Oh goody, I actually get to use the Harvard busway for once! YAY! So, what was the first bus ride of the day? Well, the 73! Let’s see how it is.
First off, the bus was 7 minutes late! Yikes! But yet, somehow we ended up 2-3 minutes early arriving into Waverley Square. Not sure how that happens, but it’s probably schedule padding. The route itself is largely a straight shot as well. After exiting the busway, we made a couple of turns onto Brattle Street and Mt. Auburn Street, and we started going straight. And, wouldn’t ya know it, unlike the other bus route operating out of Harvard, we actually had some SPEED. We passed Mt. Auburn Hospital and Cemetary, turned down Belmont Street and eventually entered Belmont and- wait, what???
THERE’S CATENARY ABOVE US! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WHY ARE WE RUNNING DIESEL UNDER CATENARY?! DID THE FUCKING SILVER LINE RUN THROUGH HERE AT SOME POINT?! JUST, FHUJOIADHGUJDIOAPHGUIPOADSHNG WHY WHY JUST FUCKING WHY?! IF THE SILVER LINE WAS ABLE TO RUN DIESEL AND ON WIRE, WHY COULDN’T THE 73?! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA GOD FUCKING DAMMIT THIS PISSES ME OFF. I KNOW I’M SUPPOSED TO HAVE MIXED OPINIONS THAT ARE MOSTLY NEGATIVE ON TROLLEYBUSES, BUT, YOU DO NOT FUCKING RUN DIESEL UNDER CATENARY!!!!!!!!
Of course, Belmont is a suburban town, and there’s a lot of housing. But, more businesses started coming up as we passed down Trapelo Road, and eventually reached Waverley Square where one can change with the Fitchburg Line.
The good: It’s direct and frequent! It’s also got a connection with the Fitchburg Line as well, which is convenient. However, you can’t use the station to circumvent non-interzone fares if you don’t have a CharlieCard with fare loaded on it already. But if you do, the 73 is a cheat of sorts for avoiding those costly zonal fares.
The bad: WHY IS IT DIESEL UNDER FUCKING CATENARY?! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WHY, WHY, JUST FUCKING WHY GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!!! *flips desk over in anger*
Also, weekend headways may or may not be “meh”
Nearby points of interest: Mt. Auburn Hospital, there’s also businesses at each end, and Harvard.
Overall, this route pisses me off. No, not because of the routing itself. But, it pisses me off because….well, see “the bad”. IT’S DIESEL UNDER CATENARY WHY WHY JUST FUCKING WHY WHAT WERE THEY SMOKING?!
Rating: 10/10 routing and in practice, 1.5/10 if diesel under catenary making me irrationally angry is accounted for.
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