From Boston College to Harvard

We will be staying by Boston College and want to go to Harvard. The
subway is right there, however an extremely long ride to get downtown
to change trains. Any better way? How much would a cab cost? Or
bus? Thanks

In article ,
(cpal) wrote:

We will be staying by Boston College and want to go to Harvard. The
subway is right there, however an extremely long ride to get downtown
to change trains. Any better way? How much would a cab cost? Or
bus? Thanks

I have no idea what a cab would cost, but the T (what Bostonians
refer to as their subway system) is by far your best option. A cab
is bound to be considerably more expensive and considering that
Boston traffic can be very heavy, is likely to be the slowest option.
I suppose you could go by bus, but why? Either way, you still have
to travel the same distance so why get stuck in Boston traffic when
you can slip below it in the T much faster and with a lot less hassle?

In article ,
Marcel Lachenmann wrote:

In article ,
"Shawn \"Me\" Hearn" wrote:

In article ,
(cpal) wrote:

We will be staying by Boston College and want to go to Harvard. The
subway is right there, however an extremely long ride to get downtown
to change trains. Any better way? How much would a cab cost? Or
bus? Thanks

I have no idea what a cab would cost, but the T (what Bostonians
refer to as their subway system) is by far your best option. A cab
is bound to be considerably more expensive and considering that
Boston traffic can be very heavy, is likely to be the slowest option.

More expensive, sure, but not likely slower. If they're
staying near Boston College, they are likely on the "B"
branch of the Green Line, which is by far the slowest
branch. It can easily take 40 minutes or more to get from
B.C. to Park St., where you then have to wait for a Red
Line train for the 10 minute ride to Harvard Sq. All in
all, it could take up to an hour. In fact, the T schedule
for this trip (starting at about 10:30a.m. on a weekday)
is 56 minutes -- which assumes no delays.

You could probably walk from B.C. to Harvard Square in
about the same amount of time. If a cab takes more than
25 minutes, even during rush hour, they've taken you for
a ride...

Depending on just _where_ near B.C. they will be staying,
they might be able to save some time by walking to a "D"
line stop. The D line is much faster than the B line (but
costs more $1.50 from Reservoir through Fenway inbound,
$3 at the Newton stations, while the B line only costs
the standard subway fare of $1.25). This might shave
10-15 minutes or so off the trip.

In contrast, a taxi will probably take about 10-15 minutes
total, but will cost about $12-14 plus tip.

However, to minimize both time and money, I'd guess that
a bus is the way to go. At the same time of day (10:30am),
the #86 bus makes the Cleveland Circle - Harvard Sq. trip
(the Comm. Ave. and Chestnut Hill Ave. stop is the closest
to B.C.) in only 17 minutes for $1, and the longest scheduled
running time is only 22 minutes -- you wouldn't even get
downtown on the B line in that amount of time.

Good point. In fact, I did that walk a few years ago. In nice weather,
the walk is quite enjoyable for those who don't mind hoofing it.

In article ,
cpal wrote:
We will be staying by Boston College and want to go to Harvard. The
subway is right there, however an extremely long ride to get downtown
to change trains. Any better way? How much would a cab cost? Or
bus? Thanks

It looks like a reasonable option would be to ride the Green Line a few
stops inbound (or walk) to Chestnut Hill Avenue, then take the #86 bus
(Cleveland Circle to Sullivan Square via Harvard). For a map and
schedule, go to

http://www.mbta.com/traveling_t/schedules_buses.asp

and choose route 86.

--
Jon Bell Presbyterian College
Dept. of Physics and Computer Science Clinton, South Carolina USA

(Jon Bell) wrote in message ...
In article ,
cpal wrote:
We will be staying by Boston College and want to go to Harvard. The
subway is right there, however an extremely long ride to get downtown
to change trains. Any better way? How much would a cab cost? Or
bus? Thanks

It looks like a reasonable option would be to ride the Green Line a few
stops inbound (or walk) to Chestnut Hill Avenue, then take the #86 bus
(Cleveland Circle to Sullivan Square via Harvard). For a map and
schedule, go to

http://www.mbta.com/traveling_t/schedules_buses.asp

and choose route 86.

Definitely.

Cleveland Circle's my old 'hood - definitely the best mass-transit
option (though not an aesthetically pleasing one) is to take the #86
bus or, if you're out having brunch in Coolidge Corner, the #66.

Bus fares are $.90 one way...(you can also use a token from subway
stations). I'd suggest keeping exact change on you - many bus drivers
look askance at paper bills.