« Travel - getting to Boston | Main | Other things to see and do »
March 31, 2004
Travel - around Boston
This is the place to ask questions about traveling within Boston and its surrounding area, including questions about using the T, Boston's public transportation and subway system.
Public transportation in and around Boston
The MBTA has an extensive web site at http://www.mbta.com/ including a number of trip planning tools at http://trip.mbta.com/cgi-bin/index.pl
Their general site index is at http://www.mbta.com/footer/sitemap/index.asp
Their “Tips for T-riders” is at http://www.mbta.com/traveling_t/usingthet_tips.asp
Each of the terminal stations has its own site and offers economical parking. Although long-term parking (a week or more) is not generally available, many do offer overnight parking for up to six days.
To get to the station information follow these links: "Traveling on the T" to "Schedules, Maps & Station Info" to "Subway," click on the line you want, then click on the individual stations for station information including parking rates and accessibility.
The T stations closest to the hotel and convention center
You can take any branch of the Green line to reach the convention area. The Copley stop is the one closest to the Marriott hotel, and is served by all of the branches. To get to the Hynes and Sheraton, which is just after the branch, you can go to either the Prudential stop (on line E) or the Hynes/CA stop (on lines B, C, and D). (There is no line A.)
Getting to/from Logan Airport
For information on using buses, accessible vans, limos, Logan Express, Logan Shuttle, MBTA subway and bus, rental cars, shared vans, trains, taxi, or water transportation, see Logan's transportation page at http://www.massport.com/logan/getti.html
March 31, 2004 | Permalink
Comments
Riverside allows at least seven days of overnight parking (possibly more). You have to pay for all your days in advance upon entering the lot. Then you are given a parking pass for each day, all of which must be left displayed on your dashboard for the durationof your stay.
T-fare from Riverside In-bound is twice as expensive as Alewife, BTW, and token sales are by machines which are sometimes cranky and don't want to take paper money. Bring lots of quarters and you'll be all set.
I've parked at Alewife overnight for up to five days. I believe the limit is seven. At Alewife, you pay for parking when you leave the garage, and there is a human being who will sell you tokens.
I'd reccommend buying inbound and outbound fares at the same time: Prudential, the closest stop to the Hynes/Sheraton (paradoxically closer than the the Hynes stop, and from which you can go directly into the Pru Mall without stepping outside, a plus in bad weather), doesn't have token sales. The conductors can take coins, however, and most will even accept dollars, but they can't make change.
Posted by: Sheila Perry | August 27, 2004 10:56 AM
Does the Riverside (Green Line) T station allow overnight/multi-day parking? The price looks good. The Alewife Garage (on the Red Line) has a sign saying "no longterm parking" but I never thought to ask for the definition of longterm. Alewife is also more expensive, and is often full on weekday mornings. It is covered, on the other hand.
Posted by: Cullen Crispen | August 26, 2004 08:58 PM
This seems to be a new site up at boston.com, mostly aimed at DNC visitors, but it would probably be good for us to use it too:
http://www.boston.com/travel/boston/
Posted by: Laurie Mann | July 20, 2004 10:42 AM
Tom -
I found the MBTA site confusing at first, too, which is why I included so many pointers to specific pages.
Since you're planning on going to MIT, let me highly recommend that you see Arthur Ganson's amazing kinetic sculptures, some of which are featured in an ongoing exhibit there. See http://www.arthurganson.com/pages/Sculptures.html for more information.
I'm still working on a list of things to see in and around Boston that will go under the "Other things to see and do" topic. I'll be sure to include the Freedom Trail and Faneuil Hall Market.
Posted by: Sheila Perry | March 12, 2004 01:34 PM
Sheila-
Thanks for the information! I figured out right after I posted that there was different fares for the T and the Commuter rail. Guess I got confused.
I plan on doing some tourist type stuff. I will be coming into Boston on Tuesday (week of convention) and really plan on Wednesday on walking the freedom trail and Faneuil Hall Marketplace. Also looking to get to MIT and go see the LOTR exhibit. Guess I'm really interested in the T pass because my hotel is a bit far from the convention, but really close to the T. (Long story-not for here!!).
Anyway, thanks again!
Posted by: Tom Kunsman | March 12, 2004 12:35 PM
The Shuttle
Although I haven't used it, it looks like you would take the Shuttle to Airport Station which is on the Blue Line.
Then you'd take the Blue Line to Government Center where you can change to the Green Line. There is no additional charge for this transfer between lines. (See the main entry for the various Green Line stops around the convention).
The Shuttle schedule is at: http://www.massport.com/logan/getti_typeo_logans.html
Airport Station's site is:
http://www.mbta.com/traveling_t/schedules_subway_stationinfo_b.asp?staname=Logan%20Airport
Fares and Passes
Subway fares are listed at: http://www.mbta.com/traveling_t/fares_subway.asp
Bus Fares: http://www.mbta.com/traveling_t/fares_buses.asp
Commuter Rail Fares: http://www.mbta.com/traveling_t/fares_commuterrail.asp
Comprehensive Fares List: http://www.mbta.com/contact_us/fares.asp
For information about which transfers are free and which require additional fares, see: http://www.mbta.com/traveling_t/schedules_buses_bustransfer.asp
Information on the different types of passes available is here: http://www.mbta.com/traveling_t/passes_special.asp#commuterrail
Which pass you want depends on how much you plan to use it. (Will you be doing lots of touristing?)
Notes: There different passes for using the commuter rail than for the buses and the subway. Many passes are restricted to certain stations and services. The weekly passes run Sunday to Saturday according to the calendar, so a Thursday to Monday stay would require two weekly passes that would have to be purchased separately (The current week's pass is sold Sunday through Wednesday. The following week's pass is sold on Thursday and Friday.)
Sales of Passes
Some passes can be purchased online (remember to be sure it's for the mode of transportation you need) at: http://commerce.mbta.com/
There's a "sales location finder" at: http://www.mbta.com/traveling_t/sales.asp (This will also tell you what kinds of payment are accepted at the sales locations listed. In most cases, cash only.) Visitor's passes seem to be the most widely available.
Airport Station is listed as "East Boston/Airport" in the left menu box.
Government Center is part of "Boston/at City Hall Plaza".
The Hynes Convention Center is part of "Boston/Back Bay".
Reduced Fares
You may be able to take advantage of the T's reduced fares for small children, high school students, senior citizens, persons with disablites or blindness. See the T's Reduced Fares page for more information: http://www.mbta.com/traveling_t/fares_reduced.asp
Hope this helps.
Posted by: Sheila Perry | March 12, 2004 10:57 AM
I was reading about the Logan Shuttle. I assume this will drop one off at the station at Logan airport for the T?
Is there a sales booth at the airport? I was thinking about getting a weekly pass for the T.
Would a 12 ride ticket be best , or is there another pass that I should get? How about the visitor pass???
Thanks!
Posted by: Tom Kunsman | March 11, 2004 12:21 PM
Thanks, Leslie. I've added your elaboration to the main entry.
Posted by: Sheila Perry | March 10, 2004 03:25 PM
To add to Sheila's item 4, you can actually take any branch of the Green line to reach the convention area. The Copley stop is the one closest to the Marriott hotel, and is served by all of the branches. To get to the Hynes and Sheraton, which is just after the branch, you can go to either the Prudential stop (on line E) or the Hynes/CA stop (on lines B,C, and D). (There is no line A.)
Posted by: Leslie Turek | March 9, 2004 06:53 AM
Some things to keep in mind when using the T:
1) Fares can be bought singly or with a monthly, weekly, or multi-fare pass. However you choose to go, be sure to get enough for your return trip, too. Although most stations have sales windows, some (including Prudential Station near the convention center) don’t. If you should find yourself at a station with no token sales, there are other nearby stations.
2) The subway lines are named after their color codes on the subway maps. Trains run in two direction: Inbound, which is toward the center of town, and Outbound which is away from the center.
3) The central stations are Government Center, State Street, Downtown Crossing, and Park Street. These are also the stations where you can change lines.
4) The Green line, which is the one that the convention center is on, has four sets of trains designated by letters; each letter services a different branch of the line. Be sure you get the right one.
5) The MBTA has an extensive web site at http://www.mbta.com/ including a number of trip planning tools at http://trip.mbta.com/cgi-bin/index.pl
Their general site index is at http://www.mbta.com/footer/sitemap/index.asp
Their “Tips for T-riders” is at http://www.mbta.com/traveling_t/usingthet_tips.asp
6) Each of the terminal stations has its own site and offers economical parking. Although long-term parking (a week or more) is not generally available, many do offer overnight parking for up to six days. To get to the station information follow these links: “Traveling on the T” to “Schedules, Maps & Station Info” to “Subway.” Click on the line you want, then click on the individual stations for station information including parking rates and accessibility.
7) The telephone contact information for the MBTA is:
MBTA Main Switchboard: 617-222-5000
Traveler's Information Center
(Route/Schedule Info.): 617-222-3200
Toll Free: 1-800-392-6100
Hearing Impaired: TTY (617) 222-5146
Customer Relations: 617-222-5215
Posted by: Sheila Perry | March 8, 2004 11:11 AM