Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

Seeing all the negative reviews, the first thing I am thinking is, why?

Sure, the trains are packed, but that is a good thing! That means people are using this system to the fullest, and I mean the fullest!

The Boston T (which I predominantly rode everywhere while in Boston) is the oldest subway system in the United States (even older than the New York City subway). It has three subway lines, the Red Line, the Blue Line, and the Orange Line, and one extensive light rail line, the Green Line (which acts like a subway downtown). There is also a commuter rail and a rapid bus service (the Silver Line), but I will be focusing on the T in this review.

The T is a first-generation subway, which for those that are unfamiliar, is a subway system that was built before the advancement of the automobile and the interstate highway system. This falls in line with three other subway networks in the United States; the aforementioned New York City Subway, the Chicago "El", and the SEPTA Subway. Each of these systems were built with extensive station stops to accommodate large groups inasmuch as there was not a way to do so before the 1940's and 1950's. That is why the train infrastructure is older, the trains more frequent, and stops are closer together. But it also explains why it is better than something say like, Atlanta's MARTA, or Washington, DC's Metro. Those two systems are second-generation subways, or systems built to supplement the automobile, rather than act like one. But back to the T.

I really liked the fact that they offer several passes to make it easy to travel without spending a lot of money. The maps are easy to understand, and connections are easy and fluid. If I had to nitpick on one thing I did not like, it was that the turnstiles are often broken, and that presented problems while trying to get into some of the stations. At least there were employees willing to assist at most of the stations where possible.

If you come to Boston, definitely do not plan on taking a car everywhere. Traffic stinks, parking is worse. Use the T.

To compare the MBTA bus system to that of a 3rd World country would be an insult to 3rd World countries. Pre-COVID you could stand on a corner on any given morning and watch 3 buses on the exact same route roll down the street back to back. No joke, 1 bus would be overflowing with people and the other 2 would be completely empty. Buses show up whenever they want, late, early, whenever the driver gets around to driving their route. If you live outside of Boston, Cambridge or Somerville good luck getting anywhere, and the city complains about all the cars on the road . And it's not like the T or Commuter Rail are much better either. They've clearly got a bunch of jokers running the MBTA.

The Ride.  By the MBTA.  The most impossible system ever.  Call their phone number(s).  You cannot get a live person.  After many days and many attempts, I finally was connected with a live person today.  She didn't even ask about putting me on hold ... I heard a computer voice say "please hold" and I was on hold again for over 20 minutes.  I have a full-time job and other things to manage.  I really cannot tell you how much time I have wasted trying to get help from The Ride.

When we have been forced to use them - out of necessity - my disabled Veteran husband sometimes requires rides, when I am not available - they are late to pick-up.  They are horrible about dropping him off in the right location.  If I had other choices, believe me, I would make them.  

In fact, I will be using Uber tomorrow, as I cannot get a hold of The RIde (I've been trying since last Thursday) to schedule a simple pick-up @ a location and drop-off @ home.  It's horrible.  If I ever do reach someone at The Ride (please, don't send me to their website, we cannot login to our account because "it's a new system" I was told via an email) I am going to ask for a full refund of any money that we may still have on the account.  

The Ride - you are a terrible excuse for a service that is supposed to help disabled, elderly, challenged people.  I really don't know how you get by with remaining in business.

Not to be confused with MBA Boston which if you're lucky will be from Harvard or MIT rather than Boston College or Community College.

These old trains in Boston will get you around and pretty close to a lot of the serious action which is an excellent element of them, although they are very old and very run down and they stop running kind of early.

I appreciate them, especially in cold weather, but then again Boston is very walkable so I'm not sure how totally necessary they are.

It's a great part of the city because a lot of cities bigger than Beantown don't have anything like this. The traffic in Boston is still pretty awful so this is an excellent alternative and if they were just a little bit more modern and less creaky and old then I would give him a higher rating.

Since my review of the MBTA in 2013, I have ridden the metros in Beijing, Istanbul, Madrid, Santiago, Porto and Taipei. All are leaps and bounds better than Boston's system. They are cleaner, they are cheaper, they are more efficient. Yeah, the T is the oldest underground subway in North America. And it shows in quite a few places. Those other lines are newer and they have the advantage of time. So I'll give it to Boston's T for still being here after this long.

And since five years ago when I wrote my review of the MBTA, I have been to each and every T station on the entire network from Oak Grove to Forest Hills, from Alewife to Ashmont and from Wonderland to Bowdoin. I've done every station on the Green Line and all the stations on the Mattapan trolley.

I have reviewed each of the four lines and linked each of my reviews here:

Orange Line - yelp.com/biz/orange-line…
Green Line - yelp.com/biz/green-line-…
Blue Line - yelp.com/biz/blue-line-m…
Red Line - yelp.com/biz/red-line-mb…

The MBTA is overseen by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (aka MassDOT) and the Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB). The FCMB board membership is appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts.

Keep up the good work. You're A-OK.

The worst transportation system for the handicapped and elderly that I have ever encountered.  
My blind 96 year old Mother had to wait two hours for this Mickey Mouse operation to bring her back to her Rehabilitation Facility. My Mother had a stroke and went to Boston to see a specialist and it turned out to be an all day affair back to her rehabilitation facility just waiting for THE RIDE.  It was just a good thing that my husband was with her because I am not sure where she would have ended up.
When they did finally arrive they did not have the bus so The Ride sent an ambulance to pick her up.  
Thank you very much for The Roller Coaster Ride

The MBTA's singular job is to disappoint you on a daily basis. They routinely excel at wasting your time and making you late. They are consistent, I will surely give them that. There has never been a service that shows as much of a disregard for their customers, and it is because they know that 95% of us depend on them and have no other viable option.

We were told to get off the train at Wellington and to take a shuttle bus to oak grove. After waiting for ten minutes with no shuttle, we are told that the train is now coming and to get back on. 15 minutes later, the train to oak grove arrives. So we sit on the train and wait, and wait, and wait... and 30 minutes later we finally start to move.

In summary, the MBTA is the greatest at being the worst. Knowing that their customers have no other choice, they exploit that fact to provide the worst possible service while still increasing their fares at a regular rate. If I could avoid taking the train ever again, I would be forever grateful. Unfortunately, I must face this nightmarish crapshoot of a service almost every single day.

Simple and easy to navigate. If you are a visitor this is the way to get around the city.  

Compared to other cities this system is pretty straightforward but unfortunately run down and in need of repair. Several stations had broken elevators which brings up that this is one of the most handicapped unfriendly subway systems I've ever seen. We had person who walks in other difficulty and the complete lack of elevators or even escalators is disappointing.

I have been to over 20 cities and more than 10 developed countries but I have never seen a worst transportation system like the Massachusetts train and bus system. I encourage and warn all visitors to rethink and be warned if they choose to come to Massachusetts or else go some other cities that are more organized . I am planning to move out of the state and number one reason is the frustrations I get every day when I am going to work ! This system should be privatized ..

Absolute dumpster fire of a transit system. I hope they're at least throwing some fun parties with my fare money because it sure as hell isn't going towards improving service.

Mongo clip coupon from newspaper = Mongo get one FREE subway! Mongo very happy. Who no like FREE subway?!? You no like FREE subway?!? Everybody like FREE subway!!!

Anywho, Mongo take coupon outside of Mongo hotel and ask a nice lady where is the subway? Nice lady point to at here. But Mongo no find FREE subway no where! Make Mongo very sad. Very sad. A Lot!

So sad Mongo feel like sing sad song...

"Mongo am"... Mongo said
To no one there
And no one heard at all
Not even the chair

"Mongo am"... Mongo cried
"Mongo am"... said Mongo
And Mongo am lost and Mongo can't
Even say why
Leavin' Mongo lonely still

(mic drop)

I don't even feel like giving any star.
I have lived in Boston for last 2 years and every year MBTA service has been declining.
On top of that they are increasing price on July.
Constantly Trains on standbys and let's not even talk about how bad his services are.
There is so much for them to improve.
People won't mind paying for the service but how can they increase price and keep providing mediocre service.

GARBAGE. ABSOLUTE WASTE. Charge upwards of $300 for a monthly pass that gets you constant delays and derailments. I wish I could give 0 stars.

Truly disappointing organization, one of the worst of a major US city.

There is lots to be said about the Green and Orange lines which are near constantly plagued with issues during the poor weather months.  Being a northern city, Boston ought to prepare for inclement weather like any other major city, yet it does not. Every winter you can count on multiple trains being out of service every day, causing delays "up to 15 minutes" which actually means at minimum 1 hour and probably longer.

Today their most modern line, the Blue line, had a signal failure which caused significant delays. They had 1 person on the platform providing no information, did not arrange for shuttle busses to deal with the thousands of commuters they inconvenienced, and knowing their service was down neglected to inform people of this until after they had swiped their card and paid for the ride.

Any other business that was run as poorly as the MBTA would have been run out of town on a rail decades ago, but here we are.

A major city should have:
Multiple T lines which reach most major neighborhoods outside the center of the city.
Transit systems which run on time within +-5 minutes of schedule
Transit system that can handle the expected 80-100 inches of snow each year Boston receives
Transit systems which are professionally managed so commuters are kept up to date about delays and screw ups.

Boston's MBTA can claim none of these. Its a failed agency and should be auctioned off to a more professional organization, and any who have had a say in its management over the last 2 decanes should be immediately fired and prevented from ever being employed in the public transportation sector in the future.

Sincerely,

A T'ed off Bostonian

The commuter rail trains are terribly outdated and often run 30 min - 1 hr late or more due to mechanical or switch issues. The app associated with the mbta supposedly lists up-to-date alerts, but the alerts are never updated to reflect estimated times that trains will arrive late, only a range like '30-50 min late' or unspecified. Even if a train is late by an hour, passengers still need to pay, which is ridiculous

Subways mostly run late, they don't even display the timing of the next train. When a subway is running once every 25 mins in rush hour traffic then neither it is worth the money nor it should be called a subway. A lot of third world countries have a better infrastructure. Only God knows where all the money goes.

The MBTA is a great choice of transportation if you want to make a 2.5 mile commute an hour operation

The MBTA is a complete disgrace!  I've been reading the reviews of how bad it is for the customers who depend on this system to get to work, school, Dr. appointments, etc. and I feel sorry for them.  
I want to warn anyone that was in the "MBTA Employment Lottery" to be advised that their human resource department, hiring personnel, and management need a total turnover. They are totally  incompetent!  
I was called and they told me my lottery number was picked to apply for a part time bus driver in fall of 2016, had to go to IBEW local 103 to take the test. I passed, was called in for an interview at 10 Park Plaza.  After the interview I was told I got the job! Filled out more paperwork to get my CDL permit, and got it. I was told that they would call me to start the training within a week. A week went by and no call. So I called to inquire about the status of my training start date. Receptionist had no clue, put me on hold forever, she finally got back to me to say that she would leave a message that I called and they would get back to me. Well... after 2 more weeks of me playing phone tag I never spoke to a person other than the receptionist.  Never heard one word about my "new job."
So February of 2017, they called me again to say that my MBTA lottery number was picked and wanted me to go take the test again. I told them my situation and was told to just come in again. So I did, now don't get me wrong, I was really optimistic about this when I got there and said to the person in charge what happened a few months earlier and she was like, "I have no idea how that could have happened. Anyways, the same exact thing happened again. I passed, went to interview, was told I got the job.  Total disgrace! I was so looking forward to work there, good pay, good benifits, belong to a union, all of it. But now, lol! Not so much, I'd be embarrassed to say I'm an MBTA worker. Worst management ever!

The train was backing up to the starting station after several stops. Are u kidding?!

MBTA has awful customer service.  My train broke down 35 minutes from my destination, I had to get out and get different means of transportation after multiple indefinite delay announcements.  Later, I found out that the train was permanently delayed.  They also have a new policy that if the train breaks down for any reason, mechanical, weather, track issues or if the train never leaves, etc....that THEY DON'T OFFER REFUNDS!!  Unbelievable to think of a company being able to charge for services they DO NOT EVEN PROVIDE, and having a BLANKET NO REFUND POLICY.  I created a claim requesting a refund (only for the ticket price) to help recover some of my rideshare cost, talked to a customer service agent, and even asked to talk to a supervisor which I was promised would call me within 24 hours...Wasn't surprised to never hear from them.

Two thumbs down...if this happens to anybody, please just dispute the MBTA charge via your credit card, they will refund you for failure to provide goods promised.