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MBTA Bus 86
Rating Details »
19 reviews for MBTA Bus 86
The Good:
- Gets me to where I am going. Even if only slightly quicker than walking might.
- Ensures I won't have to spend 45 minutes searching for parking in Harvard Square.
- Arrives near the scheduled time (according to website) between 50-75% of the time.
- No chance of getting caught up in traffic on Comm Ave.
- Bus drivers' annoyance with me occasionally paying in quarters.
The Bad:
- Waiting at the bus stop in front of Dunkin' Donuts on Market Street makes me feel like a pathetic crack whore.
- Where the hell are you the other 25-50% of the time?!
- Stuffed to the brim between 4:30 through 6:30 on weekdays.
This is an important line which travels faster then green line. On a good day.
But this bus mostly has bad days, and it is:
-late
-doesn't show up at all
-crowded
But then there are those magic times when everything goes according to plan, and GASP, you arrive at your destination on time. Im torn.
Ah, MBTA 86. You rarely come on time, and the first time I took you we went the wrong way, because you never seem to have signs up. Waiting nearly 50 minutes for you to show up when I had to go less than 4 blocks was heartbreaking (I had heavy furniture, k?).
But today! Today you get a gold star. Specifically operator 1470, who waited patiently for me to load my bike onto the rack, which I had never done before, and was even kind enough to suggest I turn it around as I had put it on backwards. When I got to my destination, she again patiently waited for me to get it off and put it back up, all with a smile on her face. Not to mention, you were delightfully on time and pulled up mere minutes after I got to the stop.
Many thanks to you, dear lady, and to the 86 line!
This bus has been on time every day the past 3 weeks, regardless of time of day. I am shocked and amazed - and pissed that I totally just jinxed it, didn't I?
DAMN
This bus takes me to Cambridge faster than the green line ever could. I work in Kendall Square and live near Cleveland Circle so it's a difficult commute. The green line B + redline takes 45-50 minutes and the 86 + red line to kendall takes about 35 minutes. To go to Harvard Square takes 15 minutes. However, I never take this home. After the few times I tried it in late summer '08 I realized that it never comes on time. Also, the frequency drops to 2 per hour after 6:30pm. So if you're okay with waiting half an hour, then that's fine. But Boston is cold and I'm happy going through Back Bay and Allston at night on the Green Line.
The mornings are great, very punctual. I just wish the frequency was more than 2-3 per hour in the 9am to 11am range. The crowd is students, immigrants, and professionals, with not many sketchy characters. The drive to Harvard is actually pretty relaxing and quick. The other good thing about taking it into Harvard is that it goes into the terminal with the redline, so it's a quick transfer without having to face the weather. Coming home you gotta wait outside across from Chahlie's Kitchen.
I take this bus frequently to get back and forth to school and other places. It doesn't come every 15 minutes, but you start to learn what times it does come. Sometimes it's longer, some days it is every 15 minutes. It's not usually packed full of people, and the drives always seem to be nice. I wouldn't say it sucks completely. I get to school on time, 98% of the time.
The only thing that totally sucks is waiting at Res Station for the bus. If you don't catch it at the right time you will and can be waiting there for a half hour and sometimes longer. There are occasions you will only have to wait 15 minutes after just missing the last one.
Gets me from point A to point B quickly. That's what it's there for, right?
Nice drivers, again; speedy. Usually on time, which is huge to me.
I love Boston's T setup. At first I was petrified, but then it took no longer than a day to figure out the system.
Coming from a place with no more than one taxi for the 30 mile area surrounding, this is huge.
So thanks public trans once again!
*WINK!*
I don't hate you 86, but I don't really like you either. I love how you can get me to Harvard Square in 20 minutes and Union Square in 30. You're usually on time, at least at the beginning of your run. Traffic slows you down way too much and any posted times at Harvard Square can be anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes off. I know, I know, it's not your fault, but it still makes me angry.
What does make me angry is that on Friday nights, you think it's a good idea to allow an hour to span between scheduled buses. Before the last schedule change, there was one scheduled in between these two times, now there isn't! What's the deal with that? I don't like waiting 45 minutes for the bus in Harvard Square because I just missed the previous one by 10 minutes.
But, you get me where I need to go with a stop right next to my building way faster than a Red + Green line trip could ever attempt. Hell, you're so convenient that our friends almost got pulled over after pulling an illegal turn and zipping at 45 MPH through the Memorial Hall driveway after we spied the orange glow of your sign on Kirkland Street in Cambridge just so they wouldn't have to drive us all the way home. That must say something good about you.
The 86 gets to me Harvard Square in half the time it takes the green/red lines. However, it negates this by running sporadically. The drivers are usually really friendly, however!
I love it, but I don't. Also, it kinda smells!
A few weeks ago, I officially gave up on the 66 bus. As such, my next best option was the 86, which actually COMES when it's supposed to, give or take a few minutes, which I'm willing to overlook given that the 66's schedule is more along the lines of "give or take a half hour." It's hardly ever crowded going into Harvard Square in the mornings. It's irritating that it only comes ever 15 mintues during rush hour and half hour most other times, but I'm guessing that's one of the reasons it does come when it's supposed to and doesn't do that pain in the ass, three buses in a row, no buses for a half hour thing...
In short, it could be better, but most are LOADS worse.
F you, 86.
You are the worst bus line ever. You come infrequently-- only every 30 minutes in off-peak hours, and every 45-60 on the weekends. You are irregular, sometimes showing up, sometimes not. You never know what's in that damn pinata. You've made me walk from Union Square to Harvard in desperation more times than is appropriate, and that's a long damn walk.
Your inexcusable infrequency and constant tardiness are made that much more miserable given that you are one of Union Square residents' only modes of public transport. Even though you can't be a real Line, or even a fake Line a la Silver, you could at least be a better damn bus. I would like to ask for an upgrade to the double-decker buses with nice seating options like the 73 but I wouldn't dare.
I've heard you're no better on the other end of your route. I once saw you in Allston and I freaked out. You need to shorten your route or add more buses. Or both. Or, you could die, and we could all hope you would be reborn a Phoenix in any of the forms I listed above.
You get a pity star just for existing, but that's it. I am so fed up with you.
I used to live on this bus line.
It sucked.
I'm about to live on this bus line again.
I'm about to cry.
Luckily, there are two other busses that stop in front of my [hopefully] new place that are apparently dependable, which is good because the 86 shows up when it damn well feels like it, if it feels like it at all. The drivers are rude, the fellow passengers are pissed (probably because they had to wait the same two hours i did for this POS to show up), and if you don't get stuck in traffic it's a miracle.
Seriously, walk before you take the 86, you'll get there faster and you might even burn off a few of the donuts you've already eaten waiting for this pathetic excuse for mass transit to show up.
hey 86- YOU SUCK
As far as exercises in pure undiluted exasperation go, waiting for the eternally tardy 86 is a nearly zenlike experience. It's frustration frustrated, and then raised to the frustrated-th degree. Godot is more punctual than you, Bus Route 86.
And yet, I cannot give you a withering 1 star review, if only because you do spare me the horrorshow that is the claustrophobic crawl of the 70. Going up one stop to Harvard and waiting 45 minutes for a bus which may or may not ever come is totally worth the extra time, compared to hellride that awaits in Central.
Plus, it has helped me immeasurably hone my patience to something approaching godly.
And plus, it affords me a good number of LOLz doing some observational work on Hipsters waiting for the 66 at the same bus stop, without having to actually get on the 66 with them.
Bus Route 86: you do not fail at life, but only barely...
I wish it would run more frequently and I wish it was a loop (definitely ended up in Sullivan Square instead of Reservoir at midnight before...), but it gets me to Harvard Square in about 15-20 minutes, which is a lot more than the Green+Red lines can say. It'd be nice if bus stops were marked better in general.
I'm not sure why more BC students don't know about this bus, but if you go to BC/are in the Cleveland Circle area and want to get over to Cambridge, do yourself a favor - check the bus schedule and save yourself 45 minutes and $0.50. In my experience, the bus has left exactly (almost to the point of annoyance) on time from Reservoir.
Dear 86 bus,
While you are mediocre at best, I decide to give you 3 stars because you get me where I need to be. Even though I can get to Brighton center faster walking than waiting for you to come, I'm lazy, so I wait. It's helpful that you can get me to Harvard Square, and Sullivan Station, but not much else. Extra point because my stop is a 2 minute walk from my house.
Love,
Amanda H.
P.S. Learn how to be on time. I do not like waiting an extra 20 minutes in the freezing cold.
P.P.S Learn how to be on time. I do not like walking up to my stop to see you riding on by 15 minutes early.
ah, my sketchy get home from Harvard Square back up. The driver is usually pretty nice albeit speedy and the crowd has a smaller percentage of hipsters and sketchballs than the 66. Generally a good sign. I do often opt not to take this line however as it seems to also be frequented by people that I've gone on awkward dates with. No one likes the wierd silent wave, shrug, and ensuing small talk bus ride.
I like you better than the 66 even though, you let me out one stop before my 66 does...I just like you a lil better.
I give it three stars because it stops a block from my house and usually gets me to Harvard Sq in 15 minutes. If I could subtract all stars for how many times it left me waiting in the cold for ages at Harvard Sq I would. It seems to run on schedule heading to Harvard, but from Sullivan to Harvard it is a disaster.
The 86 drove past me and several others this morning while we waited at the bus stop. It wasn't an express bus -- I had watched it pull up to the stop before mine. It also wasn't full. If you have complaints about MBTA service, you can call 617-222-5215. I doubt it does any good to call -- it's not like they're going to say, "oh, this random person is upset. Let's review our staffing and procedural practices and engage in a major overhaul of services!" but at least you get to make an MBTA employee's life a little more miserable, just like they did for you. Of course, the person you call isn't the one who wronged you, but surely there's some sort of karmic distribution of misery involved.