Public Transit – Page 10 – chelsea's corner

CATA On Demand (Gloucester Dial-a-Ride)

Ooh, a new Dial-a-Ride entry! Man, I actually love these, as they give me an opportunity to explore the region a bit more without being tied to fixed buses. Neat! So, what about CATA On Demand? Well…

So, after dialing a ride and paying within the app with my debit card (easy enough), the operator picked me up at Gloucester’s parking lot and started to hightail it through Gloucester. Since noone else dialed a ride, it was a straight shot to my destination, the West Gloucester train station. We hightailed it down Centennial Avenue, turned left to leave the main part of Gloucester, and into rural-ish residential areas. The road was kinda bumpy. However, beyond that, it was a straight shot down Essex Avenue. Yeah, not much to remark. There were dots though, which unfortunately made photography difficult. So, please forgive the poor quality. As for the vehicles themselves, they’re your bogstandard cutaway van with jiggly wheelchair lifts and, actually kinda awkward-to-use seatbelts. Vleugh. The driver was helpful though, and friendly. So, with that, shoutout to CATA for having friendly operators! (yes, I know it’s their job, but still)

I don’t recall what this was, but that’s a CATA wrap!

The good: Well, given Gloucester’s actually pretty comprehensive bus network around downtown, and how thorough CATA is despite pretty much serving just Gloucester and Rockport full-time, having a supplemental “last mile” option of sorts is actually pretty helpful and nice! And, for what it’s worth, $2 to dial a ride to ANYWHERE in Gloucester is actually…reasonable! (normal bus fares are $1, for context) Personally, I’m in the school of thought where flex and dial-a-ride services should supplement a thorough fixed network, and I think the Gloucester dial-a-ride does that pretty well.

The bad: Well, I didn’t see anything on the bus indicating you can pay cash or with CharlieCards (yes, CATA takes CharlieCards!), but the agency’s fare pages say you can pay with cash on their dial-a-rides. It is also weekday-only! I’m pretty sure if it were a weekend thing as well, it’d see heavy use from tourists!

Nearby points of interest: All of Gloucester!

Overall, I really like this, and while microtransit gets a lot of flack for being used in situations where it doesn’t make sense (e.g. the Stonington HOP, some Flex routes), Gloucester is one place where it benefits on top of having a thorough fixed route network, and with that, I’d have to give it a high rating.

Rating: 8.5/10

Gloucester (MBTA/CATA)

Alrighty, so, West Gloucester was a disappointment? But, how does normal Gloucester stack up? Well, for one, it’s in downtown and has multiple bus connections. Actually, this is pretty good! Let’s look!

So, unlike West Gloucester, Gloucester is single-tracked. Also unlike West Gloucester, it isn’t barebones! You have a bus shelter for CATA buses, wastebaskets, red dot matrix signs, SHELTER (even on the mini-high!!!!!), a crossing to the parking lot, wastebaskets, and did I mention it’s in the middle of downtown? Oh yeah, HORNS for the railfans! Neat! This is easily among my favorites! Plus, to top it off, Gloucester itself is actually a nice seaside town, and is a popular tourist destination during the spring and summer months on Cape Ann.

The good: It’s in downtown Gloucester! Furthermore, you have amenities, sheltered mini-highs, bus connections, and it’s in a walkable area! YAY!

The bad: It’s a mini-high and there’s a grade crossing to the parking lot. Vleugh. Two pet peeves.

Nearby points of interest: Downtown and the beaches! Also, wherever CATA can take you!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Rockport Line)
CATA (Blue/Lanesville, Orange/Gloucester Xing-Business Express, Stage Fort Shuttle, Saturday Mall)

Overall, I like this station. Like, it’s personally a favorite of mine and I like Gloucester as a town. Now that I think of it, I need to visit this place further. Fortunately, that’s when I’ll be doing the CATA bus network. Stay tuned for that! (eventually…)

Rating: 8/10

West Gloucester (MBTA)

Alrighty, so we’ve done Rockport, now, what about the second of the four famed seaside towns on the Rockport Line? Let’s look at Gloucester-

wait, what? This is WEST Gloucester? Alright, let’s look at West Gloucester. How bad can it be? Well……

So, after dialing my ride from Gloucester, I arrived and it’s pretty unassuming, all things considered. It’s a residential neighborhood with, actually, not a lot going on. You DO, however, have a big sign unlike anywhere else on the Commuter Rail. Oh boy.

The station itself has some parking, two platforms with mini-highs, benches, wastebaskets, and Helvetica signage. And, maybe the outhouses count as restrooms? Not sure. But, there’s a few major problems here, and I’ll get into them shortly.

…least used station with some form of restroom?

Is it me or is the inbound platform TINY vs. the outbound?

OKAY, SO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS STATION? I’LL TELL YOU! THE MINI-HIGHS ARE UNSHELTERED – AGAIN! WHY IS THE INBOUND SIDE A QUARTER OF THE LENGTH OF THE OUTBOUND SIDE?! EVEN MORESO, IS THAT MOST PEOPLE HERE ARE BOARDING INBOUND TOWARDS CHELSEA AND BOSTON – NOT TOWARDS ROCKPORT! FURTHERMORE, YOU’RE ALWAYS PERPETUALLY STUCK WITH THE HUMMING OF THE ELECTRICAL SUBSTATION SO YA BETTER GET USED TO IT! MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM………… FUCKING FUCK! AND THE GRADE CROSSING!!!!!! ALL OF THIS, PLUS THE LACK OF THINGS NEARBY AND INFREQUENT SERVICE OUTBOUND (just take CATA!) ALL ARE REASONS THAT THIS, WEST FREAKIN’ GLOUCESTER, IS THE LEAST-USED PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE COMMUTER RAIL STATION ON THE ENTIRE SYSTEM AS OF 2023. THIS STATION SUCKS, AND SHOULD GET A MAJOR REBUILD.

I hate how this grade crossing is centered for both platforms – despite one being 4x the length of the other

The good: Nah. Ok, ok, it at least exists so locals don’t have to go into downtown Gloucester for their trains.

The bad: THE MINI-HIGHS SUCK, WHY IS ONE PLATFORM SHORTER THAN THE OTHER, THE SERVICE SUCKS IN TERMS OF FREQUENCY, AND FURTHERMORE JUST TAKE THE LOCAL BUS INSTEAD IF YOU NEED TO HEAD OUTBOUND. OH YEAH, THE HUMMING OF THE SUBSTATION!

Nearby points of interest: Nah.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Rockport)
CATA (West Gloucester/Purple)

Overall, this station sucks, and if anything on the Rockport Line needs a rebuild after Beverly, I’d argue a case for this station in particular despite low ridership, and I’d give CATA a busway for it as well. Either way, if you can help it, I wouldn’t suggest waiting here.

Rating: 2/10

Beverly Farms (MBTA)

Alrighty, so we went from Beverly (which kinda sucked), to Prides Crossing (which undisputedly sucks), and now we’re at Beverly Farms. Is it bad like Wellesley or Green’s Farms? Well, let’s see.

Okay, so Beverly Farms. You have a rather barren mini-high, but not as bad as Beverly’s in that it’s one piece (or two? one for each side?), yay! There’s some parking, some of it looks like a mud and gravel patch? Yeah, I’m not sure, but there’s still parking. There’s some benches and wastebaskets on the platforms at least, along with two(!!!) red dot matrix signs! Yay! There’s also shelter on the inbound side, primarily around the storefront housing a bagel shop. As for Beverly Farms, the neighborhood? Well, I actually like it and need to check it out further. The area’s got some charm to it. However, I must ask one thing: WHY IS THERE NO SHELTER ON THE OUTBOUND SIDE?! Pretty typical of most stations, sadly.

The good: Well, it’s in a nice area! Furthermore, the mini-highs aren’t decrepit! Also, there’s a bagel shop and a decent amount of parking!

The bad: The platform’s kinda barebones, and there’s no shelter outbound! Furthermore, why is it in zone 5?!

Nearby points of interest: There’s a few restaurants and shops in the neighborhood, including a Dunkies, a bagel shop, and a couple of bars, along with a bookstore and gift shop. There’s also a beach to the south!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Rockport Line)

Overall, while the platforms are just bad, I like the area and want to check it out further some time, and admittedly I’m a little biased with that regard. But, even objectively, Beverly Farms is just an interesting area!

Rating: 5/10

Prides Crossing (MBTA)

Hey, remember when I reviewed Mishawum about five months ago? The very first sentence in that blog is me rambling on about how the station closed in late 2020 as part of some COVID-related cuts. Well, six stations fell victim to that, actually. Or, as I call them, the sinister six. Mishawum (Lowell Line) was the first one to receive an entry. The second one, is the subject of this blog: Prides Crossing. And, for those curious, the remaining four are Hastings and Silver Hill, both on the Fitchburg Line, Plymouth on the Kingston Line, and Plimptonville on the Franklin Line. It also happened this was the easiest one to do. So, without further ado, welcome to Prides Crossing. Or, as I and a few other LGBT peeps jokingly referred to it as, Trans Prides Crossing.

Getting here was relatively easy, if a bit long of a walk. I mean, 15 minutes one-way isn’t the end of the world but still. Amusingly enough, the grade crossing on Hale Street pictured above, was NOT something Google wanted me to cross. I’m legitimately not sure why, as sidewalks existed. See?

I’m not sure why Google insists on jacking up the EDI of the route, when walking the black line I drew worked out fine and beget me a 3/4-mile walk. This isn’t even the first time, as I’ve contemplated hiking to the Walmart in North Smithfield after riding the 59X, too, and it did the same thing around Slatersville. But, after a rather tame 3/4-mile walk, I made it. So, I commenced the review.

So, you have a singular side platform on the Rockport Line, with a hunk of asphalt used to access track 2. There’s a few benches, including the famed “Democrat” and “Republican” benches. Wastebaskets are also here, along with a red dot matrix sign, except it was facing parallel to the tracks rather than perpendicular. There’s also Prides Crossing Confections, which if you’re looking for locally-made sweet treats, despite being mildly pricy, I recommend checking out.

The good: It’s actually got some amenities! For a station of its caliber, I’d have expected nothing at all! Also, there’s some things nearby!

The bad: It’s inaccessible and there’s one platform! Also, it’s so darn close to Beverly Farms, to where I ask one thing: “why? why use this over Beverly Farms?”

Nearby points of interest: Prides Crossing Confectionary is the big one!

Transit connections: None (is closed)

Overall, from an objective perspective, it kinda sucks! But, it is an unusual station and travelling out here was a good time, I must admit. Also, worth it for the chocolates from the shop here, if nothing else. Too bad there’s no bus connection…

Rating: 2.5/10

44 (Jackson Square/Humboldt Ave.)

The EDI of a land route is defined as the the ratio of the straight-line distance of the route, verseus the street/track distance of the route. In essence, this means a route that’s close to a straight line will beget a 1, while a route that goes in an elongated U shape will beget something like a 26, like the MTA’s Q38. However, there are some guidelines that must be followed, determining eligibility:
1. No loops.
2. 3 stops minimum.
3. Must not end along the return journey.
3a. Routes with loops must end at the halfway point of said loop.
3b. Routes need two distinct termini.
4. It must make some sense on a map.
5. Must be a currently operating service pattern at calculation time.
6. Must be a land route.

So, now that we got what the EDI is out of the way, what does that have to do with anything I write about? Well, I’ll tell you what:

The 44 has the 2nd-highest EDI in my blog jurisdiction! (only beat out by the 554, also on the MBTA) (click here for more info on the EDI)

Okay, so the route itself is actually pretty tame. We leave Ruggles and head down Tremont Street, and down Malcolm X Blvd., passing Madison Park and O’Bryan High Schools on the way to Nubian. So, from here, we go down Warren and Walnut Avenues, eventually turning into Humboldt Avenue. Actually, the route’s pretty tame and there’s nothing crazy beside the shape of it. Now, pretty much noone rode from end to end, but many people got on at Nubian and got off along Humboldt and Columbus Avenues. Speaking of which, the route flies down the median of Columbus Avenue, with people getting on here going to Jackson Square. Neat!

The good: It’s regular, running every half-hour on weekdays and Saturdays. Furthermore, it serves residential neighborhoods, and connects them, and Egleston Square, to the Orange Line and Nubian!

The bad: Really? Hourly on Sundays? It’s not even long in mileage!

Nearby points of interest: Not a lot aside from Jackson, Egleston, and Nubian Squares

Overall, it’s an okay route, but why is the Sunday schedule bad? Just, why? At least it has a notoriously high EDI! (clocking in at 3.7)

Rating: 6.5/10

CCRI Warwick (RIPTA)

Well, THIS was unexpected! On the way to my doctor’s appointment today, I needed to pass through CCRI to change buses. And, wouldn’t ya know it, the bus terminal is OPEN now! WOOHOO!!! So, let’s take a quick look at it, shall we?

So, located on the eastern end of the campus before the parking lot, adjacent to the Bobby Hackett Theater, is where you have the bus terminal. It’s not a lot, but you have four bus stops, with the routes sorted by destination and general routing. There’s a couple of wastebaskets, and a few picnic tables presently. Shelters aren’t present yet, but from what I understand, the shelters (presumably a redesign from the standard RIPTA shelter) will be in for January ’24. There’s also a copious amount of parking, but, you also have to remember: this isn’t a park & ride, but rather a community college – and parking here is NOT a good idea, as the lot fills up quickly during academic terms (Labor Day-Christmas and Martin Luther King Day-Memorial Day). Plus, there’s talks that CCRI is planning to implement parking permits. So, if you’re not a student, tough luck. But, if you ARE a student (like I formerly was), then you’re in luck AND could theoretically park and ride here.

Now, about them bus stops. How are they sorted? Are they willy-nilly like Kennedy Plaza seemingly is? Actually….no! Each stop (presently) serves three routes, as follows:
– South County (14 and 66 southbound stops here, as does the 16)
– Providence via Warwick Mall (21, 22, and 30)
– Crosstown (13, 23, and 29)
– and Providence via I-95 (14 and 66 northbound. The 242 Flex also stops here.)

Overall, fairly easy to remember. There were some learning pains for both passengers and operators, but fortunately there were RIPTA personnel onsite to help. And, all this opened just in time for the fall semester at CCRI to start as well. Neat!

A zip-tied bus stop sign (though I’m sure something more permanent will be installed)

The good: It’s at CCRI, being a major ridership generator, so why not have a proper bus terminal? There’s amenities inside the college as well. However…

The bad: Use of said amenities inside the college are at the discretion of the college itself. Furthermore, there’s no shelter presently. It’s also not very walkable…, though, it wouldn’t be too bad if the college set aside a small amount of parking for RIPTA commuters (maybe with a special permit in coordination with RIPTA?)

Nearby points of interest: Nothing outside the college campus, but the buses can get you elsewhere!

Transit connections:
RIPTA (13, 14, 16, 21, 22, 23, 29, 30, 66, 242 Flex)

Overall, in spite of the lack of shelter, it’s still an upgrade in its present form, since the last stop had NOTHING at all and was just a sole shelter. You didn’t even have bus berths! So, as such, I’m giving the terminal its score on the condition of a bus shelter being installed by January ’24.

Rating: 8/10

43 (Tremont St.)

The Tremont Street subway is the oldest segment of subway in North America, running between Boylston and Government Center. Carrying the Green Line, it handles….a lot of trains per hour, to put it lightly, with some trains turning at Park or Government Center. In the ’90s, the tunnel was retrofitted to use catenary designed for standard pantographs, verseus pantographs found on a PCC or a trolleybus, and it is presently on the Register of Historic Places.

Now what does this have to do with anything?!

I’ll tell you what: the 43 runs down Tremont Street! …albeit, not between Government Center and Boylston stations.

By the time I got here, I was a little nervous because there were some TORNADO WARNINGS back at home. But, given I’m pumping out this entry (and the Rockport one), my house was safe. Plus, the weather was prescribed to be bad in Boston that day too. And, I got on the bus, as we turn out of Ruggles and down the namesake street. Going down Tremont, it’s a straight shot all the way to Park Street. There wasn’t much of interest to remark, though the weather did turn worse. Housing, yep. Mixed-use? Looked like it. There was even a Starbucks! Neat! But, I do wonder, what if there was a GLX to Nubian via Tremont Street? Anyways, yeah, there wasn’t too much to remark, aside from MBTA headquarters. But, you can see the Common and the state house! Neat!

I know someone who tried to get into BFIT!

I’m pretty sure this is at 10 Park Plaza.

The bus op was nice enough to drop me off at the station headhouse.

The good: It’s short and sweet! Furthermore, for what it is it’s often enough that one can use it for short trips if they’re lazy enough. Especially evident when I rode it, as a wave of severe storms (enough to pop a few tornadoes in Rhode Island!!!) were blowing through. As for end to end? Ehhhh…..

The bad: The Orange Line duplicates the route! If you’re going end to end, just take the Orange Line, it’s still more frequent AND is faster! We hit traffic in Park Plaza, leading to the operator cussing!

Nearby points of interest: Not a lot. Ben Franklin Institute of Technology exists. There’s the Common and the state house. Tremont Street is lined with businesses too, which I might check out in the future.

Overall, it’s actually pretty decent for a short bus route. For short trips that aren’t end to end, it does the job pretty well. But, if you are going end to end, just take the Orange Line.

Rating: 7.5/10

Rockport (MBTA/CATA)

Alrighty, so today’s Commuter Rail entry is- holy crap, we’re really going to the far end of the Rockport Line?! Yep. It’s Rockport, and for this entry, I have two stowaways: Brooke and her friend Nick. They were planning on coming out here anyways, and I just happened to come along for the Content(TM), so without further ado, here’s Rockport Station.

Rockport is actually quite small as a terminal station. You have a mini-high, and surprisingly a rather short low-level platform. Yeah, that’s an odd one. But, I’m not surprised given this station’s ridership is primarily seasonal and centered during offpeak/weekend hours. The station’s also pretty unique from a railfanning perspective, as the yard is within the station itself and if you’re there at the right hours, you can see yard moves without needing to trespass. This video from Boston by Rails does a better job explaining it (& layover yard ops in general), and may have partly influenced my choice to go out here.

The train and the classic red dot matrix sign – and Brooke!

The inbound end of the platform – and the literal end of the line

So, there’s also CATA buses. Where do they board? Well…..

CATA operates on a flag basis, but from what I can find, they deviate into this property (formerly a Dunkin’, didn’t notice if it’s still one). This is Rockport’s bus connection. THIS DUNKIN’ DONUTS IS A COMMUTER STATION’S BUSWAY, HOLY FUCK!!! And, what routes stop here? Let’s see…

…oh god. CATA is one of those RTAs, who think colors are the best way for naming BUS ROUTES. Now, I’m not gonna go into colors vs. alphanumeric naming convention. Not today. That rant is reserved for when I touch the NYC subway. Anyways.

The good: It’s pretty darn close to downtown, being a short walk or bus ride away. Furthermore, there’s amenities! Benches and a shelter on the mini-high! And wastebaskets! WOOOO!!!!!!! It’s also pretty cool for railfanning, and quite unique.

The bad: It’s kinda tight! And parking is kinda anemic, but c’mon why would you park HERE? Unless, you live in the outskirts of town of course.

Nearby points of interest: Brooke, Nick, and I went to Dairy Train for some ice cream during our 20m layover before heading back to Boston. The town proper is also pretty nice and, based off Street View imagery, gives off some historic Newport (RI) vibes.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Rockport Line)
CATA (Blue, Yellow, Rockport Commuter)

Overall, while it’s not the best, it’s a LOT better than the rest of the stations (at face value) on the line. It certainly has a charm that the others lack, is close to downtown, and is rather unique from a railfanning POV.

Rating: 6.5/10

Swampscott (MBTA)

Charles Baker is the current president of the NCAA and a former governor of Massachusetts. He’s notorious in transit circles for being seen as ruining the MBTA, while in statewide politics he was an electoral juggernaut, having won by huge margins in 2018 despite his party affiliation vs. national trends. Outside his stints in state-level offices, he was a selectman for the town of Swampscott and was involved in the healthcare industry.

Now what the hell does that have anything to do with what I write about? I’ll tell you: he’s from Swampscott!!! If he took the MBTA, he’d probably be a regular user of this station.

Swampscott, much like Beverly, is very much not exciting in terms of how it looks. The mini-high, while larger than average, is barren. In fact, the only shelter is halfway up the low-level platform – while boarding only happens on the mini-high offpeak!!! Yeah, that sucks in rainy weather. Furthermore, you don’t have bike racks or a Pedal & Park like at Beverly. Hell, there’s not even a proper departure board, rather just a red dot matrix sign characteristic of most northside stations! Changing sides isn’t also the most accessible thing to do, either. This station is just boring. Yeah, I got nothing else to remark. There’s a shuttle stop on Railroad Avenue, as Lynn Center was under construction as of me writing this.

That’s it. That’s all the inbound sheltering. Fuck you!

The station house – probably not in use!

This is reassuring: an old red dot matrix sign!

F40PH IN DA HOUSE WOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The good: It’s in a dense-ish residential area!

The bad: It’s not really in Swampscott. I mean, yeah, technically it is but it’s on the town line. Furthermore, why are the mini-highs unsheltered? And why no departure board? Or bike accomodations?

Nearby points of interest: There’s a couple of restaurants in the area!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Newburyport/Rockport)
MBTA bus (455, at Essex Street)

Overall, it’s kinda boring. Yeah, I got nothing to remark about this place. Sorry!

Rating: 5/10