Category: Public Transit

Alrighty, the 261! This one was a bit tricky given the bus was PACKED. But, here we go!

So, once we finally got moving, we moved down Temple St, MLK Jr. Blvd., and then a left onto York Street. Passing by Yale-New Haven Hospital, the bus got even more full, and we pressed on. Of course, we were inching up Howard Ave. towards Sylvian Ave., but eventually we made it. As several stops, there were a trade of people where some got off and others got on, which persisted until we got out of New Haven. Naturally, the area was residential, and we took a few turns to Winthrop Avenue, down a one-way frontage road that’s for a nonexistent freeway, and down Governor Ella Grasso Blvd. This area was largely all park and cemetery, until we got to Route 1. Then we were in stroad hell.

So now that we were on Route 1, it was much of the same to the end, where it’s probably not worth even going into detail about. Businesses on either side generally, oversized road, a devi- wait WHAT?!

We deviated INTO A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD. But, there’s a good reason. This was to serve what I suspect is probably a section 8 complex. It’s the only conceivable reason for this deviation, and hey it gets a decent amount of ridership so I’ll let it slide.

So, back to the usual. We go down US-1, stroad, stores on either side, yadda yadda yadda, copy-paste. Eventually, we make it to the Post Mall and it’s the end of the route.

The good: Well, it deviates into an apartment complex! It also links downtown New Haven with a bunch of shopping along a stroad, as well as malls. Oh yeah, there’s also a rush hour express variant which runs 2x daily each direction (weekdays only), which is nice.

The bad: This ain’t the fault of the 261, but it feels LONG, given the fact it’s just overly wide stroads once you get on Route 1. It also is kinda long though, with a prescribed runtime of about 40 minutes, but that’s normal. Point is, it feels longer than it really is. I seriously can’t help but think if New Haven (& surrounding areas) get rapid transit in the form of either light rail or subways, this should be a major stop given the high ridership of the 261.

Nearby points of interest: You got Yale Hospital, along with the University of New Haven, the mall, and a section 8 apartment complex!

Overall, it’s a good route. It tries its best, but it feels longer than it really is, and to be quite real, I feel this would be better paralleling rapid transit given the insanely high ridership. (unless my trip was an exception). It’s also nice there’s an express variant.

Rating: 7/10

The first bus I chronologically rode this day, yet one of the later-published entries out of the 7 or so in my backlog. Well, here we have the 201. The best comparison I can draw in RIPTAland would be the 54 to Woonsocket, or the 230 to Montello in MBTAworld. Point is, it’s a bus route that goes miles and miles into the hinterlands of Connecticut. Let’s dig into it.

So the route begins with us pulling out of Samson Rock Drive, onto Route 1. Then we floor it. Occasionally we’d be picking up a passenger or two, but point is, we largely floored it through no man’s land. Rural? Yup. Small towns? Yup. Cemeteries and cemeteries everywhere too. Of course, we also crossed under the Northeast Corridor. Slowly, though, US-1 kept becoming more and more of a stroad as we pushed on-

Wait, why are we deviating?! Oh for god’s sake, we deviated to serve the Guilford Town Green. Hell, may as well go the full mile and serve Guilford’s Shore Line East station at this point. I’m not even sure if a 40ft bus can fit in there, but whatever. Moving on, after deviating, we came back to US-1, pressing on even further, passing not much other than a small shopping center and a roundabout marking the line between Guilford, Branford, and North Branford. Ridership really started picking up here, as we turned down Main St.

Now, as a fun aside, this stretch of the 201 was actually my first-ever experience with CTtransit, going from Branford’s SLE station to downtown New Haven. From here, it goes down through Branford’s town center, back to US-1. We have another deviation here, this time to Cherry Hill Park & Ride. There’s also a Walmart and a church past here, along with an apartment complex, but instead we just deviated into the park & ride. Moving on!

From here, it was STROAD CENTRAL. US-1 made itself clear it was a STROAD from here to New Haven. At this point it was Saltonstall Parkway. Wonder if it was named after the Saltonstall family of Massachusetts? Who knows. Moving on, it was, of course, a stroad so naturally there were businesses and strip malls on either side. Wait, what? US-1 is splitting?!

From here, the road became a frontage road. What’s a frontage road, you might ask? Well, the intent for them is to provide access to businesses and houses otherwise cut off by the freeway. Some areas will call it a service road or access road, but New England dialect calls it a frontage road. With this in mind, we went express onto I-95 southbound all the way into downtown New Haven, crossing over the Quinnipiac River.

LADY: “You from around here? I don’t recognize you.”
ME: “Nah, I’m from Rhode Island.”
LADY: “Which area?”
ME: “Around Providence.”
LADY: “Mmm. I remember always going to Misquamicut and the beaches down there when I was around 16. Now I’m 60, but despite being close, I haven’t been to Rhode Island too much. What’s your favorite local food?”
ME: “Oh boy, that’s a whole can of worms.”

Lady then kept going on about stuff she can/can’t eat, and soon enough we were at the Green.

The good: Well, it serves a lot, to say the least. This route was made with linking the communities along the Shore Line to New Haven in mind, with timed connections to 9 Town’s 641 and 645.

The bad: I will say, it’d be nice if the bus deviated into Madison’s SLE station. Unlike Guilford, there’s plenty of space for a bus to pull in. Plus, it’d be useful for commuters in the area. Plus, the on-time performance can be a little dubious at times, but it wasn’t egregiously late.

Nearby points of interest: You’ve got the towns of Madison with the 9 Town connection, along with Guilford, Branford, East Haven, as well as downtown New Haven!

Overall, I’d definitely compare it to RIPTA’s 54 or the T’s 230, in that it goes deep into no man’s land. And, at that, it’s still pretty good.

Rating: 7/10

Alrighty, the last of the Milford Transit entries! Now, this was the first one I’ve ridden. Now, let’s get into it.

So I boarded at the Post Mall, running to the bus. I boarded, a little confused and the driver said “It’s free, don’t worry.” Relieved, I sat down, and onwards we were. So, we went on to do a deviation towards Stop & Shop. The schedule says there’s a timepoint at a commuter lot, I’m not sure if this is it, but I’m gonna assume so. Needless to say, one person got on here. From here, we went towards Old Gate Lane and Woodmont Road, going under the interstate and passing a truck stop.

It was at this time I noticed these New Flyer buses had something a little special, that I haven’t noticed on any other agency’s New Flyers. Not even CTtransit or the T (or RIPTA, for that matter!) had USB outlets on their buses. Hell, not even GBT had them when I rode the Coastal Link back to Milford’s MNRR station from the Dollar Tree (after I rode the 3). Anyways, I digress

Moving on, the routing was simple. We went down Anderson and Merwin Streets, and up New Haven Ave. And yes, it was all residential. We eventually got to the intersection of New Haven and Buckingham Avenues, where I got off. From here, I walked the mile or so to Milford’s MNRR station for the other routes.

The good: It serves residential areas and a mall! Headways are also alright for an area where pretty much everyone has a car.

The bad: This one goes for all routes. It’s not clear which direction the bus goes down on each road until you actually ride it. The hourly headways can also be annoying, but whatever.

Nearby points of interest: Not much. You’ve got the Post Mall and a Stop & Shop.

Overall, it’s an alright route that gets the job done. I just don’t have much to say that I haven’t already said about the others.

Rating: 6.5/10

Stay tuned, as next time I’m down here, I’ll be riding the entirity of the GBT/Milford Transit/Norwalk Transit Coastal Link!

Alrighty, round 2 of Milford Transit, and the most painful one. Let’s get into it.

So we begin leaving the train station in traffic, as the bus is slowly easing through. Eventually it picks up and- OWW, FUCK, MY ARM! Holy FUCK, what an asshole! Why would ANYBODY put the bus operator in a situation where slamming the brake is needed?! Needless to say, my arm ached for the rest of the day. Operator’s fault? Not really, I’m pinning blame on the driver who made the operator do it. So, that aside, we then turned down a side street where it was all residential, eventually turning down East Broadway. But, that was a dead end.

So, since we reached a dead end, what did we do? Well, the operator kicked the bus into reverse, of course! It always feels weird when in a bus that needs to go into reverse. I mean, at least it wasn’t as high-stakes as at the Pettine ITC when I rode the 24X on RIPTA, where the risk of hitting another bus or a person was much higher. Anyways, we came back the way we came, taking the first side street. Going up Robert Treat Pkwy, and turning down Meadowside Rd., it was still residential until the cows came home.

So, we passed through an apartment complex, passing by another beach. Eventually, we turned up Joy Rd., and went the way we came, though up Maplewood Ave., passing by the high school and ending the loop at a shopping center.

The good: Well, it goes deep into suburbia! I mean, it’s probably not the most efficient thing, but it’s sure as hell good if you operate on a flag basis, as for some riders that might mean door-to-door service. Neat. It also serves a few shopping centers, as well as the high school. Also, it serves a few parks and beaches.

The bad: It’s very loopy (in spite of it being a loop, it loops on itself BEFORE reaching the train station), disorienting even. Broad St. traffic can also be bad.

Nearby points of interest: Walnut Beach and Silver Sands State Park are the big ones I can think of. There’s also a small shopping plaza with the remnants of an old Kmart here, which was being razed.

Overall, it’s a decent enough loop route. It’s got a consistent schedule (though can run a little late) and goes to places where people would want to go. Just be ready for the operator to slam the brake.

Rating: 6.5/10

Alrighty, the first of the Milford Transit entries! Although, chronologically the last route I’ve ridden. So, let’s look at the route.

Now unfortunately, the camera had to sit this one out (it was at 20% by the time I got to this), so no pictures for this one sadly. With that aside, let’s dig into it.

Milford Transit is kinda like GATRA in the sense it operates on a flag-stop basis. However, unlike GATRA, all three routes operate in loops, serving various parts of Milford. This route operates between the Post Mall, through northern Milford, to The Dock in Stratford, and looping back.

Leaving the bus shelter outside the train station, bus continues down New Haven Avenue, through the traffic coming off Broad Street. There were only three people total for the trip, getting on at various points, until we went up Old Gate Lane and deviated into the CT Post Mall. From here, we looped back the way we came, this time going under the Northeast Corridor, circling around the senior center (and picking up a few old people), and then going up towards US-1.

From here, it was largely a straight shot. We went down US-1, and eventually I got off at the Devon Center, checked out the area for a bit, then got the bus on the return trip to Milford Station.

The good: Well, it goes all the way out to a major shopping center in Stratford, along with a mall on the edge of Milford, all in a loop!

The bad: The headways kinda suck, though. But for a town the size of Milford, hourly headways probably are all that’s necessary – EXCEPT FOR THIS ROUTE WHERE THERE’S A THREE HOUR BREAK FROM 11AM TO 2PM!!! WHAT THE HELL?!

Nearby points of interest: Outside of downtown Milford, you have the mall, the Dock, and Devon Center.

Overall, it’s an alright route. Would be decent, even, if it weren’t for the 3 hour gap in service midday. Guess noone needs to go grocery shopping at that time!

Rating: 4.5/10

Oh boy, a two for one deal! Well, at least on the surface West Haven looks better than the next station over to the south. But is it?

Alrighty, first off this place, once again, clearly gets ridership throughout the day. I think that’s going to be a common theme with Metro-North, now that I think of it. The station’s setup is quad-tracking with two sides adjacent to tracks 3 and 4. The platforms have canopies down most of their length, with what looks like a sheltered building on either end (like T.F. Green), but I didn’t check them out. Going into the crossover area, and the elevators are actually clean and don’t smell like piss. Holy crap! Metro-North schedules can be found here too.

From here, we can see that yet again, parking isn’t an issue and is plentiful. This area also reminds me of the Shore Line East with the brick and glass design. I swear, does the MTA actually give a shit about their stations???

Lastly, there’s the waiting area. This area reminds me quite a bit of Route 128‘s with the airport terminal style. Seats are also servicable, and an MTA ticket window can be found here. When was this place built, anyways?

*googles around*

2013?! Holy crap, that new?! Well, I guess it does show. Moving along, point is that it’s definitely servicable and is quite nice.

The good: It’s well-used! Also, it’s pretty damn clean for what it is, and the MTA even clearly gives a shit about the station. Parking is also aplenty and there’s a waiting area open all day too.

The bad: I mean, I can’t think of much. I guess the biggest complaint is that it’s seemingly in suburban hell, but even that is remedied by the fact there’s CTtransit connections here.

Nearby points of interest: I mean, you have West Haven. I don’t know much about the area but Google Maps would suggest there’s a Yale campus somewhat close by. It’s a little ways away from the town center, though.

Transit connections:
Metro-North (New Haven Line)
CTtransit (265)

Overall, it’s a nice station. However, I’d have it as a 10/10 if it were closer to West Haven’s town center, since the tracks run closer to there. Nevertheless, it’ still getting a high score.

Rating: 9/10

WOOHOO, METRO-NORTH IN DA HOUSE BABAAYYYYYYYYY

Alrighty, so Milford’s setup consists of two sides on a triple-tracked Northeast Corridor. In essence, it’s got the same setup as places like Guilford and Hyde Park. The platforms are mostly sheltered, which is nice. But, why is the inbound platform longer than the outbound?

Also, why are there bridges over track 4? Was MNRR trying to neuter performance through here, or is it because they’re doing work on that track upstream? Oh well. On either track you can also find MNRR ticket machines, which is nice to see this far out of Grand Central. There’s also plenty of parking and it’s clearly well-used. On the street, one can also make connections to CTtransit, Milford Transit, and the Coastal Link as well. Neat. I will say, though, the lack of any “train approaching” warnings like along the rest of the NEC does feel a bit weird given the sheer amount (at least 3 every 5 minutes!) passing or stopping here.

Alright, but how do you cross over? Well, to cross over, you have to go down the parking lot, onto the main street, and back up. This, um, isn’t very accessible. I mean, it is on paper, but in practice it’s not easy.

The good: It’s in a pretty good place, in downtown Milford! It’s also well-used, with even offpeak trains seeing a decent amount of ridership in each direction! But, given the mere amount of trains that stop here, that probably amounts to a relatively small ridership per train. Still, nice to see a station like this to be well-utilized.

The bad: The lack of any real ADA-accessible crossovers between platforms. Yes, it’s accessible on paper, but is it easy to use? Not really. Also the lack of any “train approaching” warnings like further up the NEC. And why are the platforms of differing length?

Nearby points of interest: Pretty much all of downtown Milford! The Connecticut Post Mall is also a stone’s throw away by bus, which is nice.

Transit connections:
Metro-North (New Haven)
CTtransit (271)
Coastal Link
Milford Transit (2, 3, 4)

Overall, first impressions matter. And, while it’s not the best station, it could certainly have been worse. In terms of how bad, it could certainly be worse, and much worse at that.

Rating: 5.5/10