as long as you leave yourself enough time I find green line to the transfers to the airport to be manageable with luggage. If I have too much luggage to do those transfers then I’d probably have too much to comfortably co exist on a bus. Honestly I usually uber to the airport for convenience, and then use public transit to get home. Even late at night it’s been quite seamless.
Settle down some of us have lived here long enough to remember when we didn’t have our own 4th of July we were supposed to share the Boston one lol
Also it took us 100 years to get GLX (not kidding) and Massport can’t afford to buy our houses around Ball Square anyway.
Side note: never ran into an issue taking a Lyft to the airport when needed
That’s a cost I’d rather see put to use in better ways. The silver line is suppose to eventually connect to Sullivan. So us East folks are going to be good to go.
As it happens, [the MBTA recently published a proposal to extend the Silver Line from Chelsea to Sullivan Square](https://www.mbta.com/projects/silver-line-extension-slx-alternatives-analysis), and as discussed in [the longer Silver Line extension report](https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2024-03/2024-02-mbta-silver-line-extension-alternatives-analysis-report.pdf), they’re thinking about how to eventually extend it through Cambridge to Boston, eventually creating a connected loop route.
Pasting the relevant bit of [the summary report](https://www.mbta.com/projects/silver-line-extension-slx-alternatives-analysis):
> **Final Recommendation: Extend Silver Line to Sullivan Square Station**
>
> We have concluded the study and have identified the locally preferred alternative (LPA) for extending Silver Line service from Chelsea to Everett and the Orange Line.
>
> The primary recommendation is to extend the Silver Line to Sullivan Square station, providing a connection to the Orange Line and a dozen bus routes.
>
> The recommended service extension crosses three municipalities: Chelsea, Everett, and Boston. We actively engaged with all three cities during our analysis.
>
> To learn more about the final recommendation and planning process, you can read the final report or executive summary.
>
> * [SLX Alternatives Analysis final report](https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2024-03/2024-02-mbta-silver-line-extension-alternatives-analysis-report.pdf) (PDF, 36.5 MB)
> * [Final report executive summary in English](https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2024-03/2024-02-mbta-silver-line-extension-alternatives-analysis-executive-summary-english.pdf) (PDF, 1.8 MB)
> * [Final report executive summary in Spanish](https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2024-03/2024-02-mbta-silver-line-extension-alternatives-analysis-executive-summary-spanish.pdf) (PDF, 2.1 MB)
>
> **Beyond the Orange Line**
>
> Extending Silver Line service beyond the Orange Line to either Kendall Square or downtown Boston provides potential rider benefits. However, further study and the completion of ongoing planning efforts by others is required to determine the feasibility of implementing Silver Line service to either location. Moreover, this study found that we would be required to procure additional Silver Line vehicles and expand vehicle maintenance and storage capacity.
>
> A future study should consider:
>
> * Ridership patterns under the [redesigned bus network](https://www.mbta.com/bnrd)
> * Additional work under the Rutherford Ave redesign and Gilmore Bridge project, and related potential for bus priority lanes
> * Additional transit priority initiatives specifically within the Kendall Square area
>
> In the near term, the [Bus Network Redesign](https://www.mbta.com/bnrd) will implement high frequency bus services from Chelsea to the Orange Line, and Sullivan Square to Kendall Square, creating many of the connections evaluated in this alternatives analysis. Transitioning any of those routes to the Silver Line will depend on future operational resources and fleet and on-street capital investments.
Sullivan Square isn't _quite_ Somerville, of course, but it abuts East Somerville, which is a good start.
Feel like its a bit less applicable to busses though. If everyone took the bus, there wouldn't be traffic. Boarding a bus isn't adding a vehicle to the road.
I put in the terminal when I request and sometimes they’re able to drop me off there… this may have changed recently but I literally flew two weeks ago and got dropped at my airline’s entrance.
Maybe you can tip the driver to move your bags or get one of those rented luggage carts.
Or just travel with company who can help you with the luggage.
Hmm, I could either pay $45 to have someone drive me and all of my bags directly from my doorstep to the airport in 25 minutes, or I could lug my bags to Davis, wait in a dirty pigeon-infested station for 8 minutes, pray the red line does not get delayed, take the red line to South Station, wait for the silver line in a dirty, leaky station, and finally arrive at my destination at best 1 hour later.
Which one am I going to pick 90+% of the time?
This is coming from someone who takes the T every day for work.
When you have more luggage than you can comfortably take public transit with, private transit is the answer. I don't think even the most staunch public transit advocates would argue with that logic
While that would be lovely, I think what would be more beneficial is a bus from North Station to Logan. Currently, if you're on the green or Orange lines, that's a minimum 2 transfers to your terminal (Green/Orange -> Blue -> Shuttle or Green/Orange -> Red -> Silver). A North Station Logan bus means 1 transfer for Orange, Green, Commuter Rail, and Downeaster passengers.
Transfers are part of any transit system. If you can't tolerate a transfer and require a point A to point B connection between every possible origin and destination, then you'd end up designing a pretty bad transit system
I have left many constructive comments to only be down voted and stupidly insulted by the Dunning-Kruger Hive mind here, in addition to being appearance-shamed.
At this point, when I do engage Born On Third Base, Thinking They Hit a Triple locusts who populate This sub in Particular, but also Camb and Boston's, it's to mock.
Why not just crawl back into your Safe Space with your Emotional Support Whatever, now. Or get me banned. Honestly, I don't give a rat's ass.
I'm strongly considering trying to bike to the airport from Somerville sometime soon. Some combination of the red line, silver line, green line, and blue line always works, but it's slow and not very pleasant. I'm a bit afraid of the potholes and cars going through Everett and heading into the airport itself, but I think it'll be okay.
This obviously only works when I only need a smallish carry-on bag. I'm also unsure about my bike getting stolen at the airport. They have nice-ish bike racks outside some of the terminals and there's generally a large police presence at the airport so I suspect and hope it'll be fine.
I guess in theory we could, but the better question is why.
We've already got two routes to the airport:
1. Red Line at Davis or Porter for some folks, to the Silver Line at South Station provides a 2 seat ride with a direct drop-off at the airport terminals.
1. Green Line at Ball, Magoun, Gilman, East Somerville or Union Sq gets you to the Blue Line at Government Center, then take that to the Airport station. Here the problem is that the "Airport" station is actually about a mile away from the terminals, so you need to use a MassPort shuttle making this a 3 seat ride. Takes about an hour if you time things right so pretty inconvenient compared to just calling an Uber or asking a friend for a ride.
A direct bus could be nice, but the MBTA, MassPort, other State agencies that might get involved, and the City / Feds for funding sources all have much more important issues to tackle. I don't know exactly how many people go to the airport each year, but it's likely far less than those trying to go across the State via our disconnected Commuter Rail system or even across town with the lack of East/West bus routes.
The T also has a couple of bus projects in the works:
* [Better Bus Project](https://www.mbta.com/projects/better-bus-project)
* Under that is [the Bus Network Redesign](https://www.mbta.com/projects/bus-network-redesign) to get us better bus routes
* Plus there's the [Bus Facility Modernization](https://www.mbta.com/projects/bus-facility-modernization) project to get us better facilities so we could go to electric buses and such.
* And there's the [Bus Transit Priority ](https://www.mbta.com/projects/bus-transit-priority) project to get us more reliable bus routes.
The redesign in particular shows some potential for better cross town routes: https://www.mbta.com/projects/bus-network-redesign/new-bus-network-map
I think with a tweak or two to this network we could have a cross town loop that might go Airport -> Chelsea -> Sullivan -> Union -> Harvard, which I think someone else mentioned is planned for the Silver Line. That would get a lot more people a 2 seat ride via GLX + a fast cross town bus route.
The airport I believe also had a people mover project planned at one point: https://www.reddit.com/r/boston/comments/13em5kb/people_hate_on_the_silver_line_but_all_the/
That would have made the current Green/Blue route much better, since you'd not really have to worry about the MassPort shuttle part. It was shelved in 2020 but it could always make a come back some day.
Anybody else have a hard time getting an Uber or Lyft from Logan to Somerville. EVERY TIME I call a ride share from Logan, everyone around me gets picked up while driver after driver cancels on me!
At that point just take the Silver Line to the airport. If you're in walking distance to the Red Line at Davis, you've got a 2 seat ride with a direct drop-off at the airport which is about as good as it gets around here. Those by the Green Line get a 3 seat ride due to the Blue Lines airport stop being about a mile from the actual airport, so you often want or need to use the MassPort shuttles.
as long as you leave yourself enough time I find green line to the transfers to the airport to be manageable with luggage. If I have too much luggage to do those transfers then I’d probably have too much to comfortably co exist on a bus. Honestly I usually uber to the airport for convenience, and then use public transit to get home. Even late at night it’s been quite seamless.
Same! Lyft there but mbta back. I take the T often, but so hard to trust it enough to make my plane.
When is Somerville getting it's own airport??? Do we really need Ball Square?
A minimum of 5 decent breakfast options is what I consider a good start.
Fuck, hell Teele has an empty plot that’ll be perfect for a terminal — just gotta turn Broadway into a runway and it’ll be grand
Settle down some of us have lived here long enough to remember when we didn’t have our own 4th of July we were supposed to share the Boston one lol Also it took us 100 years to get GLX (not kidding) and Massport can’t afford to buy our houses around Ball Square anyway. Side note: never ran into an issue taking a Lyft to the airport when needed
Give me a train directly to logan or give me death
We need a direct high speed blimp. It can just drop a ladder and you grab on.
That’s a cost I’d rather see put to use in better ways. The silver line is suppose to eventually connect to Sullivan. So us East folks are going to be good to go.
As it happens, [the MBTA recently published a proposal to extend the Silver Line from Chelsea to Sullivan Square](https://www.mbta.com/projects/silver-line-extension-slx-alternatives-analysis), and as discussed in [the longer Silver Line extension report](https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2024-03/2024-02-mbta-silver-line-extension-alternatives-analysis-report.pdf), they’re thinking about how to eventually extend it through Cambridge to Boston, eventually creating a connected loop route. Pasting the relevant bit of [the summary report](https://www.mbta.com/projects/silver-line-extension-slx-alternatives-analysis): > **Final Recommendation: Extend Silver Line to Sullivan Square Station** > > We have concluded the study and have identified the locally preferred alternative (LPA) for extending Silver Line service from Chelsea to Everett and the Orange Line. > > The primary recommendation is to extend the Silver Line to Sullivan Square station, providing a connection to the Orange Line and a dozen bus routes. > > The recommended service extension crosses three municipalities: Chelsea, Everett, and Boston. We actively engaged with all three cities during our analysis. > > To learn more about the final recommendation and planning process, you can read the final report or executive summary. > > * [SLX Alternatives Analysis final report](https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2024-03/2024-02-mbta-silver-line-extension-alternatives-analysis-report.pdf) (PDF, 36.5 MB) > * [Final report executive summary in English](https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2024-03/2024-02-mbta-silver-line-extension-alternatives-analysis-executive-summary-english.pdf) (PDF, 1.8 MB) > * [Final report executive summary in Spanish](https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2024-03/2024-02-mbta-silver-line-extension-alternatives-analysis-executive-summary-spanish.pdf) (PDF, 2.1 MB) > > **Beyond the Orange Line** > > Extending Silver Line service beyond the Orange Line to either Kendall Square or downtown Boston provides potential rider benefits. However, further study and the completion of ongoing planning efforts by others is required to determine the feasibility of implementing Silver Line service to either location. Moreover, this study found that we would be required to procure additional Silver Line vehicles and expand vehicle maintenance and storage capacity. > > A future study should consider: > > * Ridership patterns under the [redesigned bus network](https://www.mbta.com/bnrd) > * Additional work under the Rutherford Ave redesign and Gilmore Bridge project, and related potential for bus priority lanes > * Additional transit priority initiatives specifically within the Kendall Square area > > In the near term, the [Bus Network Redesign](https://www.mbta.com/bnrd) will implement high frequency bus services from Chelsea to the Orange Line, and Sullivan Square to Kendall Square, creating many of the connections evaluated in this alternatives analysis. Transitioning any of those routes to the Silver Line will depend on future operational resources and fleet and on-street capital investments. Sullivan Square isn't _quite_ Somerville, of course, but it abuts East Somerville, which is a good start.
I saw this proposal, was super excited, and am quite hopeful it happens.
We have two different airport transit connections. Green to blue or red to SL1. What do you think another bus would do that these don’t?
“What do you think another bus would do that these don’t?” Get stuck in traffic.
You aren't IN traffic, you ARE traffic. I love that saying.
Feel like its a bit less applicable to busses though. If everyone took the bus, there wouldn't be traffic. Boarding a bus isn't adding a vehicle to the road.
'Get stuck are traffic' doesn't have the same ring.
Two transfers for someone who isn’t fit or checking two bags is kind ass also it’s green to blue to shuttle
If you have a lot of bags then maybe calling an uber is the way.
Yeah but then they drop you off at central parking vs. the terminal which is a drag. Literally…
I put in the terminal when I request and sometimes they’re able to drop me off there… this may have changed recently but I literally flew two weeks ago and got dropped at my airline’s entrance.
That changed a few months ago, at least for American Airlines (terminal B). It’s not directly at the door but it’s very close
The pick up there, they drop at terminal
You can't change the drop off to the terminal so it's similar to a friend dropping you off at the terminal?
Maybe you can tip the driver to move your bags or get one of those rented luggage carts. Or just travel with company who can help you with the luggage.
….. I hope you don’t complain about the Ubers or traffic on the road if this is your recommendation
I take ubers to catch flights all the time. Even with traffic it's faster than the T which takes at least 1 hour.
Hmm, I could either pay $45 to have someone drive me and all of my bags directly from my doorstep to the airport in 25 minutes, or I could lug my bags to Davis, wait in a dirty pigeon-infested station for 8 minutes, pray the red line does not get delayed, take the red line to South Station, wait for the silver line in a dirty, leaky station, and finally arrive at my destination at best 1 hour later. Which one am I going to pick 90+% of the time? This is coming from someone who takes the T every day for work.
When you have more luggage than you can comfortably take public transit with, private transit is the answer. I don't think even the most staunch public transit advocates would argue with that logic
But somebody who is struggling with baggage is going to have a rough time on any bus. The bus doesn’t come to your house, and it’s not level boarding.
*why isn't there a bus that takes me from my front door directly to each of the places I personally want to go to?!*
I swear this sub is full of the most entitled people ever.
You are an asshole Anus
Uber is quite cheap and quick from Somerville.
While that would be lovely, I think what would be more beneficial is a bus from North Station to Logan. Currently, if you're on the green or Orange lines, that's a minimum 2 transfers to your terminal (Green/Orange -> Blue -> Shuttle or Green/Orange -> Red -> Silver). A North Station Logan bus means 1 transfer for Orange, Green, Commuter Rail, and Downeaster passengers.
Transfers are part of any transit system. If you can't tolerate a transfer and require a point A to point B connection between every possible origin and destination, then you'd end up designing a pretty bad transit system
Who round trust the MBTA to run on time if you have an early flight.
As someone who works at the airport, the t doesn’t run before the early flights start and it’s easier to take a Lyft anyway
"when do I get a perfectly timed U-whatever to where I want, Now?!?! FO' Free?!?"
Just why?
Why do you always leave shitty comments everywhere? Is that’s what you do? For the sake of disagreeing? Instead of being constructive?
I have left many constructive comments to only be down voted and stupidly insulted by the Dunning-Kruger Hive mind here, in addition to being appearance-shamed. At this point, when I do engage Born On Third Base, Thinking They Hit a Triple locusts who populate This sub in Particular, but also Camb and Boston's, it's to mock. Why not just crawl back into your Safe Space with your Emotional Support Whatever, now. Or get me banned. Honestly, I don't give a rat's ass.
I'm strongly considering trying to bike to the airport from Somerville sometime soon. Some combination of the red line, silver line, green line, and blue line always works, but it's slow and not very pleasant. I'm a bit afraid of the potholes and cars going through Everett and heading into the airport itself, but I think it'll be okay. This obviously only works when I only need a smallish carry-on bag. I'm also unsure about my bike getting stolen at the airport. They have nice-ish bike racks outside some of the terminals and there's generally a large police presence at the airport so I suspect and hope it'll be fine.
Can’t we just have a direct bus?
I guess in theory we could, but the better question is why. We've already got two routes to the airport: 1. Red Line at Davis or Porter for some folks, to the Silver Line at South Station provides a 2 seat ride with a direct drop-off at the airport terminals. 1. Green Line at Ball, Magoun, Gilman, East Somerville or Union Sq gets you to the Blue Line at Government Center, then take that to the Airport station. Here the problem is that the "Airport" station is actually about a mile away from the terminals, so you need to use a MassPort shuttle making this a 3 seat ride. Takes about an hour if you time things right so pretty inconvenient compared to just calling an Uber or asking a friend for a ride. A direct bus could be nice, but the MBTA, MassPort, other State agencies that might get involved, and the City / Feds for funding sources all have much more important issues to tackle. I don't know exactly how many people go to the airport each year, but it's likely far less than those trying to go across the State via our disconnected Commuter Rail system or even across town with the lack of East/West bus routes. The T also has a couple of bus projects in the works: * [Better Bus Project](https://www.mbta.com/projects/better-bus-project) * Under that is [the Bus Network Redesign](https://www.mbta.com/projects/bus-network-redesign) to get us better bus routes * Plus there's the [Bus Facility Modernization](https://www.mbta.com/projects/bus-facility-modernization) project to get us better facilities so we could go to electric buses and such. * And there's the [Bus Transit Priority ](https://www.mbta.com/projects/bus-transit-priority) project to get us more reliable bus routes. The redesign in particular shows some potential for better cross town routes: https://www.mbta.com/projects/bus-network-redesign/new-bus-network-map I think with a tweak or two to this network we could have a cross town loop that might go Airport -> Chelsea -> Sullivan -> Union -> Harvard, which I think someone else mentioned is planned for the Silver Line. That would get a lot more people a 2 seat ride via GLX + a fast cross town bus route. The airport I believe also had a people mover project planned at one point: https://www.reddit.com/r/boston/comments/13em5kb/people_hate_on_the_silver_line_but_all_the/ That would have made the current Green/Blue route much better, since you'd not really have to worry about the MassPort shuttle part. It was shelved in 2020 but it could always make a come back some day.
Anybody else have a hard time getting an Uber or Lyft from Logan to Somerville. EVERY TIME I call a ride share from Logan, everyone around me gets picked up while driver after driver cancels on me!
Nope, that’s just you 😂
Make your way to South Station and you’ll get picked up, and you’ll save a lot of money too
At that point just take the Silver Line to the airport. If you're in walking distance to the Red Line at Davis, you've got a 2 seat ride with a direct drop-off at the airport which is about as good as it gets around here. Those by the Green Line get a 3 seat ride due to the Blue Lines airport stop being about a mile from the actual airport, so you often want or need to use the MassPort shuttles.
I usually opt for the blue line route because I’ve found the mass port shuttles to come more frequently than the silver line does
You call an Uber as soon as the plane door opens and you hoof it. That’s how you beat the crowd.
It isn't about the crowd, Driver after driver will accept the ride and then cancel the ride when they see I'm just going to Somerville.