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BOSTON - PUBLIC TRANSPORT |
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"Transportation and infrastructures
Boston
Get in
By train
Amtrak arrives at South Station, which intersects with the MBTA's Red Line and the waterfront branches of the Silver Line. You can take the Amtrak Northeast Corridor or Acela Express from South Station all the way to Washington D.C. and beyond. Average Acela time from Boston to New York City is 3 1/2 hours, while a trip to Philadelphia takes about 5 hours. Another popular Amtrak train is the Lake Shore Limited service between Boston and Chicago (requiring a layover in Albany). This isn't as high quality or high speed as the Acela, but at around $75, the price is right (note that in order to get the low-low fare, you have to purchase your ticket a few weeks in advance). All Amtrak, and most commuter, trains to South Station also stop at Back Bay Station, which is much smaller, but more convenient to Back Bay, Beacon Hill and the South End. It is on the Orange Line on the subway.
Amtrak also uses North Station at the TD Banknorth Garden (previously called the Fleet Center) for its Downeaster service via Haverhill to New Hampshire and Maine, with the final stop in Portland.
Remember, Boston's North and South stations are not linked, and are over a mile from one another. In order to travel in between, hop on the inbound Red Line subway at South Station and switch at Downtown Crossing to the Orange Line to North Station. You could always take a cab, but the subway (known locally as the "T") is significantly cheaper. Your best option is to go between North Station and Back Bay station, since they are directly linked by the Orange Line.
If you have a first class Acela ticket, you may use the Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge in the historic, renovated South Station. There is no lounge at Back Bay Station. You may use Quik Track machines to buy your ticket without standing in line, or to pick up tickets you have reserved online.
Arriving by train has the advantage of putting you within easy reach of most downtown destinations by public transit.
By bus
* Boston Deluxe, 175 Huntington Ave., ☎ +1 917-662-7552. Connecting Boston with New York and Hartford.
* Fung Wah Transportation, 700 Atlantic Ave. (South Station), ☎ +1 617-338-8308 (general@fungwahbus.com). Connecting Boston's Chinatown neighborhood with New York's Chinatown (139 Canal St). edit
* Greyhound Bus Lines, 700 Atlantic Ave. (South Station), ☎ +1 617-526-1800.
* LimoLiner, ☎ +1 309-502-6411. A luxury bus transportation offering professionals business services between New York City and Boston.
* Lucky Star Bus, 700 Atlantic Ave. (South Station), ☎ +1 617-734-1268. Between Boston's South Station and New York's Chinatown.
* Peter Pan Bus Lines, 700 Atlantic Ave. (South Station), ☎ +1 800-343-9999.
* Megabus, Back Bay Station, ☎ +1 877 462-634. Connecting Boston with New York. fares start at just $1 when reserved far in advance.
* BoltBus, South Station. Connecting Boston with New York City. fares start at $1 when reserved far in advance.
Greyhound and Peter Pan Bus serve many cities from South Station but are generally much more expensive than the Chinatown buses, with Greyhound and PPB averaging $30 to New York. However, eSaver fares available online make the Greyhound fare between Boston & NYC as low as $15 each way. The Chinatown buses (AKA Dragon Buses) now use South Station also and serve Hartford, Connecticut and New York City. Fares are competitive, but not as low as they once were (for example, Fung Wah was $10 each way and is now $15). Some significantly lower quality Chinatown buses average $12.50 one way.
It should be noted that Fung Wah Transportation has recently been in the headlines for several accidents involving its buses. It has an extremely poor reputation around the city.
By car
If you are driving in, you may seriously want to consider dropping your car at a lot and taking the "T" in. If you're heading downtown for the touristy sites, you will consider having a car a curse rather than a blessing. Parking at MBTA commuter rail and terminal subway locations is usually cheaper than parking in the city. In particular, the Riverside (Grove Street) stop at the end of the Green D line is right off I-95, and is $5.75 to park ALL DAY. You can even park overnight for something like a dollar more. Commuter rail stations are even cheaper. See the Public Transit section in the "Get around" section below.
Boston has two major highways entering it, I-93 and I-90 (the Massachusetts Turnpike, or "Mass Pike", or "Pike"; locals do not call it "I-90"). I-93 enters the city from the north and the south; the section running from Boston southward is referred to as the "Southeast Expressway" but the northern section is just "93 North." The Pike enters Boston from the west. The Mass Pike is a toll road - expect to pay $1.25 to enter the city via the Pike, in addition to the tolls charged when arriving at the I-90 / I-95 interchange in Weston, just outside the city (variable based on distance travelled, max price is $3.85 if you drive all the way from the automatic ticket machines near the New York border). Also, if you enter The Pike in East Boston (at Logan Airport) the toll is $3.50. There are minor roads, of course, that enter Boston as well, including Route 9 (Old Worcester Turnpike), Route 2, and US 1. Another major highway, I-95 (also known as Route 128) encircles the Boston area.
There are many car rental places around Boston, but one of the most unique is Zipcar, an hourly car rental service. If you don't plan to do much driving, this may be an economical alternative to owning a car. If you want to use Zipcar, you should try signing up in advance (students of universities in Boston may be able to get a discount). Rental fees and taxes differ between Boston and Cambridge, but the rental agencies at Logan Airport (in East Boston) are still usually less expensive and have a greater fleet of cars available.
In addition to the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90), the Sumner Tunnel is a toll road (coming from the airport only), along with the Ted Williams Tunnel (from airport only), and the Tobin Bridge (southbound/from the North Shore only).
If driving on a major highway during rush hour, do not be surprised to see cars driving in the breakdown lane on the shoulder. This is permitted in certain areas, at certain times, as indicated by signs along the road.
As a general rule, especially as a tourist unfamiliar with the city, alternatives are favored over driving - even when just getting in or out of the city. Boston is one of the densest major cities in the U.S. - perfect for walking, biking, or using the collection of mass transit systems known as the T. Driving can be confusing and dangerous with numerous one way streets, narrow roads, and continuous road construction. Driving conditions have improved after the completion of the infamous Big Dig, but it is still not recommended to those unfamiliar with the area.
By boat
* MBTA ferries from Hingham, Hull, and Quincy.
* Cruise ships dock at the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal, One Black Falcon Av., Phone: +1 617-330-1500. The MBTA Silver Line bus serves the port.
By Thumb
Due to the extensiveness of Boston's light rail and subway system, with lines going out into the suburbs, and commuter rail going even further, hitchhiking into Boston has a much larger margin of error than it would in many other US cities. One need only find a ride to somewhere in the vicinity of Boston, and from there hop on a train into the city.
Get around
Navigating the streets of Boston is difficult if you are not familiar with the area. While other American cities have their streets laid out in a grid (New York, Chicago, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Phoenix), or along a river, lake, or other geographical feature (New Orleans, Cleveland), the modern streets of Boston are a twisty and seemingly incomprehensible maze. Boston in the 1600s was a narrow peninsula surrounded by farmland and distant settlements. Landfill, urban expansion, waves of radical economic change, and new technologies have seen sensible street patterns added on to and collide in less sensible ways. Due to dense development, the older street patterns have largely remained in place without being adapted to their modern surroundings. In this way, Boston is more similar to old European cities than most typical large American cities that were well planned, expanded into unsettled land, or were mainly settled in the late 20th century."
This articol is release from Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0. It use material from Wikitravel voices: "Boston".
Public Transport Cities:
L - La Paz - Lagos - Lahore - Las Palmas - Las Vegas - Leipzig - Lille - Lisbon - Liverpool - Lyon - Lomè - London -
- Los Angeles - Luxembourg - Luxor -
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