irl – chelsea's corner

66 (Frankford TC/Holmesburg/City Line)

So, after a quick hop on the L line from Arrott to Frankford, Honaj (& Ranya – go check out her blog!) and I ended up at Frankford’s busway. So, why the hell am I doing a blog entry about a bus that goes all the way out to the city line and almost into Bensalem Township (but doesn’t leave Philly)? Well, I’ll tell you why: much like the 59, it uses trolleybuses instead of normal buses!

Wait, what’s this? EXPRESS?! You mean to tell me they put catenary on I-95?!

…no, not quite. While that would be quite funny to see a trolleybus on overhead wires running down I-95 at the legal max speed (55 miles an hour), that isn’t what’s happening here. Allow me to explain.

There’s actually two ways a bus can run “express”, so to say. The first is the obvious answer: use the damn highway. RIPTA does this for a number of routes that run express for at least part of the run. The MBTA does this for routes like the 111, the Silver Line, the 501/504/505, the 354, among others. CTtransit does this mainly with their commuter coach routes (in the 900s), but some (such as the 201) do have limited highway running. And, lastly, the MTA does this with their commuter buses and things like the M60-SBS and Q70-SBS to get in/out of LaGuardia Airport. The other way…….is to just use the inner lanes of traffic. I guess this is more “limited stop” than a true express, if anything. RIPTA’s QX and 24L are the only other examples I can think of, where in parts of it, it’s a local route on paper, but in practice it makes zero stops. The 66 does this for its “express” runs.

Ok, now that that’s out of the way, how the hell do trolleybuses overtake each other then?! That’s literally one of the biggest downsides of trolleybuses, is that they can’t overtake one another. Well, the Philadelphia Transportation Corporation (SEPTA’s predecessor) thought about this and did the “well no shit, Sherlock!” solution: just install a second pair of wires in the same direction each way. And thus, for a section of Frankford Ave., you have 4 sets of catenary: one for each lane. Anyways, let’s check out the route itself!

The route itself is largely relatively unremarkable other than the equipment it uses, being a straight shot down Frankford Avenue to either the Gregg St. loop, or the City Line loop on the Philly/Bensalem Township border. Trips heading towards either bus turnaround have to do a weird maneuver to get out of the Frankford TC’s general vicinity, though. Other than that, all is pretty normal. The road is rather stroady, though, but there’s also some degree of density to be had. In fact, some of the areas even seem rather nice at face value. Hell, the closer you get to Bensalem Township, the more suburban things get. I’m not sure how to make of it, though. But, there IS something cool along this route: Pennypack Creek! One of the oldest bridges in the country – and it has overhead catenary for the trolleybuses. Neat! Moving along, Gregg Street is where some runs will short-turn, while others will continue on to City Line Loop. The rest of the way there, however, is largely unremarkable – and gave off increasingly suburban vibes. NIMBY vibes too? Maybe? The fact a trolleybus even runs out here throws the vibe detector off. Either way, we pass a strip mall with a Dunks, what looks like cookie cutter housing, and enter the City Line loop short of the Bensalem Township boundary. And with that, concludes the 2nd of 3 trolleybus routes. (yeah, sorry, I didn’t ride the 75 on this trip)

D I N E R (as famously seen in the Miles in Transit Philly Diner Video)

TROLLEYBUS RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The good: It’s frequent! (every 7-12 minutes during peak hours, every 15 otherwise, and every half-hour overnights!!!!!!!) Furthermore, it serves some somewhat dense areas, goes all the way to almost Bensalem Township, and isn’t even noticeably loud. Furthermore on top of that, did I mention it runs 24/7? Yeah. It also runs “express” service!

The bad: I…..genuinely don’t have much to say that suggests this is bad.

Nearby points of interest: Housing. A diner. If you’re willing to walk a mile or so, Four Seasons Total Landscaping (if ya know, ya know). Some churches and cemetaries. A golf club. Torresdale’s Regional Rail station, and the Frankford TC.

Overall, it’s not that bad. If anything, dare I suggest it’s possibly even a 10/10 route?! Because, truthfully, this has the makings for a 10/10 route.

Rating: 10/10

59 (Arrott TC/Castor Ave./Bells Corner)

Ah, golly, a SEPTA bus route review! Well, Honaj dragged me all the way to the Bells Corner bus loop at Castor & Bustleton Avenues, after taking a ride down the Fox Chase Line (entry on Fox Chase Station coming at some point!), going to a Wawa (THE HOLY LAND), and a quick ride to Castor & Rhawn, and we got off and walked the half-mile to the Bells Corner Loop. Wait a second, what the hell?!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO GOD NO

NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. DAMN YOU, HONAJ!!!!!!!!!!! WHY WOULD YOU LEAD ME RIGHT INTO A TRAP?! NOT THE GODDAMN TROLLEYBUSES!!!!!!!!!

HONAJ: “TROLLEYBUS! TROLLEYBUS! TROLLEYBUS!!!”
ME: *stares in horror*

*sighs, blinks twice for help*

Okay, okay, I guess I have to answer the call of duty here with these shit buses. Well, rather than being garbage Neoplans, at least we have….let’s see…..New Flyer E40LFRs. Well, maybe New Flyer actually knew what they were doing. The buses…….were largely dead silent, even moreso than RIPTA’s BEBs (which were already pretty much dead silent to begin with!!!), these suckers REALLY took off when given a chain of green lights and negligible requested stops/boardings (which is not too common seemingly given the REALLY, REALLY TIGHT stop spacing on SEPTA – every single block!), and furthermore it……….actually didn’t crawl like absolute dogshite. But, before I continue, I have to review the route itself.

VS. them trolleybuses (ft. Honaj & co., offcamera)

The 59 originates at the Bells Corner bus loop, at Castor & Bustleton Avenues, and is largely a straight shot down Castor Avenue. Running through northeastern Philadelphia, it goes through the Rhawnhurst and Oxford Circle, before negotiating the rather oversized rotary bisected by U.S. Route 1 (Roosevelt Boulevard locally), and going down Oxford Avenue. Ultimately, the route then terminates rather unceremoniously at the Arrott Transit Center, with the interchange to the L (aka the MFL, Market-Frankford Line, or if you’re weird the Blue Line – this blog will be calling it the L as that’s what SEPTA calls it nowadays). Overall, in terms of scenery, there’s really not a lot exciting going on other than Roosevelt Boulevard. In terms of vibes, though these neighborhoods, I get some Boston vibes, some south Providence vibes, but ultimately I really couldn’t pin anything specific down – Philly is kinda its own thing vibe-wise. In terms of headways, it’s about every 20 minutes for much of the day offpeak, with weekend and night service being half hourly to every 40 minutes (it is not a 24 hour route). Overall, not bad!

One nice things about these suckers is you can look out the rear window

The good: It serves a rather dense (if not highrise-ridden) neighborhood! The buses themselves, too! (I’ll elaborate soon) The headways are also okay, for weekday service! It’s also got connections to the L via Arrott!

The bad: Weekend headways could be better. The bus loop terminus does seem kinda weird at face value too, but I’ll save rambling on about that for the entry specifically for Bells Corner (whenever that comes out)

Nearby points of interest: Bells Corner has a shopping center nearby, there’s a Wawa, a few schools and churches along the route, a LOT of housing, and a decent amount of local businesses lining both Castor and Oxford Avenues

Overall, not a bad route!!!

Rating: 8/10

Wait, wait, wait just a hot flippin’ moment…
did……did I find a GOOD piece of trolleybus equipment?! You mean to tell me it’s NOT utter and complete dogshit, is pretty much silent, and actually isn’t horrifically slow?! And my life was a lie!!! Or, at the least, my life was all in misguided anger?! IT’S NOT SHIT?! IT’S NOT SHIT! IT’S NOOOOOOOOT SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!!!!!!!!!! Y’ALL FOOLED THE PUBLIC AND TOLD THEM TROLLEYBUSES COULDN’T BE GOOD AS THE WAY OF THE FUTURE, MR. STEVE POFTAK!!! YOUR LEADERSHIP LED THE FREAKIN’ MBTA DOWN THE WRONG PIPELINE, WHY WOULD YOU REPLACE SOMETHING THAT WAS PERFECTLY FUNCTIONAL AND VERY MUCH NOT GARBAGE WITH SPARKY SPARKY BOOM MACHINES?! WHAT WERE Y’ALL SMOKING?! WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO MISLEAD PUBLIC OPINION AND THE OPINIONS OF EXECS TOWARDS “let’s dismantle them trolleybuses!!!”?! YA KNOW, MAYBE IF YOU NEED AN EXEMPTION TO BUY AMERICA, THAT’S A BAD SIGN, TO PUT IT LIGHTLY! And with that, I am hereby proposing “throw them wires up at Logan Airport, the Seaport, and in the Chelsea busway – and do NOT let Neoplan rise from the dead to do the deed”

I guess…….my disdain for trolleybuses, should’ve been more “fuck Neoplan” in particular and was horrifically misguided. I hereby retract all the ranting about how garbage they were, in the Harvard Square blog entry. Although, I’ll still keep it and not edit it for old time’s sake and in the name of keeping it as a museum piece of a bygone era of the Chelsea’s Corner blog.

A MFL train, but heading towards Upper Darby, rather than to Frankford (next entry…)

*cries in a corner realizing all the hate for trolleybuses since the birth of this blog is actually all misguided and should’ve been directed towards Neoplan instead*

R-1636 (Pawtucket CR/Apex Lot/Centreville Stadium) & Chelsea’s first soccer game

Rhode Island FC is a men’s pro soccer team based out of, as the name suggests, Rhode Island. Historically, their base of operation was Bryant University in Smithfield, however as of May 3rd, 2025, with the home opener against San Antonio FC, they will be playing home games out of Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket. Most of their games will be pitting them against USL teams, as a USL Championship team themselves. However, sometimes, there are situations where a MLS team will be in town, such as the May 7th US Open Cup match vs. the Revs (at which they lost 1-2). Ironically, despite the fact the team has only existed in play since……the 2024 season (damn, they really started AFTER I began this blog?!), they STILL managed to get their own soccer-specific stadium before the Revs. Take that, Bobby Kraft!
With all that in mind, y’all might have a pressing question….

Now what the HELL does a USL Championship soccer team have to do with anything I write about?!

Well, I’ll tell you what: they paid RIPTA to run game day bus service! So, without further ado, here’s what’s in store, after riding the game day service route before the May 10th game vs. Monterey Bay FC – from the Commuter Rail to the stadium via the Apex lot (M7). Let’s look at this, and let’s see how this game goes. I really hope it’s not another draw or another loss…

On-site super talking to the driver. Also, that’s a pretty sick livery, to be real.

So, after waiting 15 minutes for a bus to even show up, the first bus shows up at the Pawtucket train station. Of course, this also comes after the driver and the on-site supervisor talk a bit, presumably with the super handling headway management to make sure buses actually leave every 8-10 minutes as prescribed. Annoyingly, though, the routes taken were not as what RIPTA’s public material has suggested (which suggested two loops). Instead, what happened, was that the bus did one big loop hitting all the lots in relatively close proximity to the stadium. Here it is mapped out.

The purple dots are the stops made (all stops are made, no requesting needed). You have stops at Exchange & Broad, Exchange & Roosevelt (lot M16), at the visitors center (lot M12), the Apex lot (lot M7, the designated tailgating lot), and at Division St. near School St. (lots D4/D5/D6). In terms of what it hits, it hits pretty much all the important places. Furthermore, given the high frequency of the route, you don’t have to worry too much about timing the bus with the Commuter Rail (which means, yes, you can take the train to the game!!! Just…..keep in mind the time of the train departures for the return trip.). As for the usefulness of the route, it really is useful. It fulfils the intended use pretty well, and even though my trip to the stadium was low ridership (it begins running 3 hours prior to the event, while the gates don’t open until 2 hours prior), my trip BACK was PACKED. Like, it was less than standing room kind of packed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a RIPTA bus that packed. Also, annoyingly, the route taken for the return was different, but whatever. So, with that out of the way, let’s get into the conclusion. In conclusion: GATRA and Bobby Kraft could probably learn a few things with better service to Gillette. RIPTA and RIFC know what they’re doing (mostly) here. Now, the good, bad, and all that fun stuff. Also, shoutout to the driver for letting me know that the pick-up spot is at the park where he dropped me off. Very much appreciated!

Next stop: Exchange & Main. Also, City Hall!

Slater Mill and the dismantled Apex Pyramid

Division St. – last stop before the stadium

End of the run at Ivan Perez Memorial Park

The good: It’s very frequent and serves most of the lots, with the other unserved lots being a VERY short walk away (5 minutes max). It gets the job done, and pretty well at that (it’s also fare-free, so passengers who PROBABLY never rode RIPTA before don’t have to fiddle around for a $2 fare). Essentially, it has one job and it does that one job VERY, VERY WELL.

The bad: Inconsistent routing vs. the information published online. That’s probably my only real issue, but I’m sure this’ll be rectified as time progresses – as this is the first season of RIFC playing at Centreville Stadium.

Nearby points of interest: This one should be obvious. The outlying parking lots, the Commuter Rail station, the visitors center (& RIFC HQ), the stadium, and Apex/tailgating lot.

Overall, it has one job and it does that job very, VERY well. And, from what I can discern, it’s miles ahead of what RIPTA and the PawSox offered for game-day bus service back before, well, before the PawSox moved to Worcester (RIP).

Rating: 10/10

So, you thought that was the end? Well, not quite, actually. This day was actually a bit important, as I also had a bit of interest in giving soccer a chance and doing something new. After riding the route, I walked back to the tailgating lot and met up with the rather lovely (i mean this in a genuine manner) people from Defiance 1636. Of course, I knew some of them from the stadium open house a couple weeks prior, but I met up with them to partake in the tailgate, talked a bit, and the whole nine yards. Overall, they’re legitimately among the most welcoming people I’ve ever met. Now, I just thought from here, it’d be off to the races once the tailgate started being dismantled at 3ish PM. Whelp, I could not be any further from the truth – and perhaps, it might be good that I was no further from the truth. So, we’re all getting ready for the march to the match, and one of the ladies just……outright asked me if I wanted to help with holding a banner (it was VERY windy). And, I said “sure, why not?” And away we went, while sticking to the sidewalk. One left turn to Taft St. later, and we had free reign of the entire road with a police escort. And, on the megaphone…

R.I.!

F.C.!!!

Cue that and a few supporter group chants for the half-mile walk to the stadium, along with trainhorns, then we clear security, and we continued on (albeit without the megaphone) with drums beating towards the supporters section (sections 115-117 at Centreville Stadium). It…..was AMAZING. Would I partake in it again? UHHH, YES! Seriously, shoutout to Defiance 1636 for being very welcoming and also adding to the pregame atmosphere. Of course, from here, it was off to the concessions to pick up, well, concessions ($1 hotdogs?!), and to my seat in section 211. So, I made myself comfortable, enjoyed the game, realized that I……might be an unhinged soccer fan(?!), and ultimately enjoyed and cheered for RIFC, as the game ultimately ended in a 1-1 draw. Damn.

Didn’t get any photos after this, but the score was 0-1 until about….77 minutes in.

Overall, it was a very good time (hence the lack of photos, I was genuinely enjoying it), and I’d strongly recommend you (the reader) go to a pro soccer game at least once in your life. If nothing else, at least just once. Because, holy SHIT, was it a glorious time.

New Bedford (MBTA)

It’s been a LOOOOOOOOONG time coming…..but now, 67 years after the last trains roared through, on 2025-03-24………

SIX. NEW. STATIONS!!!!!!! South Coast Rail has finally opened to the general public for revenue service and I’m VERY excited to talk about it! With that in mind, here’s the first station review of the extension, and the first new stations since Pawtucket! First stop: New Bedford (Downtown)!

So, first off, this station has two different locations for bus connections. The 204 and 209 both stop at Purchase & Pearl, across the highway with access via a pedestrian bridge which, truthfully, looks quite nice. Meanwhile, the 211 stops on Acushnet Avenue outside the station. Speaking of which, the bridge over Rte. 18 REALLY looks nice! There’s even elevators, a Dutch “walk your bike down the stairs” situation, and even artwork. The station parking lot itself is sizeable, however it does also somewhat serve double duty, partly, as the Whale’s Tooth terminal parking lot. But, the Whale’s Tooth part is closed at this time of year because ferry season isn’t for another month. As for the station itself? It’s actually quite nice. You have the Wamsutta St. layover facility, a high level platform with sheltered areas, departure boards THAT HAVE SCROLLING TEXT?! WOAH!!! Another departure board is on the platform as well, more akin to what you’d see at Back Bay, Ruggles, and South Station. All trains are listed for Track 1 (the only platform track). There’s also a freight siding for Mass Coastal and HOLY FUCKING SHIT IT’S MILES. Nah, just kidding, though I actually did encounter him here and stuck with his group for much of the (very long!) day. There’s also another, more lowkey, exit from the platform as well. Overall, though, not a bad station!

Stairs! Yes, you can walk a bicycle down it!

A bunch of clear and restricted signals, presumably for the yard move out

Looking towards South Station and Taunton!

HOLY FUCKING SHIT IT’S MILES (also hi Jeremy, Aviv, Maz, and the others!)

CUE STRAUSS’S *ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA*!!!

Another yard shot before making the long trek to Boston

The good: It’s in New Bedford, and this is the closest you can get to downtown by rail! It’s a stone’s throw, and furthermore, across Route 18 is a residential neighborhood, so it’s in a relatively walkable area too (by virtue of the footbridge across the highway). The industrial area is expected to be redeveloped, but as of now it’s industrial. But, you also have the many Seastreak ferry connections to places like the Cape, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and I think even Block Island. There’s also plenty of parking, and I’m sure if you want to spend the day in New Bedford without going into Boston, this is a decent place to park and ride as well.

The bad: I mean, the area’s not the most pedestrian friendly given Route 18 is right there. But, I’m sure that could change in the future. Also, the walk to downtown is a little long, but still not the worst.

Nearby points of interest: The waterfront and downtown are the big ones! This city is also famous for the whaling industry (& is still a major fishing hub in the 21st century!). Also, the local career center is right at the station!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (New Bedford)
SRTA (202, 204 on Purchase St., 211 on Acushnet Ave.)

Overall, it’s not a bad station, and in terms of vibes, it’s really not that bad! The location could be better, but the rail lines aren’t conducive to a station in the heart of downtown so this is the closest we got. It’s genuinely not that bad though!

Rating: 7.5/10

Worcester Union (MBTA/Amtrak/WRTA)

Oh, how far we’ve come…the final entry of the Commuter Rail saga (well, aside from the entries about the lines themselves – but I’ll worry about that post-South Coast Rail…, also aside from the six South Coast Rail entries that will be dropping over the next couple weeks). And, no better way to finish off than what is quite literally the final boss: one of the busiest Commuter Rail stations on the system, at the end of a line that connects the two largest cities in all of New England (yeah, sorry Providence, but you aren’t that far behind circa the 2020 census – only about 15k people difference!). This one, surprisingly, was VERY difficult as well, having taken two attempts. With that in mind, here we go. The end of the MBTA’s Worcester Line, a surprisingly not very busy Amtrak stop (out of 11, the 3rd least-used stop in the entire state as of Amtrak FY’23), Worcester’s Peter Pan and Greyhound stops, …and a bus stop for both the PVTA and MART??? Huh, odd. Needless to say, with all that in mind, here we go!

ATTEMPT #1, 2025-03-15: I woke up at the asscrack of dawn, hoping to utilize the 40 minute turnaround period to do this station review. Unfortunately, due to unexpected interlocking work in Westborough area, this didn’t pan out. We held at Southborough as the inbound train was wrong-railing through HALF OF THE LINE, which took a while. Then, we proceeded up once the train cleared, the engineer had to ask for verbal permission for a NORAC Rule 241 (to those not versed in railroading jargon, a Rule 241 is permission to pass an absolute stop). This……took a while, and when all was said and done, we finally got to Union Station. However, I only had 3 minutes to do much of anything. And, since the next train was in 2 hours…I was fucked. Why? Well, I had made plans to ride Brooke’s train and to spend the day with Nat as well, and having to arrive back into Boston at almost 1PM would have derailed this greatly. So, back to the drawing board I go, to attempt again with my entire morning cleared out, as my only other real options for handling this were to either throw away my errands for the 17th (not happening as laundry takes a while) or to wake up at the asscrack of dawn on the 22nd (this was the only other viable option). With that in mind, I’d have to trudge on for another week before I could attempt to tackle this beast again.

ATTEMPT #2, 2025-03-22

So, after my last attempt got botched horrifically due to UNEXPECTED TRACKWORK IN WESTBOROUGH AREA, I had to come back up. And, given the fact the opening of the South Coast extension was imminent, I figured today (2025-03-22) was a good day to dry run waking up at such an ungodly hour (2am!!!!!). With that in mind, I hopped on the first Commuter Rail train of the morning, changed at South Station (rather than Back Bay), and pressed on all the way to Worcester. This time, I not only carved out 2 extra hours in my schedule, but also took my sweet time with this one. It’s the last entry, for crying out loud! So, with a smooth arrival into Worcester Union Station, here goes nothing.

The platform was decent – the PA system is pretty beefy despite the fact that: 1. only commuter trains stop here, and 2. only one Amtrak train leaves here each day (the Lake Shore Limited to Albany & Chicago). Benches line the platform, as does even proper countdown clocks ala what you’d see at Back Bay???? DAMN. I went to check out the pedestrian bridge and it was actually decently filled – as there was a departure board up there. Well shit, that’s ACTUALLY pretty helpful! There’s also a provision for a second track (does not exist presently), and I think the plan is to build said second track so more than one train can serve the station at a time. This would be important for the proposed East-West Rail proposal that would connect Boston with Springfield, the Berkshires, and Albany. There’s even a decent amount of surface parking to go around – and you can also see both the Commuter Rail and CSX yards from here as well. Cool!

Commuter Rail yard front and center, CSX to the right!

I didn’t see any ticketing machines in the overpass

Surface parking – probably primarily intended for crew members

Looks a little sad under the Shrewsbury St. exit ramp

Now, if this was all said and done, I’d easily give this at least a 7 or an 8, by virtue of being a nice and modern, if single-tracked when it should be double-tracked, terminus station. But, there’s more. Union Station is well known for having a grandiose hall and waiting area, with a parking garage, intercity buses, and the WRTA’s main hub as well. The main hall has a couple of food tenants, restrooms, and can even be rented out for events. MART’s Clinton/Worcester shuttle is apparently prescribed to pick up at the front door of the event hall. Further in, you have a departure board INSIDE the station, a Worcester PD substation, a CHARLIECARD MACHINE(?!) – YES, YOU CAN ACTUALLY RELOAD YOUR CHARLIECARDS AND BUY COMMUTER RAIL TICKETS OUT HERE!, and even the main WRTA bus hub is out here. That isn’t too special to ring home about, as it’s got several sheltered berths and benches and the usual. Vs. something like BAT, the WRTA doesn’t have their shit together nor do any of their routes have live tracking with GTFS. At least with BAT, the schedule is padded to Hell and you have The Pulse. No such thing exists here. However, the WRTA DOES have an indoor waiting room. It’s passable! Oh, yeah, the PVTA’s B79 bus to ZooMass (UMASS Amherst) stops at the intersection of Harding and Franklin. Neat!

Nice it acknowledges both intercity buses and Amtrak too

BUS connection – but it doesn’t tell you the B79.

The shuttered Peter Pan ticketing office

Intercity buses! Amtrak’s Thruway uses this too!

Towards Springfield, Albany, and Chicago

This train sharted itself on my way back 🙁

The good: A lot! It’s got a gorgeous station house, ticketing machines (nonexistent otherwise!), decent connectivity with intercity and local buses, signage that acknowledges the existence of Amtrak (where’s that at Framingham?!), a modern platform, overpasses with departure boards, departure boards in the main hall, a waiting area for the WRTA that’s open to the public, and is pretty well-located, being in downtown Worcester.

The bad: Signage for the PVTA and MART would be nice! I don’t have anything bad to say otherwise.

Nearby points of interest: Well, given this is in downtown Worcester, a lot, actually! I mean, you have everywhere the WRTA can bring you, ranging from several Walmarts, to where Higgins Armory used to be (RIP), Quinsigamond CC, Clark University, the Blackstone Valley Shopping Center, even out to places like Shrewsbury, the Auburn Mall, Southbridge, and even freakin’ Brookfield. Unfortunately, I can’t comment much as I haven’t ridden the WRTA much. Oh yeah, you can also get to Amherst and Ware via the PVTA’s B79 bus here, and MART runs a commuter shuttle from here to Clinton at peak hours, and express to Leominster and Fitchburg offpeak. As for thing closer to walking distance, you have Polar Park (home to the WooSox), the DCU Center, Femme (lesbian bar – yes, Ben, I will visit at some point), the Miss Worcester and Boulevard Diners, on Southbridge and Shrewsbury Streets, and even SWEATY BETTY’S (kids not allowed).

Transit connections:
Amtrak (Lake Shore Limited)
Commuter Rail (Worcester)
WRTA (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 19, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 33, 42, 825)
PVTA (B79)
MART (Clinton/Worcester Commuter)

Overall, I genuinely think this is deserving of the coveted 10/10 rating. I mean, I got nothing against it whatsoever, I can’t even think of anything bad to say about it, and it’s probably the single best station on the MBTA network.

And, with that, that concludes “Chelsea Visits Every MBTA Rail Station”, I guess. I mean, I have the CapeFLYER, a few Amtrak stops, and a CTrail station in the Commonwealth. I still have the entirity of Metro-North and the LIRR, NJT, the MTA subway, PATH, SEPTA, Maryland MTA & MARC, and even WMATA and VRE. As for the future of this blog, I’ll probably mainly slowly hack away at buses, the likes of other Amtrak and commuter train stations, and possibly even do a cross-country adventure or two. I mean, as of writing this, the opening of South Coast Rail is imminent so that still remains otherwise, for the MBTA. And, I’d also like to give a shoutout to everyone that’s come along, including people that went through the trouble of going through these stations with me. Thank you all for joining along for the ride, and stay tuned because….

NEW BEDFORD IS NEXT.

Rating: 10/10

I get the feeling that all the new development is because of the WooSox…

Something about this feels very imposing…

HERE COMES A GEVO (i think it’s a GEVO?)

Chelsea VS. the FAA (2025 Birthday Special)

Okay, kiddos, buckle down for this one because this is a particularly crazy special. Now, depending on how this goes, the following entries will either be all Boston-centric, or a mix of Boston and NYC-centric entries. As of me writing this paragraph (& the next three following), I don’t know. That being, I will have either ridden a plane successfully for the first time ever, or I will have been arrested by TSA police and have been through a traumatically undignifying experience, by the time I finish this entry. With that in mind, let’s begin this ordeal.

It all started, when Miranda (the same one that came with me to Christopher St. last August!) bribed me with $60 to take a plane, back in October. Surprisingly, she was not joking, and was serious. And, yes, she followed through. So, I booked a plane, and by god was it a bad start.

The booking process apparently REQUIRED me to gender myself incorrectly (no X option – to match what was on both my passport and Rhode Island state ID), and I fell back on “F”. Do I pass well enough? Probably not. But, whatever. Everything else is smooth-ish sailing until I get to the end. But, I was still panicking. By the time I got to the end, it asked for things I didn’t know what the hell they were. What the fuck is a “Known Traveler Number”? I don’t know, and I hope to god leaving it blank (per Brooke’s warning) isn’t going to get me in trouble – even though I have a bad feeling doing so is a bad idea. But whatever. It let me proceed, I paid up the $54 or so, and I had …a confirmation email.

What? Just a confirmation? No e-ticket?! WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?! Hell, it didn’t even tell me what my seat was! THAT’S RIGHT – THOSE BASTARDS ARE SO MONEY HUNGRY THEY EVEN DEMAND YOU MONEY JUST SO THEY CAN ASSIGN YOU A SEAT. So, I said fuck it, paid $10 for seat 8A (after everyone insisting seating doesn’t matter and it is not, in fact, scenic), and went on my way. But, I STILL DON’T HAVE AN E-TICKET. IT’S BEEN THREE MONTHS AS OF WRITING THIS PARAGRAPH, ALMOST, AND I DON’T HAVE ONE STILL – JUST A GODDAMN CONFIRMATION. And, for you plane foamers out there, you can track my plane with it being plane #E190 out of Boston’s Logan Airport. Have fun with that! In fact, this is also the first time I’ve ridden the SL1 for any semblance of a legitimate reason. Neat! Either way, so far, this is quite the sour start. For comparison, Amtrak just has you fill out info, no weird “Known Traveler” number or anything – you pick if you want coach or business, you’re assigned a seat (or told it’s first come first serve – this is how coach class on the Regional, and I presume many other trains, work) and you get your e-ticket right then and there.

2025-01-24 – The Preliminary Scoping

So, to get a feel for what I’m doing, in anticipation of being here in a melantonin-fueled daze, I decided to come by. So, I hop on the SL1 and get off at Terminal A. Of course, I wander around the terminal, figure out how to do inter-terminal transfers as needed, and generally get a lay of the land. And, by god, is Logan Airport pretty freakin’ big. I walk by Terminal B, find that it’s …two in one???? Yeah, this was confusing me. Looking through the outer areas of the terminals, there’s customer service desks, what looks like baggage claims, bubblers, convenience stores, three Dunkies, and several security lines. Admittedly, at face value, I’m more scared now because I really hope I don’t get in the wrong line. I must also admit, a lot of the airport is a freakin’ liminal space, and there’s also a lot of seemingly fishy-looking offices. Surprisingly, though, Terminal A was a madhouse yet B was basically dead, and C was also largely dead. Overall, nothing too bad.

2025-02-09 – “Check in”

I don’t know what the fuck a check in is, but I was asked to do that. So, I asked if it was bad and was told no, and confirmed “yes, despite pouring $65 into this, I am still using a plane.” It also asked me for seat selection (why?), extra bags, and …priority security??? I wasn’t an ADA passenger, so I didn’t need priority screening. After this, it actually beget me MY TICKET?!

2025-02-10 – The Big Day

Okay, so Feb. 10th rolled around, seemingly taking an eternity, and it was the big day. Woke up at 2:30, Ubered to Providence, and took the first train of the morning out. All was normal until, of course, in typical fashion whenever I go to NYC, something goes horrifically wrong and I narrowly avoid trouble. In this case, I avoided a derailment in the Readville yard that caused issues galore. I was able to take the Silver Line out to Logan Airport easily. I forgot where to get off so I just defaulted to Terminal B as a failsafe, got off, looked at the rather easy to find wayfinding and found I had to go to C. Surprisingly, here, I also discovered that Massport has countdown clocks for both the SL1 and their own shuttles. Neat! So, I hauled my ass over to Term. C, and printed out my ticket. FINALLY, they let me print it out. I’m not sure why I couldn’t print it out on Jan. 24th, but whatever. I got this, and then the first of two major problem points that could potentially derail everything: the TSA. I didn’t know what I was doing going into this, and there were multiple lines. But, thankfully, the TSA agent was ushering people in and pointed me to the right line (even if I was still nervous that I did not, in fact, get in the right line as it was completely unmarked). I confirmed everything they were saying, did as needed, and was on my way. Surprisingly, it was quick, and the TSA agents were….actually helpful in making sure I was doing the right thing. I know, ACAB and all that, and I still hold on to that principle, but recognition to people being helpful is an important thing too. With that, shoutout to the TSA agents at Logan for actually being helpful and professional. But, still, ACAB. Unfortunately, the problem point was actually something I did NOT anticipate.

I lost my ID somewhere!

Yeah, THAT was bad. But, after conferring with Brooke on what to do, and asking a TSA agent at the center of security, I actually managed to recover it as someone turned it in. Thank you, person who turned it in!

So, after this, I decided to explore the terminal a bit. There were a number of restaurants, shops, and even a couple of Dunks! Sadly, I couldn’t mobile order any Dunks here, so I had to forego it. But, I did find a gender-neutral restroom as I had to piss, and it was clean and spacious. Neat. Also, the sunrises out here are actually kinda nice, in a way. Personally, however, I’d rather my sunsets over the ocean in southern Connecticut. It was a long couple hours, but eventually 8:15 rolled around, I found the platform, and boarding began. The process was a bit weird. Of course, people with accessibility needs boarded first. That much was normal and expected and it’s generally courteous. After that were business class passengers. Lastly, I guess, would’ve been the remaining what are called “groups”. Why, coach class passengers have to be divided is beyond me and it makes little sense. But, instead, the agent just told everyone else to board, probably because the plane was far from sold out. And, I was finally on a plane. First time ever, in my life.

If the platform assignment was to be believed, this was my steed to NY-Laguardia

A United plane (maybe they’ll be the next aviation entry?)

So, once I boarded, I noticed a few things. The seats were…..actually kinda comfy? I mean, it’s better than the Commuter Rail, but it’s still no Amfleet or Acela I seat. Trays were considerably smaller than on Amtrak. The screen was a bit hard to see. Also, only a 4:3 ratio? Holy SHIT that’s old. At that point, just have a CRT television. The windows were tiny too. While many transit advocates like to give shit to U.S. rolling stock for “unusually small windows you can’t see out of”, I don’t see any of them batting an eye at things like the B6 classes or whatever. There were a seatbelt too, and that’s there for a REALLY GOOD REASON. Lastly, there was a toilet in the back. I didn’t use it, but I heard it’s tiny. And, if that’s the case, it’s PROBABLY A GOOD THING I didn’t need to use the shitter. Legroom, surprisingly, was very liberal too. Again, it’s no Amtrak coach class, but it was pretty damn close seemingly. Overall, not bad! I’m genuinely impressed on this.

OH NO NOT FUX NEWS! (this blog does not endorse Fox News, or rather Fux News)

RIGHT NOW YOU’RE LOOKING AT THE MENU SHOT!

Of course, after moseying around the runway for a good 15-20 minutes, something amazing happened.

We WENT AIRBORN! WOAH! I looked down, actually in awe, “woah”, this……..was something. It’s like someone coded the world as a Mode 7 Super NES game. For those reading that don’t know what mode 7 is on the Super NES, the best example of it is Super Mario Kart, so I suggest looking at gameplay of that game. But, it felt like a rollercoaster and getting a boosted start in Mario Kart. I actually got a bit of a headache, which nobody warned me about. So, that sucked. Also annoyingly, turns out planes are faraday cages. No cell service whatsoever! I think top speed was around 300 miles an hour or something, and for you plane foamers, we were at about 2 miles up the entire time. It, however, was not exactly scenic as I couldn’t discern anything clearly. Cafe service was…..anemic, with an option of either water or coffee, and plantain chips or a granola bar. I opted for water and a granola bar, naturally. I would’ve personally preferred a self-serve option here, though, so I could get something at my leisurely pace without worrying if I need something later. Annoyed by the fact I was in a faraday cage, I tried using the wifi, which…….just didn’t work. Oh well. We eventually came in onto Laguardia Airport, which required going in a 270 degree circle around the city and into New Jersey briefly, rapidly descending, into a very rough landing. I’m not sure if this is because the operator is new or what, but they really oughta be better. Overall though, not bad for a first plane trip.

Overall, would I do this again? Actually, probably, depending on how I feel. But, as someone who’s Amtrak-first, it’d be a hard sell to move me out of an Amfleet coach seat. But, if I could be sufficiently convinced with a similar or lesser price tag or otherwise convinced it’s more convenient than just hopping onto a train, I’d consider this again. Now, allegedly, Precheck for the TSA is a thing and adds to the “convenience” factor, however that costs …$80, I think? for something that’s single-use, as far as I can tell. Not sure if it’s worth it, but I’d have to keep that in mind. There’s also this thing called Clear, but I don’t know anyone who’s used it. Now, I also don’t know what the differences between each individual carrier is, but not knowing any of that doesn’t help the confusion factor in the booking process. How do I know which carrier is best for a particular route? Ya know, maybe I might just do an entry on each individual major US-based carrier.

Now, for you the reader? I can’t give a simple “yes” or “no” to “should you do this?”. And, ultimately, that’s because I’m not you. Only you know your needs best. I can give information on what it’s like in my personal experiences, but my experiences and yours will differ, as will what I’m looking for in an S-tier carrier (essentially, a very Amtrak-esque experience). And, plus, maybe you (the reader) value something that I don’t give many hoots about. I personally value being able to take in the scenery and walk around, and oftentimes like the slower pace of Amtrak (even on the NEC!), and for my needs Amtrak also oftentimes is considerably cheaper. But, if I had to answer “would I recommend JetBlue?”, I’d actually say “yes” to that because the experience surprisingly, while far from perfect, is a little familiar vs. the Amtrak experience I know and love. And, with that, thanks for reading.

GATRA GO (Foxboro/Mansfield/Franklin/Norfolk, Pembroke, Plymouth, & Scituate Microtransits)

Oh golly. I promised on the Miles in Transit Discord server that I’ll try speedrunning GATRA on the basis of losing a bet, or something like that. Well, I kinda forgot about that and never had the time or motivation to. But, since then, we finally have…ONE GATRA entry. Welcome to GATRA GO! Unfortunately…this one was about a year in the making due to a number of mishaps in the making. Here they are:

ATTEMPT #1: I first attempted to review GATRA GO on the same day I visited Forge Park/495. Unfortunately, GATRA GO didn’t want to cooperate and it kept telling me there were no trips between Forge Park and Mansfield. How could this be?! They’re the same damn zone! Just look!

At first glance, you wouldn’t think twice of this! “I can just go from Forge Park to Mansfield!” Well….NOPE! Just look!

It turns out (thanks random internet person for this insight!) that, there’s actually a historical reason for this weirdness (you’d think it’d be fixed?!) AND not only that, you have to transfer LITERALLY ANYWHERE IN FOXBORO – BEING THE ONLY TOWN WITH A ZONAL OVERLAP. WHY?! So, I was left out in the rather cold November evening, having to dial an Uber to Mansfield Station, as GATRA fucked me over at Forge Park/495. I must also add – THIS REPLACED LITERALLY ALL THE FRANKLIN, NORFOLK, FOXBORO, AND MANSFIELD-AREA FIXED ROUTES! THIS ALSO REPLACED THE SLOOPY SLOOP IN SCITUATE! WHY GATRA?!

I was one with the quietness of Forge Park in the twilight…

ATTEMPT #2: A week or two later, I was going up to visit Brooke among other things in Boston, it was still very cold (it was December at this point), and I said “fuck it” and decided to get revenge on GATRA GO. Unfortunately, very VERY long wait times said “lol fuck you” and even though I got off my train at 8ish AM, I wouldn’t be picked up until closer to 10, guaranteeing missing a Foxboro train I wanted to connect to. This also meant I’d be stuck in Foxboro for a couple of hours. 🙁

ATTEMPT #3: About 10 months after, I decided to come back with pretty much the entire Franklin Line under my belt and with a much better understanding of how GATRA works, and having much more time on my hands (now that I wasn’t dating Brooke, though we’re still friends, and I wasn’t trying to ride her train either as I didn’t know if I’d still have steam – or make it to Heath St. in time). This set of circumstances worked in my hands, even if I still had to wait…

*checks notes*

40 MINUTES?! Oh brother…

That’s what a bus looks like – but I didn’t get this in Franklin

So, when I got off in Norfolk, I dialed a GATRA GO bus and it took 46 minutes to arrive, coming from the general area of Franklin. Yeah, those wait times are BAD. But, the bus actually DID come eventually. It came, crossed the Franklin Line grade crossing, and pulled into the station parking lot to pick me up. And, oh god…

So, there were four other people, the operator and three passengers. The passengers each introduced themselves (Liv and Maddie, who were vlogging, and their friend Elias. If any of y’all see this, hi!) and we all talked a bit. Everyone else was going to Crumbl at Patriot Place, and I said “eh, why not?” (I was planning on a lunch in downtown Boston or at Five Guys in Foxboro). The two ladies continued vlogging as we got on Pond Street. Really, this was a straight shot more than anything and we made pretty good time, for what it’s worth. Didn’t pick anyone else up along the way though, but it was a rather quick ride. Though, I must wonder though: why are there no fixed routes? I get “low ridership” but ya know, ADVERTISE THEM. RUN THEM AT A CONSISTENT SCHEDULE 7 DAYS A WEEK! I digress. And then, I think I might’ve heard the most Gen Alpha brainrot thing I’ve ever heard from anyone. I’m not even sure if Gen Alpha is old enough to use GATRA GO. But, here we go:

“Sigma Ohio Skibidi.”

Please bleach that one out of my memory. Bleh. Cue the gif of Homer Simpson pouring bleach in his eyes, even. That aside, the ride was pretty comfortable, relaxing even, and there wasn’t even a jiggly wheelchair lift. Good job, GATRA! (or whoever owns the buses for GATRA) Eventually, we made it to Patriot Place and parted ways. And, to Maddie and Liv, I wish y’all the best of luck with vlogging.

See, Weston?! Norfolk is nice enough to have sidewalks on their streets!

The good: It’ll get you literally anywhere in the zone!

The bad: WHY ARE THERE NO FIXED ROUTES?! LEGIT, PATRIOT PLACE CAN AND SHOULD BE A PULSE POINT FOR LOCAL GATRA FIXED ROUTES GOING TO FRANKLIN, FOXBORO, MANSFIELD, AND NORFOLK. SEND A DAMN BUS TO WALPOLE CENTER TO CONNECT WITH THE 34E EVEN. AND FOR THAT MATTER, WHY DID THE SLOOP GET REPLACED WITH THIS?! WHY DOESN’T IT CONNECT TO ANY FIXED ROUTES THAT LINK IT TO THE MBTA IN WEYMOUTH OR HINGHAM?! WHY DOES THE PLYMOUTH ZONE NOT CONNECT TO THE KINGSTON T STATION?! WHY?! WHY DOES THE PEMBROKE ZONE EVEN EXIST AS A SEPARATE ENTITY?! WAIT TIMES ARE ALSO GARBAGE UNLESS YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHEN YOU’LL BE LEAVING AND WHEN YOU’LL BE LEAVING YOUR DESTINATION FOR YOUR RETURN – MOST PEOPLE AREN’T INFLEXIBLE LIKE THAT! THAT’S IF IT EVEN WORKS AT ALL.

Nearby points of interest: Franklin’s town center is cool, as is Patriot Place! You also have Plymouth’s downtown, Scituate & the Greenbush Line, and whatever the hell is in Pembroke.

Overall, WHY?! WHY DID THEY KILL FIXED ROUTES FOR THESE?! JUST WHY?! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Rating: 2.5/10

THIS SHOULD SUPPLEMENT FIXED ROUTES, NOT REPLACE THEM. GATRA GO, MORE LIKE GATRA GO FUCK YOURSELF.

34th St.-Hudson Yards (Line #7)

Hudson Yards is among the newest stations on the MTA subway, having opened almost 9 years ago (as of writing this), with only 2nd Ave.-72nd/86th/96th St. being newer than this. The station is, by Manhattan standards, also located in a transit desert otherwise, with 10th, 11th and 12th Ave.’s otherwise having no subway access. This isn’t too big an issue as 8th Ave. is the next best thing, however this location in particular needed a subway connection. With that, let’s get into the station review.

Hudson Yards is one of those kinds of stations where it’s very deep into the ground. However, unlike stations like the LIRR concourse at Grand Central, the various stations in Washington Heights, or Porter Square in Boston, there’s actually half-decent elevators! If I remember right, it took me about 30 seconds to get to the surface – AND IT WAS AN INCLINED ELEVATOR yhfioedpashifopdhsaioufphdsaiofhawdiop INCLINED ELEVATORS ARE AWESOME, OK?! THIS WAS MY FIRST TIME RIDING ONE. Shit, I should make time to ride the Monongahela Incline some time, now that I think of it. I digress. Hudson Yards is pretty nice, the platform is plain but is serviceable. There’s signs pointing to the next train, however there’s one teensy-weensy but crucial problem: THE DEPARTURE BOARDS DON’T WORK OTHERWISE. IS IT THAT HARD TO TELL WHEN THE NEXT TRAIN WILL DEPART?! Anyways, I digress. Going up the inclined elevator (are these called funny colors? fume colors? funiculars? or just simply inclined elevators? what’s the difference anyways?), the station mezzanine is spacious but pretty normal otherwise. The headhouse looks pretty cool, actually. In terms of importance, this station is very important as it’s the closest thing to the Javits Convention Center. For the MTA employees, this is also one of, if not the closest station to the Michael Quill bus garage, so there’s that. Overall, Hudson Yards seems like a cool area.

THIS IS THE LAST STOP ON THIS TRAIN. EVERYONE PLEASE LEAVE THE TRAIN. THANK YOU RIDING MTA NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT.

The Javits Convention Center (apparently a bid for the 2024 DNC was made using this place!)

The good: It serves the up and coming Hudson Yards development, along with the Javits Convention Center! It’s also pretty nice, and the vibes I get from it remind me of my experiences with WMATA from when I went to DC as a child. The mezzanine is also pretty spacious, presumably to accommodate convention crowds from the Javits Center. Also, THE INCLINED ELEVATOR!!!

The bad: WHY ARE THE COUNTDOWN CLOCKS BROKEN?! JUST FUCKING TELL ME WHEN THE TRAIN IS DUE OUT AND WHAT TRACK!

Nearby points of interest: The Javits Center, duh! Furthermore, you have the High Line Park (a rail trail in NYC’s urban core?!), the Vessel, a concerning amount of parking lots, and the Hudson Yards Mall. Yeah, this place largely is probably most comparable to the Prudential Center and Copley Place in Boston.

Transit connections:
Flushing Line (line #7)
MTA bus (M12, M34-SBS)
Megabus (former, long live THE GUY)

Overall, it’s a nice station. It’s pretty modern, serves an important area of NYC, and has some cool stuff around it. And, inclined elevators are pretty cool! DAMMIT MTA, FIX THE COUNTDOWN CLOCKS THOUGH!

Rating: 8/10

42nd St.-Times Square/PABT/Bryant Park/5th Ave. (Lines 1-3, 7, A-F, M, N, Q, R, W, 42nd St. Shuttle)

Times Square…oh how do I even begin this one? Well, it’s the dog days of summer, and this one’s gonna be one hell of a doozy. That is, a 5 in 1 package. Let’s dig into it: the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the associated MTA subway station, the Times Square subway station, and the Bryant Park/5th Ave. station complex. Yes, all of these are attached to one another. So, buckle down, for this will be LONG.

So, to start with this entry, I was intercepted by someone from the Miles in Transit server (this was before I met up with Miranda for Christopher St.’s entry) at Penn Station. I then took my HRT on line E, and continued to the PABT. Commence review.

The platforms are pretty standard as seen elsewhere, two island platforms (albeit staggered), with benches, wayfinding, and a countdown clock. They are also accessible via ramps. The mezzanine is huge, with access to the PABT, and even has shops lining it. The PABT itself is pretty expansive, and while I didn’t have a lot of time to check it out (I would be here all day!), the bus terminal itself is expansive. Information booths can be found for Greyhound, Peter Pan, among other carriers. There’s even shopping and restaurants in the non-subway section of the terminal. Neat! From what I heard, the bus berths are just oversized parking garages, so I wasn’t bothered. The End!

HA! You thought this was the end? LMAO NOPE! Well, after going through a concourse tunnel, we reach 7th Ave. at Broadway. Welcome to Times Square!

This was written and taken during the 2024 Olympics season!

Times Square has lines #s 1-3, 7, N, Q, R, W, and the Grand Central-Times Square shuttle. But first, a poem. It’s actually kinda dark, reading:
“OVERSLEPT, SO TIRED. IF LATE, GET FIRED. WHY BOTHER? WHY THE PAIN?”
Damn. That’s actually very dark, and in a way kinda relatable. Well, we reach Times Square’s mezzanine and it’s pretty big. There’s restrooms nearby (staffed!!!!!!), and stairs to every which way. The station itself, though, is more on the empty side. Now, if you’re expecting the platforms for each set of lines to be different….you’d actually be wrong here. Lines #s 1-3 use a pair of islands, with line #3 in particular being a shuttle between here and 148th St.-Lenox Terminal overnight. Lines N, Q, R, and W also use a pair of islands, albeit oriented diagonally underneath Broadway, rather than 7th Ave. Then, there’s line #7, which is yet another island platform. Historically, this station was the terminus for line #7 until Hudson Yards opened in 2015, and until then there were some big mean mother bumpers at the end of the track. Lastly, there’s the Times Square shuttle platform. There used to be three tracks, however that changed relatively recently with modifications to widen the platform, so now it’s just two with an oversized island. One of the two tracks happens to connect to line #1 at the Times Square end as well. Neat! In terms of platform amenities, you have the usual signage, countdown clocks (yes, even for the shuttle!), benches, and wastebaskets. Nothing exciting. The station is also accessible by elevators – however, the PABT transfer is not due to a steeper than normal grade. Sorry!

Line R – wait, isn’t it supposed to be yellow?

This is, in fact, the busiest station on the MTA subway

On the surface, Times Square is one hell of a busy place. In fact, it is known to be overwhelming to some. Even I felt mildly overwhelmed but GOOD GOD was it an experience. Many express and local buses can be found here at street level, while some can be found near Bryant Park, with the PABT having a number of NJT and intercity buses. One of the entrances to Times Square, a simple staircase, is also reported to cost $30 million. Yikes! Overall, this place is definitely among the most photographed in the world, and being here was certainly an experience. Furthermore, you also have a number of shops and theaters nearby. Moving on!

BUS connection- wait a second, GET OUTTA THE BUS LANE!

Eventually, going back to the shuttle platform, Bryant Park station can be accessed underground from here. It’s a stone’s throw away again, which means in theory you can walk from one #7 line platform to the other! HA! Nice… Anyways, I digress. Bryant Park isn’t too special, with the connections to lines B, D, F, and M along with line #7. Except for one thing… Line #7’s platform has “platform screen doors” – albeit, better, as platform barriers. THEY SUCK. THEY CALL THESE PLATFORM SCREEN DOORS?! THIS AIN’T THE KIND OF STUFF THAT RMTRANSIT MENTIONS IN LITERALLY EVERY VIDEO!!! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT MTA!!!!!!!! THESE ARE NOT GOING TO DETER A MALICIOUS MALFACTOR OR ANYONE ELSE FROM FORCING A LIVING BEING ONTO THE GODDAMN THIRD RAIL!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! I digress, the mezzanine is your typical ex-Independent Subway mezzanine (the Independent Subway, or IND for short, being one of the three predecessor entities to the modern MTA, forming part of the present-day B division/lettered lines). That’s to say, stupidly overbuilt. That’s it. That’s the entire review. Sorry, no pictures of Bryant Park, but it is a pretty nice place, and I might add pics next time I’m in NYC.

More signage! The fuck is a Culver, though?

Does every subway train in NYC have the US flag on it?

THERE IS A. DOWNTOWN. LOCAL. SEVEN TRAIN TO THIRTYFOURTHSTREET-HUDSONYARDS. APPROACHING THE STATION PLEASE STAND AWAY FROM THE PLATFORM EDGE.

The good: It is HUGE and has connections to almost every line. (it does not connect to lines G, J, L, Z, or the Staten Island Railroad). The areas on the surface are full of activity as well, and the PABT is a major destination. It’s also (relatively) a stone’s throw from Penn Station and Grand Central. There’s also restrooms!

The bad: It can be a little confusing for some! Furthermore, it’s a goddamn sauna during the summer. PLATFORM BARRIERS TOO FHDAIOHFIODPWAYHFIODPASHFA.

Nearby points of interest: Bryant Park, Times Square, the PABT, and the many shops, restaurants, theaters, etc. in the area are the big ones! The main branch of the New York Public Library is at Bryant Park as well. The Rockefeller Center, while not directly here, is a stone’s throw away, as is Grand Central.

Transit connections:
6th Ave. Line (lines B, D, F, FX, M)
7th Ave. Line(lines #s 1, 2, 3)
8th Ave. Line (lines A, C, E)
Broadway Line (lines N, Q, R, W)
Flushing Line (lines #s 7, 7X)
42nd St. Shuttle
MTA bus (M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M7, M20, M34A SBS, M42, M55, M104, Q32, SIM1C, SIM3, SIM3C, SIM4C, SIM6, SIM8, SIM8X, SIM10, SIM22, SIM23, SIM24 SIM25, SIM26, SIM30, SIM31, BxM2, BxM3, BxM4, BxM6, BxM7, BxM8, BxM9, BxM10, BxM11, BxM18, QM1, QM2, QM3, QM4, QM5, QM6, QM20)
NJ Transit bus (101, 102, 105, 107, 108, 109, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 119, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 144, 145, 148, 151, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 177, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 319, 320, 321, 324, 355)
Bee-Line Bus (BxM4C)
Various intercity buses

Overall, this station complex is the single most important station (or station complex, rather) on the entire MTA subway, connecting almost every line with each other. Just be safe and mindful of pickpocketing people. If you’re ever in NYC as a tourist, I wouldn’t say “don’t come here”, and in fact I say do go for it at least once. But, in terms of the station itself, it’s not too grandiose inside, and the relatively high rating comes from the lively vibes of the surrounding areas. Screw those platform fences on 5th Ave. though.

Rating: 7/10

301 (Rural Ride, Westerly/Richmond)

Oh, brother, THIS route. I actually haven’t had the chance to ride it. Well, not until today. And this, is the last RIPTA route I actually had to ride. Meet: the 301 Rural Ride Friday Flyer.

Okay, first off, this route uses a RIde van. What the hell?! This…..is unique. Because RIde vans don’t have Wave readers (they wouldn’t – paratransit doesn’t use the standard fare system that relies on the Wave card or app), you can’t use mobile or card payment. You have to PHYSICALLY HAND $2 IN CASH TO THE BUS OPERATOR. THAT’S RIGHT – YOU HAVE TO PHYSICALLY PAY THE DRIVER!!! I genuinely have never seen anything like this before. Secondly, the driver outright asked if I was sure I wanted the 301 because nobody ever gets on in Westerly. Thirdly, as a fun tidbit, apparently I was the first ever person to board the 301 from within Westerly ever since the driver who does it started working the 301. Neat! 9 AM comes around, and we depart Westerly Station.

Eventually, we turned down a series of streets navigating through Westerly, ending near RI-78 and Dunn’s Corner and Walmart. We sat there for 5 minutes. No ons, no offs. And then, the fun began. We started HAULING ASS down Dunn’s Corner Road and into the middle of nowhere! Yeah, we made a couple of stops that got no ons or offs, but that eventually changed after we crossed into Hopkinton and made our second deviation: Saugatucket Springs!

My favorite park – the INDUSTRIAL PARK! (jkjk)

An old lady got on at Saugatucket Springs, was confused as to why it’s $2 rather than $4 (the driver explained $4 was the round-trip cost), and paid both ways at once. Then, after waiting a little more, we continued on back out towards Hopkinton Town Hall and up RI-3. In terms of scenery, it wasn’t exciting – being much of the usual woodland. This route isn’t called the Rural Ride for nothing!

We had two more boardings – an old woman and a man. The man, in particular, was surprised and a bit confused as to why I was riding the 301. He even asked me if I was homeless and I just said “nah, I’m gonna get an Uber to Kingston Station afterwards” (I did actually do this). With the last deviation done, we continued on towards Stop & Shop in Richmond, entering the village of Hope Valley, and passing through it quickly. Eventually, we reached I-95 yet again and, soon enough, the end of the route at Stop & Shop, where everyone got off to do their weekly grocery shopping.

The good: It’s a lifeline for the three people that boarded it!

The bad: The schedule is terrible – 1 and a quarter round trips a week, Fridays only, and it doesn’t run if Friday is a holiday.

Nearby points of interest: Not a lot. Westerly, maybe?

Overall, it’s an important route, yet also one that’s largely useless outside its one very specific usecase. Please, Canonchet Cliffs and Saugatucket Shores, take it off RIPTA’s hands or fund the route further! It’s a very important lifeline for the three people that regularly take it!

Rating: 3/10, 8/10 for the vibes.

With that, that concludes another bus entry. However, I’d like to dedicate this entry to someone special. Namely, I’d like to dedicate this entry to my late maternal grandfather, who instilled my interest in transit into me (though I never acted on it until relatively recently). Rest easy, and may you ferry people on the buses of the high heavens, champ…