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Holy shi*t! That's a crazy modern looking station! All that purple and shinyness....makes things like the Green Line look like a pile of crap.

It still looks so weird to me to see a subway looking station with a bus in it...something I gotta get used to.

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I like buses. The only thing that makes them less than light rail/subways is the fact that service is slower since they operate in traffic. But, if you take away the traffic and create busways or bus tunnels then I'd say they're pretty even. Aren't buses cheaper to operate too?

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I like buses.  The only thing that makes them less than light rail/subways is the fact that service is slower since they operate in traffic.  But, if you take away the traffic and create busways or bus tunnels then I'd say they're pretty even.  Aren't buses cheaper to operate too?

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They must save a lot by not needing a signal system.

And the articulated buses look cooler in the Silver line stations than the short ones. What happens to the Silver line trolleys when they are replaced by the dual-mode articulated buses? Do they get painted yellow and replace the remaining older trackless trolleys on the 71 and 73 routes?

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What happens to the Silver line trolleys when they are replaced by the dual-mode articulated buses?  Do they get painted yellow and replace the remaining older trackless trolleys on the 71 and 73 routes?

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I believe so.

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  • 2 weeks later...

MBTA plan way off track

By Brian McGrory, Globe Columnist {sodEmoji.{sodEmoji.|}} July 15, 2005

"The geniuses running the MBTA have decided that of all the places in this big, beautiful city where they could build an entrance to a new Silver Line tunnel, the very best place they could find is this: along a narrow, congested street directly outside the front doors of one of the busiest emergency rooms in town. Good going. For sheer, unadulterated, government-funded lunacy, it doesn't get much better than this."

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachus..._way_off_track/

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  • 2 weeks later...

BLUEPRINTS {sodEmoji.{sodEmoji.|}} MBTA SILVER LINE

Historic ride

Panels at Washington Street bus stops tell the story of one of Boston's most important -- and most neglected -- thoroughfares

By Susan Diesenhouse, Globe Correspondent {sodEmoji.{sodEmoji.|}} July 27, 2005

'Sometimes waiting for a bus offers the mind time to meander. Now, riders on the new MBTA Silver Line along Washington Street in the South End will have something to focus on: 32 porcelain panels on eight bus station kiosks will, through photos and text, tell the history of this reviving boulevard.

''It's the most detailed historic narrative and visual exhibit on our system, created through the most extensive community involvement I've seen," said MBTA design director Barbara Boylan. Local historians, artists, writers, youth groups, architects, city and state agencies, and institutions like the Boston Public Library contributed about 1,000 volunteer hours to design and create the panels that preserve this thoroughfare's rich past.'

http://www.boston.com/realestate/articles/.../historic_ride/

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^ That's really cool. Simple things like that can really make waiting for the bus less of a hassle, and possibly increase ridership likelihood in the end. What I would give for something to stare at when I'm waitin for the bus...

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What are you talking about? There's plenty to stare at in Kennedy Plaza!  :alc:

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:rofl: If you stare too long though, you get into trouble...

I guess the next time I'm bored at the bus stop I could roll up a fatty in my RIPTA monthly pass. I bet it would serve me better that way.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

I rode the Silver Line from Logan to South Station. And this time it wasn't just for fun. I saw a couple friends off at the airport. Some observations:

It was crowded. Maybe this is because it is Columbus Day, but I am happy to see it heavily used nonetheless.

The boarding was very slow at WTC Station. People were paying as they boarded. Aren't they supposed to pay upstairs with tokens or passes before reaching the platform so the bus can just open the doors and let people in and out? One elderly passenger was holding up the bus as she argued about the proper fare for seniors.

The above ground turnaround the bus does between the Ted Williams Tunnel and the busway seems so inefficient. Why didn't the construction of the TW Tunnel and the busway include a more direct route for the Silver Line?

I'm starting to feel that Bus Rapit Transit would be good to replace some of the MBTA's busiest conventional bus routes. My feelings are mixed on an entirely new BRT subway.

If we give up Phase III of the Silver Line, I really hope the Washington branch becomes either green line above ground or Orange below, and that the Silver Line waterfront service is extended to Boylston.

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I think in general people are starting to learn about the Silverline and its direct service to Logan. I get that sense down here in RI.

From what I understand WTC station is not using the turnstyles yet since ridership isnt yet there to support staffing the station, I think in the future when the area is more developed and more people start using the station they will always use the turnstyles but until then I believe it will be the on-bus farebox.

I completely agree about the bus loop at the end of the busway, that is very inefficient as the buses have to then backtrack and cross right over part of the busway when they travel on city streets. They should have built a direct bus-only connection right into the Ted Williams Tunnel.

The MBTA was really forced to use BRT for this line because otherwise they would have had to have built a seperate transit only tunnel in the vicinity of the TWT to Logan which would have been a huge expense. I think it is smart having the underground portion through South Boston because when that area is a very dense neighborhood and there is heavy traffic on surface streets the buses (should) be able to speed along below ground. The problem is certainly that running buses in a narrow tunnel requires that they go slowly especially on turns and it is in tunnel where rail has the advantage. That said Seattle has a very successful bus tunnel almost identical to the Silver line Waterfront tunnel although they have just closed it for 2 years to add light rail tracks for joint light rail and bus use.

I'd be fine if they didnt build the Silver Line Phase III and put that huge amount of money to a more worthy transit improvement (like maybe Green Line light rail on Washington). Even better would be subway or elevated down Washington (as you mentioned) after all its only what 4-5 miles from downtown to Forest Hills? That would be perfect as a Orange Line branch.

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Hm. Thanks for the explanation of the use of the farebox at WTC. The station will be equipped with the automated Charlie Card system soon enough anyway.

Also, an elevated Orange Line on Washington Street must be out of the question, because that's what was town down in the 80s and is what the Silver Line replaces.

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I almost rode the Silver Line today to get the Commuter Rail to Providence, I ended up taking a Bonanza Bus straight from the airport instead, the Silver Line would have just added another link in long chain of connections I made today. I had no energy for it.

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  • 4 months later...

Not that Boston has a bad subway system, but the Silver Line was a mistake, IMO, only because they used buses rather than either a heavy rail or light rail subway. When the Fairmount line gets built from Readville to South Station, it will fill the void for another line in Boston. The Washington St corridor that the Silver Line uses will just be used for the regular bus lines. Another line I'd like to see is the Boston Urban Ring.

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