Alrighty, a new bus entry! So, as of the time of writing this, several bus routes in and around the Chelsea area (namely the 111, 112, 114, 116, and 117) were made fare-free to compensate for the Sumner Tunnel closure. For those who don’t know their Boston geography, you have four major roads going into East Boston and Chelsea from downtown: US-1 carried by the Tobin Bridge, the Mass Pike carried by the Ted Williams Tunnel (& the Big Dig), and US-1A which is carried by the Callahan Tunnel eastbound and the Sumner Tunnel westbound. With that in mind, here’s the 114: East Boston’s Market Basket bus.
So, upon leaving Market Basket, we took a couple of turns and started heading down Everett Avenue and Arlington Street, a move done only by Maverick-bound buses. Market Basket-bound buses do a loop near City Hall, however both go down Broadway through Bellingham Square. Weirdly enough, it announced the Commuter Rail at Bellingham Square’s Silver Line station. Not sure what’s up with that. Soon enough, we’d cross the Chelsea River with the Tobin Bridge in sight off in the distance, paralleling the 116 and 117 in East Boston. Not much was of interest, though we did pass (yet another?!) Central Square. Soon enough, we’d pull into Maverick Square, for the Blue Line connection.
The good: Well, it serves Chelsea’s town center and government buildings – in one direction. It’s also kinda useful as a one seater from Maverick Square straight to Market Basket.
The bad: I said “kinda” because there’s one fatal flaw: THERE ARE ONLY NINE ROUND TRIPS – AND THEY’RE ON WEEKDAYS ONLY!!!!! YA KNOW, FOR A ROUTE THAT SERVES A SUPERMARKET DIRECTLY, THAT’S KINDA BAD! WHY EVEN HAVE IT?! AT THAT POINT JUST EXTEND THE 112 TO MAVERICK! I’D MAYBE FORGIVE IT IF IT RAN TO HAYMARKET OR GOVVY, BUT EVEN THEN THAT’D ONLY BRING IT FURTHER INTO QUESTION! WHY, HOW, JUST WHY?!
Nearby points of interest: You got Maverick and Bellingham Squares! Furthermore, more for your dollar at Market Basket! But, c’mon, just take the 116/117 to Bellingham Square, and the 112 to Market Basket. Both are more frequent.
Overall, WHY DOES THIS BUS ROUTE EVEN EXIST?! WHY, JUST WHY, JUST EXTEND THE 112!!!!!!!!!!
Rating: No. (translation: 1/10)
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