I grew up in DC and had to take public transportation to get to junior high and high school, just a bus for JH and a bus to the subway for HS. I thought that the public system in DC was really pretty good. The bus line I lived off of was not a major one but you still never had to wait that long for a bus. And the subway is pretty clean and really fast, though the trains get really crowded sometimes. There really were not many places I could not easily get to via the public system down there. Back then it was a little cheaper than it is now, but still seems like it cost a good amount. The subway down there is both distance and time of day dependent for how much it costs.
Compare that to up here. I now live on the North Shore, a commuter train ride from Boston. The train into the city is not cheap, $4.50 from where I am, and then you have to pay for the T or a bus once you're in there. And that rate is going up... If I want to go to the North End or Faneuil Hall, it's not bad, but once you start having to get somewhere non-touristy, it gets a lot harder on the T. Take my commute to work. If I want to get to work on the T, I have to take the train to North Station, get on the Green or Orange line to the Red line, take that to Harvard or Porter, then get on a bus out Mass Ave. to Arlington. It could easily take 2 hours and costs about $6.65 each way. Or I can drive down 128 to Burlington, take 2A to Arlington and be there in about 35 minutes. Probably costs about $3 or so in gas and "usage" of the car. That's the problem with the T here, it's easy to use if you either live right near it or want to go somewhere that it's meant to service well. I used to live in Dorchester a short walk from Fields Corner, and I used the red line all the time when I lived there. Service was so-so and you NEVER knew if the trains were running regularly or going to be late (unless it was so bad that they were bussing...). In good weather I'd usually just ride my bike if I needed to get into town, that was usually about the same amount of time travel-wise.
So, to summarize, I don't think the T is actually that bad cost wise, but unless you live in a convenient location, it's not that great for getting around on (at least compared to DC in my experience).

• How would you rate your public transporation system?, NickR, Fri, 24 Feb 2006 13:47:30
  • Re: Kind of long response..., AeroDave, Sat, 25 Feb 2006 12:38:12 <-- Viewing This Message
    • My experience, too., Noel, Sat, 25 Feb 2006 16:10:52
  • Re: your public transporation system?, Railhead , Sat, 25 Feb 2006 01:15:03
    • Re: your public transporation system?, Mitch, Sat, 25 Feb 2006 11:20:38
  • Houston? Are you serious?, Drew in Houston, Fri, 24 Feb 2006 19:55:19
  • Re: How would you rate your public transporation system, biggerbox, Fri, 24 Feb 2006 19:41:31
  • Re: How would you rate your public transporation system, Paul'sAero, Fri, 24 Feb 2006 18:01:29
  • Don't have it, but I used to ride the T, especially, Noel, Fri, 24 Feb 2006 15:23:42
  • What public transportation?, Wil W , Fri, 24 Feb 2006 15:01:30
  • $1.55 they say..., turrbo , Fri, 24 Feb 2006 14:25:56
  • Chicago's is dirty but cheap&reliable, michael p, Fri, 24 Feb 2006 14:19:16
    • Vancouver Canada, PB, Sat, 25 Feb 2006 09:42:10

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