 Salem Depot - North Beverly
Route 459 Salem Depot - Downtown Crossing
Route 465 Salem Depot - Danvers Square
Route 468 Salem Depot - Danvers Square via Margin Street
Route 500 Downtown Boston - Riverside Station via MassPike
Route 501 Downtown Boston - Brighton Center via MassPike
Route 502 Copley Square - Watertown Yard via MassPike
Route 503 Copley Square - Brighton Center via MassPike
Route 504 Downtown Boston - Watertown Yard via MassPike
Route 505 Downtown Boston - Waltham via MassPike
Route 555 Downtown Boston - Riverside Station via Copley Square
Route 558 Riverside Station - Newton Corner OR Downtown Boston
Route 701 Central Square, Cambridge - Boston Medical Center (Route CT1)

The following MBTA bus routes would lose all weekend service:

Route 132 Malden Center Station - Stoneham
Route 553 Newton Corner - Roberts
Route 554 Newton Corner - Waverly

The following MBTA bus routes would have their schedules "altered":

Route 07 Downtown - City Point via Summer Street
Route 09 City Point - Copley Square via Broadway
Route 14 Roslindale Square - Heath Street
Route 16 Andrew Station - Forest Hills Station
Route 31 Mattapan Station - Forest Hills Station via Morton Street
Route 64 Central Square, Cambridge - Oak Square
Route 68 Harvard Square - Kendall Station
Route 71 Harvard Subway - Watertown Square
Route 73 Harvard Subway - Waverly Square
Route 74 Harvard Station - Belmont Center
Route 92 Sullivan Station - Downtown via Main Street
Route 93 Sullivan Station - Downtown via Bunker Hill
Route 95 Sullivan Station - West Medford
Route 99 Wellington Station - Boston Regional Medical Center
Route 112 Wellington Station - Wood Island Station
Route 114 Maverick Station - Bellingham Square OR Mystic Mall
Route 120 Maverick Station - Orient Heights
Route 214 Quincy Center Station - Germantown
Route 215 Quincy Center Station - Ashmont Station via East Milton Square
Route 216 Quincy Center Station - Hough's Neck
Route 220 Quincy Center Station - Hingham
Route 326 Haymarket Station - West Medford via I-93
Route 441 Marblehead - Haymarket via Paradise Road
Route 442 Marblehead - Haymarket via Humphrey Street
Route 450 Salem Depot - Haymarket via Western Avenue
Route 455 Salem Depot - Haymarket via Loring Avenue

The MBTA supplemental bus service (i.e. the "Supplementals" and "school trips") would be scaled back; if not reduced entirely.

All remaining bus service would have service evenings and weekends cut in half.

Quincy & Lynn Garages would be closed nights and weekends.
All other routes at these garages would lose service at these times.

The following Green Line stations would close:

BU East (B Branch)
BU West (B Branch)
Pleasant Street (B Branch)
Brandon Hall (C Branch)
Saint Paul Street (C Branch)
Hawes Street (C Branch)

The E Branch of the Green Line would be cutback from Heath Street to Brigham Circle.

E Line service would also be eliminated on weekends.

Subway service overall would be reduced by 50% during the midday, nights, and on weekends.

The following Commuter Rail stations would close:

Hastings, Silver Hill, Waverly, Plimptonville, Readville (Franklin Line only), Wyoming Hill, Ballardvale, Greenwood, Plymouth, Mishawum, Rowley, West Gloucester,
Beverly Farms, and Prides Crossing

ALL Commuter Rail service would be eliminated after 7PM weeknights, and all day weekends

ALL Ferry service would be eliminated, along with the Suburban Transportation Program subsidies and the Private Carrier Program subsidies.

The RIDE service area would be extensively redefined.

Again, these things would only happen if there is NO FARE INCREASE.

Whew. So how many cities and towns would lose local MBTA service? I lost count at ten.

Pay more? Or lose service? After all, it's "your choice"!

Happy Birthday!

Today the MBTA turns 44! In honor of this momentous event, I have put together a timeline of some of the major events in the MBTA's history. For a more detailed history of the MBTA, check out Jonathan Belcher's Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district 1964-2008


August 3, 1964 - The MBTA succeeds the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). Unlike the MTA, which only served 14 cities and towns, the new MBTA has an expanded service area of 78 cities and towns. However, many would not receive direct MBTA service for several years.

August 26, 1965 - The MBTA gives the rapid transit lines their colors:

The Cambridge-Dorchester Tunnel Line becomes the Red Line after the school color (crimson) of Harvard University. At the time, the Red Line only operated between Harvard and Ashmont.

Photograph Courtesy of The Joe Testagrose Collection

However, the cars being used at the time (the 1400's Series) had been purchased with state money, and as a token of thanks, were painted in the state colors. Clearly this could lead to some confusion...

Photograph Courtesy of The Joe Testagrose Collection

The Main Line Elevated becomes the Orange Line. Washington Street in the South End and Roxbury, over which the el ran for most of its route, was once called Orange Street.

Photograph Courtesy of The Joe Testagrose Collection

The several streetcar lines that fed into the Central Subway and Park Street were called the Green Line, as many of them ran parallel to some portion of Boston's Emerald Necklace park system. However, many of the PCC streetcars would remain in their MTA orange paint schemes for years, with a few even being retired in that color.

Photograph Courtesy of The Joe Testagrose Collection

And finally, the East Boston Tunnel Line became the Blue Line, as it ran under Boston Harbor and along the ocean.

Photograph Courtesy of The Joe Testagrose Collect
Note: The trains in this photo (dated 1972) first entered service in 1924
when the East Boston Tunnel was converted from streetcar to subway operation.
The original 1924 fleet would remain in service until 1979/1980 when they were
replaced by the current 0600-Series Hawker -Siddley fleet. With the exception of
the Mattapan PCC's, no other MBTA vehicle would surpass their 56 year service life.

1966 - The MBTA begins to renumber its bus routes. By 1969, the current numbering system would be in place. Some examples were:

Route 31A became Route 24 (Mattapan - Wakefield Avenue)

Route 47 became Route 01 (Dudley - Harvard)

Route 77 became Route 69 (Harvard - Lechmere)


1966 - The MBTA purchases its first buses. All of the buses in the MBTA fleet up to that time had been inherited from the MTA (with a few leftover from BERy days!). These buses, 1966/1967 GMC "New Looks" or "Fishbowls" as they were sometimes called, would remain in service for decades. In fact, in the early 1990's there were still a few in service.


March 30, 1968 - The MBTA absorbs the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway. The merger resulted in the MBTA taking over and operating bus routes on the South Shore (now the 200-series routes), North Shore (now the 400-series routes), Route 616 (now known as Route 34E), Melrose area routes (now the 130-series routes), as well as buses in Lowell (until 1975), Lawrence (only for several months), and Brockton (until 1969).

June 21, 1969 - The MBTA discontinues service on the "A" branch of the Green Line to Watertown via Allston, Brighton, and Newton Corner. Service was only "temporarily suspended" due to a streetcar shortage, however it has never resumed. Route 57 replaced streetcar service along the line.

September 1, 1971 - The South Shore Extension of the Red Line opens. Service is extended to Quincy Center via North Quincy Station and Wollaston Station. Ashmont and Quincy trains would diverge at Andrew Station. It would not be until 1988, when an additional platform was built, that South Shore trains would serve JFK/UMass Station.

July 5, 1972 - The MBTA absorbs the Middlesex and Boston Street Railway. New routes added into the MBTA system included bus routes in Newton, Waltham, Needham, Arlington, Lexington, Belmont, Bedford, and for a brief time Framingham, Wayland, and Wellesley. Several routes were discontinued over years (i.e. the Framingham/Wayland/Wellesley routes), however many of the former M & B routes remain as today's Routes 52, 59, 62, 67, 70A, 76, and 553-558.

April 4, 1975 - Service on the Charlestown Elevated is discontinued. The Charlestown El is replaced with increased Route 92 service, and the Orange Line is relocated to the Haymarket North Extension. Stations closed on the Charlestown El were: Everett, Sullivan Square (old station), Thompson Square, City Square, and North Station (old El stop).

Photographs Courtesy of The Joe Testagrose Collection

December 27, 1976 - The MBTA takes over the commuter rail system. Formerly, the Boston & Maine Railroad and Penn Central provided commuter rail service in the Greater Boston area. Purple had been chosen to represent the commuter rail system in 1974.

December 30, 1976 - First first LRV's (or Light Rail Vehicles) enter service on the Green Line. Built by Boeing-Vertol (yes, the airplane company), they were the first brand new cars purchased for the Green Line since the Picture Window PCC's in 1951.

March 22, 1980 - Red Line service is extended to Braintree Station. Quincy Adams Station would open in 1983 due to construction delays.

December 1980 - The MBTA closed for one day due to lack of funds. As part of the fallout from this event, many services (largely bus) are cutback or discontinued completely wholesale.

January 31, 1981 - The original Harvard Station (remnants still visible today) was closed in preparation for the Northwest Extension to Alewife. Several temporary stations (Harvard/Holyoke, Harvard/Brattle) would serve the area until the new station was completed.

1983 Through 1985 - The Northwest Extension of the Red Line opened. First the new Harvard Station in 1983, Porter and Davis in 1984, and finally Alewife in 1985.

1985 - The RTS makes its debut in Boston. The first MBTA bus to use electronic destination signs (instead of hand-cranked rollsigns), they would eventually become the only type of bus in the MBTA's fleet until 1999, when the first New Flyer C40's (initially bought for the Silver Line) entered service.

December 28, 1985 - The E Arborway Branch of the Green Line is temporarily suspended and replaced by Route 39 service. No Green Line service operated between Copley and Arborway. In preparation for the introduction of the LRV's, the Northeastern Incline was rebuilt to allow for the increase weight. The E Line was the last branch of the Green Line to still use PCC streetcars, some dating as far back as 1941. In 1986 service resumed on this branch only to Brigham Circle. Service was initially provided with Boeing LRV's, but by 1987 all service now used Type 7's. Service would return only as far as Heath Street on November 4, 1989. To this day, Jamaica Plain remains without Green Line service. Trolley poles, sections of track, and even a full Green Line stop at Forest Hills are all that remain. Bustitution had claimed its last victim in Boston.

May 4, 1987 - The Washington Street Elevated is closed and subsequently demolished after 86 years of service. The Orange Line was rerouted to the Southwest Corridor (originally planned to be a highway extension). Elevated stations closed were: Dover, Northampton, Dudley, Egleston, Green Street (old station), and the original (constructed 1909) Forest Hills Station. The historic Dudley Station is then converted into a bus terminal, with several original pieces of architecture incorporated into it. As was the case with the Charlestown El, service was replaced with increased bus service on Route 49. For 15 years, Route 49 service linked Dudley Station with Downtown Boston (Route 42 was extended from Egleston to Forest Hills and provided service from there to Dudley Station). However, Route 49 could not compare to the El's 8 minute trip from Dudley to Downtown Boston. The only stations remaining from the original Orange Line are Haymarket, State, Downtown Crossing, and Chinatown.*

Photograph Courtesy of The Joe Testagrose Collection

*Even these stations are not really the "original stops". The Washington Street Tunnel opened in 1908. For the first seven years of service (1901-1908) Main Line Elevated trains operated through the Tremont Street Subway. So the actual original stops are Government Center, Park Street, and Boylston. Streetcar service had been reconfigured during this time to allow for subway train operation.

Fall 1995 - The Crosstown Buses make their debut. Unlike other bus routes, they make limited stops (making the trip between major points faster). Also, for a little extra fare, passengers could transfer to the subway system.

1999 - The first Type 8 Green Line cars arrive in Boston. Plagued with a variety of problems including poor brakes, misaligned wheels, and wobbling axles (not to mention several derailments), the full fleet does not enter service until 2007/2008. In fact, the entire order was not carried out as the MBTA was unsatisfied with the manufacturer (Breda of Italy) and only accepted 85 (later 95) of the 100 cars.

1999 - The state's "Forward Funding" program expands the MBTA's revenue base and service area (now 175 cities and towns). In the additional communities, the MBTA is not responsible for providing local service.

2002 - The Silver Line Washington Street opens up, much to the dismay and ridicule of riders who were expected light rail rapid transit instead of "bus rapid transit".

2003 - The first CNG buses, purchased by the MBTA amid mounting community pressure to do away with the diesel fume spewing RTS, enter service. They were also some of the first low floor buses in the T's fleet. They are only assigned to Cabot and Arborway Garages (which host routes that primarily serve Boston). This soon leads the T to purchase cleaner buses, many with Emissions Control Technology (ECD), for its fleet. The era of the RTS was drawing to a close. By 2005, almost all RTS buses built before 1989 (8400's thru 8900's) had been retired. All remaining 1994/1995 RTS buses had particulate filters added to reduce emissions. Now, even these buses are slowly being phased out.

1989 RTS Bus.

A NABI CNG Bus

2004 - The Silver Line Waterfront opens. Service initially operates with Neoplan trackless trolleys on a South Station - Silver Line Way shuttle. Soon service expands to three distinct services; SL1 to Logan Airport, SL2 to Boston Marine Industrial Park, and the SL3 to City Point (slated to be discontinued due to low ridership). Unlike the Silver Line Washington Street, Waterfront service features a tunnel, partially grade separated right of way, three underground stations, and straight electric propulsion for part of its route (using dual-mode articulated buses built by Neoplan). Not bad for $601,000,000.

December 2006 - Charlie comes to Boston. The MBTA replaces its decades old system of tokens and turnstiles with the CharlieCard and Automated Fare Collection (AFC). The change over comes just before the 2007 MBTA fare increases. Rather than paying for each trip in cash, the CharlieCard (and to a lesser extent the CharlieTicket) allow riders to store multiple fares and even passes on an electronic smart card. New faregates at subway stations also help to crackdown on fare evaders (though the "backpack trick" and other ways to cheat the system soon are developed).

The new AFC and CharlieCard system did away with tokens as well as paper transfers like these.
I had always had the odd fortune of coming across books of bus transfers, sometimes in the most unlikely places.
I have found books of transfers in the middle of the street, in a park, on a subway seat, even just laying on the ground!
Nothing like a day of free bus rides!

The MBTA has had its ups and downs over the past 44 years, but overall has made a great deal of progress in that time. After all, Boston is a city of many transit firsts. But what does the future hold? Currently, the MBTA is on unsteady financial ground with a debt (interest included) of about $8,000,000,000. This has sadly been a trend for Boston's past transit systems. The Boston Elevated Railway was bought and taken over the the Metropolitan Transit Authority in 1947 as the BERy was falling "deep into the red". But the MTA would only last 17 years before it too succumbed to its financial woes and was replaced by the MBTA. At times, the MBTA has flirted with financial ruin, only to come away with a few wounds. There is still hope for the T, however. Plans (dating back some 63 years) for the Green Line extension to Medford are coming closer to fruition. New technologies such as GPS, CAD/AVL, and AVI are helping the T to improve its services. So who knows where the T will be in fifty years. Will the system grow into a shining example of transit at its best? Or will it fall to its troubles, perhaps rising again out of the ashes like the phoenix?

I guess time will tell...