A Different Route

If you’ve lived in Boston for even a week, you’ve probably taken the MBTA subway— casually called the T—at least once. If you haven’t, you should know it’s one of the easiest ways to get around in Beantown, given the never-ending traffic that stretches from the waterfront to Jamaica Plain and everywhere in between. But one thing you might not know is that for the young college student, the MBTA has another equally as convenient and, at times, quicker and more direct option: the buses.

While it can seem intimidating, with different stops and the necessity of memorizing those pesky route numbers, the bus is a great alternative to taking the T. Recent Boston University grad Jess Wallace (COM/CAS ’17), now a Brighton resident, said that the bus system was a huge asset during her time at BU. “[The bus] is faster than the T by a long shot and it goes more places for less money than any other MBTA system,” she said. A big plus, she added, is that taking the bus is a friendlier experience than taking the T, which often leaves just-a-second-late passengers standing on the sidewalk. “If you have a regular route you take at the same time every day you usually end up being friends with the bus drivers which is nice,” said Wallace. Brighton resident Tanner Glickman has what they call a “love-hate relationship” with the bus system. “The key routes are great,” they said, pointing out the 66 and 57, “but you really have to plan for when the bus is coming on others that aren’t key routes, otherwise you could be waiting 30 or more minutes before the next one comes.”

Elise Roche (CAS ’18), who lives off-campus in Allston and takes the bus to school every day, agrees that planning ahead is your best bet when it comes to catching a ride.

“I usually prefer the bus, but you can be hanging out at a bus stop for 35 minutes straight if you didn’t check the schedule soon enough, or if it’s rush hour and you aren’t at one of the first three stops,” she said.

Luckily for most BU students, if you’re using the bus as an alternative to the T to get to Boston hot spots, you’re definitely in for a much faster trip.

Most of the places you’ll want to go are on the 57 or 66 routes. For example, taking the bus to Harvard from Warren Towers utilizes both of those key routes, the 57 and the 66, and is a much more direct trip, landing you at your destination in 30 minutes or less. When you compare this to the T, which requires switching from the Green to Red lines and can be an upwards of 40 minutes, it definitely is the better choice. Plus, you can use your regular Charlie Card to tap into the bus, and the fare is almost a dollar less than the T fare—$1.70 as opposed to $2.25.

So the next time you reload that card for a day out, consider hopping on the 57 bus instead of the T. You might find yourself in the middle of an unexpected adventure—and get to the end of it in half the time.

By Sarah Cristine Burrola | Photography by​Wendy Xie | Design by Eugene Kim