86 (MBTA bus)
86 | |
---|---|
Overview | |
System | MBTA bus |
Garage | Somerville Garage[1] |
Route | |
Locale | Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville, Massachusetts |
Start | Sullivan Square station |
End | Reservoir station (Cleveland Circle) |
Length | 6.79 miles (10.93 km) eastbound 6.70 miles (10.78 km) westbound |
Daily ridership | 6,150 (2018)[2] |
Route 86 is a local bus route in Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville, Massachusetts, operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) as part of MBTA bus service. It operates on a circumferential route between Sullivan Square station and Reservoir station (Cleveland Circle) via Union Square, Somerville, Harvard Square, and Brighton Center. In 2018, it had the 18th-highest weekday ridership on the system, though it ranked 37th by number of weekday trips.[2] A 2018–19 MBTA review of its bus system found that route 86 had infrequent and unreliable service, including irregular scheduled headways, despite its high ridership and significance as a crosstown connecting route.
Transit service on three portions of the modern route date back to horsecar lines opened in the 19th century, with the section between Union Square and Sullivan Square opened in 1858. Two of those sections were converted to electric streetcars in the 1890s. Three overlapping bus routes (later designated 63, 86, and
In December 2024, the eastern half of the route is planned to become part of route
Route
It operates as a crosstown/circumferential route, with MBTA subway connections at Sullivan Square (Orange Line), East Somerville (Green Line E branch), Union Square (Green Line D branch), Harvard (Red Line), Chestnut Hill Avenue (Green Line B branch), Cleveland Circle (Green Line C branch), and Reservoir (Green Line D branch). Connections to a number of MBTA bus routes are possible; Brighton Center, Harvard station, Union Square, and Sullivan Square are major transfer locations.[3][2] Ridership turnover along the route is high, as many passengers transfer or terminate at these stations and hubs.[2]
One-way running distances are 6.79 miles (10.93 km) eastbound and 6.70 miles (10.78 km) westbound.[1] Scheduled one-way running times range from 40 minutes off-peak to 55 minutes at peak, with shorter times during early mornings and late nights. Service operates from about 5:00 am to 12:30 am on weekdays and Saturdays, and from about 7:30 am to 9:30 pm on Sundays.[2] As of February 2022[update], weekday peak headways are 11–12 minutes, with 35-minute midday headways and 45-minute evening headways. Saturday service has 27-minute headways, while Sunday service has 35-minute headways.[4]
Route 86 runs as a local route with standard local bus fare. In 2018, the route averaged 6,150 boardings on weekdays; average weekend ridership was 3,040 on Saturdays and 1,840 on Sundays. This made it the 18th-highest-ridership route in the MBTA bus system, with more boardings than four of the key bus routes. Despite this, it ranked 37th by number of weekday trips, leading to crowding on many trips.[2]
History
Early lines
Several portions of the route originated as horsecar and streetcar lines:
- The segment between Sullivan Square and Union Square, Somerville, was a horsecar line of the Somerville Horse Railroad (later Middlesex Railroad) opened in 1858.[5]: 200 Electric service began on October 17, 1895; streetcars initially used Brighton, Perkins, Caldwell, and Broadway to avoid the grade crossing near Sullivan Square.[6][7][8] This diversion was eliminated by 1898, though the grade crossing was not replaced with a bridge until 1901.[9]: 535 [10]
- The segment on Kirkland Street between Harvard Square and Beacon Street was opened as a horsecar line of the Charles River Street Railway in 1882; it was never converted to electric operation and was abandoned in the early 1890s.[5]: 50
- The segments between Harvard Square and Union Square, Brighton on North Harvard Street, Western Avenue, and Market Street originated as horsecar lines of the Cambridge Railroad. The Western Avenue and Market Street segments opened as part of a line from Central Square, Cambridge in 1880, which was electrified in 1896.[11][7] The North Harvard Street segment, which opened in 1883, was never electrified and was abandoned in the early 1890s.[5]: 50
- A short section on Chestnut Hill Avenue between Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue opened in 1896 as an extension of the electric Beacon Street line.[12] The last revenue service over those tracks ran in 1926, though it remains in use for non-revenue moves.[5]: 197
Bus replacements
Horsecar and streetcar operations in Boston and surrounding municipalities were consolidated under the
: 50By 1930, the Union Square–Sullivan Square segment was operated as part of a Central Square–Sullivan Square streetcar line. On February 1, the Central Square–Union Square segment was replaced by a bus route, leaving a Union Square–Sullivan Square streetcar shuttle.[14] On November 15, that shuttle was replaced with a new bus route at the city's request, with the intention of reducing congestion in Union Square.[15][16][5]: 200 The two bus routes were connected into a single route on February 14, 1931, again forming a Central Square–Sullivan Square route.[17] The Sullivan–Union tracks remained in use for non-revenue equipment moves until 1951.[18]: 143
On June 8, 1931, the Brighton Center–Central Square streetcar line was replaced with buses and extended south to Commonwealth Avenue.
Later history
In 1940–41, the BERy reassigned its public-facing route numbers.
The BERy was replaced in 1947 by the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). Sunday service on route 63 ended in 1958.
The MTA was in turn replaced by the
In December 1989, route 63 was discontinued, with route 86 realigned over much of the former route to form a Cleveland Circle–Sullivan Square circumferential line. Route
Peak-hour
By 2022, scheduled headways were more consistent than during the 2018–19 review.
References
- ^ a b "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Route 86" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. December 2018.
- ^ a b "2023–24 System Map". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. December 17, 2023.
- ^ a b Belcher, Jonathan (January–February 2022). "MBTA Vehicle Inventory as of February 28, 2022". Rollsign. Vol. 59, no. 1–2. Boston Street Railway Association. p. 24.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Humphrey, Thomas J. (August 2020). "Origin and Development of the Fixed-Route Local Bus Transportation Network in the Cities and Towns of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority District as of December 31, 1973: Revised Edition" (PDF). NETransit.
- ^ "Union Square Electrics". Boston Globe. August 9, 1895. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Ninth Annual Report of the West End Street Railway Company for the Year Ending September 30, 1896. Walker, Young & Co. 1896. p. 7 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Horse Line No Longer". Boston Globe. October 15, 1895. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Boston Elevated Railway Company: A Model Road". Street Railway Review. Vol. 8. August 1898. pp. 525–545.
- ^ "Will be ready for use next month". Boston Globe. June 14, 1901. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Union Street Railway". Boston Globe. December 30, 1879. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ISBN 0938315048.
- ^ "Elevated to Run Busses Allston to Somerville". Boston Globe. December 16, 1925. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Changes in Bus Service Announced by Elevated". Boston Globe. February 1, 1930. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Many Seek Busses to Replace Trolley". Boston Globe. September 11, 1930. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Extension of El Bus Service in Somerville". Boston Globe. November 14, 1930. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Central-Sq Bus Line to be Extended to Sullivan Sq". Boston Globe. February 13, 1931. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ISBN 9780938315070.
- ^ "Brighton–Cambridge Bus Service Announced". Boston Globe. June 6, 1931. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "A Decade of the Bus on the "El": Part II: Bus Routes of the Last Five Years". Co-operation. Vol. 11, no. 8. Boston Elevated Railway. August 1932. p. 124.
- ISBN 0938315056.
- ^ Lufkin, Richard F. (1942), Boston Elevated Railway System Route Map, Boston Elevated Railway – via Wikimedia Commons
- ^ a b c d e f g Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
- ^ "Plenty of Parking on New M.T.A. Highland Branch". Boston Globe. June 16, 1959. p. 33 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The bus routes affected". Boston Globe. April 3, 1981. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Better Bus Project Route Proposals" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. January 2019.
- ^ "86 Sullivan Sq Sta – Reservoir Sta" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. March 13, 2022.
- ^ "A better bus network: new connections, more service, more frequency. See what this means in Cambridge" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. May 2022.
- ^ "Draft Bus Network Redesign Map" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. May 2022.
- ^ "What we changed from the May 2022 Proposal" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. November 7, 2022.
- ^ "Revised Bus Network Fall 2022" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. November 3, 2022.
- ^ "Phase 1 Service Changes". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. April 2024. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
External links
Media related to 86 (MBTA bus) at Wikimedia Commons