I used to ride this bus to work as recently as August of this year. I rode it from Brighton Center…read moreto Chinatown/South Stationish. It's an express bus, so for your LinkPass holders it's a little more expensive, but it's quicker than quick because it takes the pike instead of local roads. In fact.. it might be a leetle TOO quick (just a note for those that stand). But when I used to take it.. around 8:30AM.. there were usually enough seats and very few people had to stand. All business folk too. Dare I say it was always on time? Although the drivers sort of remind me of Lloyd the delivery guy from Scrubs. You know, the air drummer (that is.. trivia point.. one of the writers for Scrubs)? So imagine Lloyd driving a bus instead of a delivery truck/ambulance. While fast, you may not always feel the safest..

I took this bus from Brighton Center to the Financial District every day from May to August. Moving…read moreto a new apartment off of Comm Ave in September, I thought, hey, I'll save a little money by taking the B line to work every day. Probably one of the stupidest things I've ever done. This bus gets me from its first stop to Federal Street in under a half an hour, without the hassle of stopping at too many red lights, dealing with BU kids who have a state of the art fitness center yet can't be bothered to walk 100 extra feet to get to class, and people who smell like they haven't showered since the Reagan 80's. I have an extra half an hour in the morning to relax, an extra half an hour at night, and all for $30 a month extra. Well worth it. If you live within a mile of one of these express buses and you have to go downtown in the morning - this is the only way to travel. Pay the extra $30 - it will immediately improve the quality of your commute, and the quality of your life, and I stand by that statement.

There's no published schedule for the 194, so you won't find it on the MBTA's website. But it shows…read moreon nextbus.com, and if you hop on the first inbound run of the 89 or the 93, the automatic system will announce that you're on route 194. The 194 is the first inbound run of the 89 and the 93, which goes from Clarendon Hill to Sullivan Station to Haymarket (where you can catch a host of other early morning buses, like special routes of the 39 and 57 that start at Haymarket). The bus came precisely on schedule at Powderhouse Circle (a minute after 4:33) and was exactly on schedule at Sullivan (4:47) and Haymarket (4:57). I'm one for one with this bus. Four stars for precision.

Kent Street is a "stop" on the C Branch of Boston's Green Line. Running down a straight and level…read morestretch of the center of the Beacon Street boulevard, there is only a small glass-enclosed shelter on the outbound side. There are no audible or visual announcements of the next train but you can see for a bit of distance since the street is arrow-straight here, so you will have some warning. You must board the train at the door next to the train driver so that you can swipe your Charlie Ticket or Charlie Card. The train will not stop if the driver does not see you at or very near the "station." There is no handicapped access here at all. There is no special T parking here. There are no restaurants or shops in this area. The station is between Saint Paul Street (outbound) and Hawes Street (inbound).

I was here for the Boston marathon, mile 24. Now I've never been on these trains before. So when I…read moregot off at Kent street I didn't know that I was supposed to ring a bell. I actually didn't see it. But the train driver mentioned it after I got off. I apologized being from New York. I didn't know that when you reach certain stops that they don't stop unless there is someone there or you ring the bell. I knew the second time I got on and off. It might of said something about it but I didn't notice it. I guess they knew that there was an event going on and most of us are from out of town. I bought the all day pass, for $12.00. It starts from the moment you swipe the card to the next day. Let's say 3:12pm and it ended the next day at 3:12pm. Now I wasn't aware but some station wasn't charging for volunteers to go on trains or buses. So when I got on the train to go back to my location where my luggage was I didn't need it. The downfall for this is that it was very crowded. I guess not all systems can be like the New York mta but when you go to other states and your being squished you realized that your train system despite slowness is very appreciated. I definitely would use this train system again next year.

Boston's Silver Line (SL4 and SL5) jaunts down Washington Street from downtown and the first stop…read moresouth of I-90 is here at East Berkeley Street. There are stops on both sides of Washington. East Berkeley is better than many of the Silver Line stations with a proper bus stop that has overhead cover from the elements and there is some seating. A visual board will let you know how long to wait until the next bus arrives. Surface level, there is no ticket machine here. You will need to board the bus at the front.

Shawmut is an underground station on the Red Line and is right in the middle of a completely…read moreresidential neighborhood. Surrounded by homes and absolutely no commercial buildings, this is all about the commuters. There is handicapped access with an elevator from the street level and the ticketing area down to the platform level. The usual turnstiles and automated ticket machines are present. Helpfully, there is a visual display upstairs that indicates the next train in either direction so you know if you need to rush your way to the platform or if you can take a more leisurely stroll. Side platforms and not an island, so the doors will open on the right side. As the station is completely underground, you're protected from the elements here. There are audible and visual announcements of the next train. The station is surprisingly clean and quite modern thanks to renovations. It is definitely one of the nicer stations on the Red Line. Shawmut is between Ashmont (outbound, the terminus of this branch) and Fields Corner (inbound). [Review 9859 overall, 1437 of 2018.]

As far as T stations go, this is probably my favorite…read more First & foremost - it's indoors - protection from the elements while awaiting the train to arrive... yes please! The surrounding neighborhood is both safe and also, visually a nice one to walk through. Alternatively, if you aren't too familiar with the area or it's late night - there is also a very well-lit pedestrian walkway leading from the station out to Melville Avenue.

Number 55 bus route once provided excellent service from early morning to late evening. It…read moreconnected many residents living in this urban area to the rest of the city. It allowed people to live without a car freeing up space and lessening pollution. Then came COVID-19. It hasn't been the same since. Now down to 6 hours a day it's a shadow of its former self. Better than nothing, but not quite what it was. What's especially sad about this situation is that the area is growing rapidly. Just as more buildings are being built and more residents and businesses moving in we have service cuts. This in turn forces new members of the community to own cars or resort to Uber or Lyft which brings more traffic into an already congested area. Add the 35,000 extra people flooding in during Red Sox games and concerts and you have to scratch your head and wonder why this bus route is always the target of cuts. Rather than the MBTA Promoting the benefits and convenience of using this bus service they slash service discouraging use. This isn't exactly a winning strategy for providing needed transportation within a congested and growing neighborhood. R. Houle West Fenway Boston, MA

The 55 bus is so convenient going to and from Fenway to downtown. It is 80% ontime, and the bus…read moredrivers have a record of being exceptionally friendly. One night, the bus driver dropped passengers off at a restaurant on Boylston St. that was between stops for no reason other than being a nice guy. This bus is a little specialized for those living in the Fenway area- but if you ever have friends that want to have drinks before going downtown, don't fret the walk! You can easily pick up the bus and be dropped off in prime locations on Boylston St. Going back, on the other hand, seems to take forever- I've only ever picked it up at Copley or outside the Prudential Center (Cheesecake Factory entrance)- but again, usually always on time.

Green Street Station is on the Orange Line. Not a very busy station but it is fully handicapped…read moreaccessible and that's awesome. There are escalators and stairs and an elevator from the platform level to the street/ticketing level. The station features visual and audible announcements of the next train in both directions, which is helpful. There are automated ticket machines for adding value or purchasing a Charlie Ticket. When I was here, there was also a red shirted "Can I Help You?" staffer to answer questions. Located between Forest Hills (outbound, the terminus of the line) and Stony Brook (inbound), Green Street is an island platform so the train doors will open on the left.

Green Street station has been good to me…read more Seeing as this is the first stop after a terminal station, the inbound trains are always on time and that right there makes for a positive experience. Not having to hear the PA system announce: "experiencing slight delays due to police action at such and such a station" while waiting for the train to work in the morning gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling all over. It is actually a very clean station inside too. We won't talk about the tracks further down past the platform - you could build a house with the amount of garbage gathered there - but there are trash and recycling bins a plenty, so there is really no need to drop your junk anywhere but in the basura. There is almost always an attendant manning the station. There is an elevator for handicapped citizens or mom's with strollers. Location is great, it empties you out within walking distance to the Arboretum, Jamaica Pond, the Brewery complex (although Stony is closer) and Doyles. I just can't find anything bad to say about this station - except - the hoards of English High School students who swarm the platform every afternoon from 2-3 pm. They are loud, rude and obnoxious. Model citizens in the making, if I may. Maybe I'm just bitter because I have to wait and ride with these heathens three days out of the week...if I only saw them once and a while, I probably wouldn't even mention it. But they ruin my ride into work. You can't hear your iPod. You can't concentrate on a book. You can't hear yourself think in between the hooting, screeching and swearing emitted from these unruly creatures. So I pretty much sit there, brewing, watching and listening to them, because I have no choice. Which is why I'm not a teacher at an inner city high school. Point in case. Otherwise, Green is the queen of the Orange Line!

This is by far the nicest station on the red line stop! It looks the newest and cleanest station we…read morestop at while in Boston. They also mean it when they say this is the MIT stop. This exit puts you right on campus and just outside of the Google headquarters.

Why can't we switch inbound or outbound within the station? Make sure you check the signs before…read moreentering! It would be very unfortunate if you were running late and needed to swipe again. Yep that's definitely happened to me. Thankfully this one isn't located in the depths underground like Porter Square requiring multiple long stair cases/escalators to resurface. Aside from that logistical annoyance, I also have a horror story about how I was trapped on the red line trying to get to Seaport for an event for well over 40 minutes. There were issues with our train and if you know the Inbound line between Kendall/MIT to Charles MGH there is a vertical incline to clear the Longfellow bridge between the stations. (We didn't make it far before trouble happened.) Unfortunately the train struggled to climb and remained stuck waiting for assistance and updates. Disturbingly every 5 minutes or so we could feel gravity sliding the car back a few feet as well. I felt bad for the train operators who announced "we apologize for this inconvenience, we will get this train moving momentarily" every few minutes. The apology while appreciated lost the impact after the first few iterations. I was extremely late for my event, which thankfully I was not presenting or speaking. The worst aspect was we were trapped. No additional cars behind us until they decided to hitch our dead train to another to propel us to the next station where of course we all poured out at Charles MGH in the overcrowded station. Ever since that incident I have been wary of any red line delays.