There were 15 key routes within the MBTA system: 1, 15, 22, 23, 28, 32, 39, 57, 66, 71, 73, 77, 111, 116, and 117. Elected officials and members of the public have asked the MBTA for limited-stop or express service along all of these routes.
1 The
1 Harvard Square–Nubian Station, which connects
Cambridge with
Roxbury, was formed in September 1962 when two routes, split at
Massachusetts Avenue (now Hynes Convention Center), were merged – the 76 Harvard–Massachusetts station and the
47 Massachusetts station–Dudley. In May 1987, the route was realigned from its former alignment on
Washington Street southeast several blocks onto Albany Street and
Melnea Cass Boulevard to serve
Boston Medical Center. The route now runs mostly along
Massachusetts Avenue, from
Harvard, past the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, over the
Charles River via the
Harvard Bridge into Boston, past the
Berklee College of Music to Boston Medical Center, then southwest to
Nubian station via Albany Street and
Melnea Cass Boulevard. No changes to the route were proposed in the May and November 2022 network plan. Service changes effective August 24, 2025, increased Route 1 frequency to every 15 minutes or less during all operating hours. Service also began operating about one hour longer on Friday and Saturday evenings.
15 The
15 Fields Corner Station–Ruggles Station route runs from
Fields Corner station north on Geneva Avenue and Bowdoin Street, west on Hancock Street, and north on Columbia Street to
Uphams Corner. It continues west on Dudley Street to
Nubian station, then west on Malcolm X Boulevard to and north on
Tremont Street to
Ruggles station. Buses started running on the 15 Kane Square–Dudley via Uphams Corner and Dudley Street route on April 6, 1962, replacing
trackless trolleys. With the relocation of the
Orange Line to the
Southwest Corridor in May 1987, the route was extended to Ruggles. Kane Square service was extended slightly to St. Peter's Square on August 25, 2024. All service was extended to Fields Corner on August 24, 2025; previously, only night and weekend service had run past St. Peters Square. Frequency was also increased to every 15 minutes or less during all operating hours. A city-funded program includes fare-free service on routes 23, 28, and 29 from March 1, 2022, to February 28, 2026. No changes to the route were proposed in the May and November 2022 network plans. Streetcars formerly had a dedicated right-of-way on Blue Hill Avenue; streetcars were moved into mixed traffic in stages between 1940 and 1950, and replaced with buses in 1955. From December 2006 to June 2010,
short turn service between Franklin Park and Dudley (Ruggles after March 2007) was operated in the morning peak as route 25. A number of
Silver Line expansion corridors were considered in the 2003 Program for Mass Transportation (PMT); most were given brief consideration but not acted upon. One, a
bus rapid transit (BRT) express overlay for the 28, was briefly revived in 2006 as part of
Silver Line Phase III plans. In 2009, the state proposed to add a limited-stop BRT line called the
28X on the corridor, which was then the busiest bus corridor in New England. The plan called for dedicated bus lanes on Blue Hill Avenue and queue jumps on Warren Avenue. The project was expected to cost $114 million. Construction was to begin in April 2010, with initial service at the beginning of 2012. However, the proposal quickly drew opposition: it had been announced at a press conference by state officials without local officials having even been informed of the project, leading to accusations that the plan was rushed to qualify for
TIGER grant funding without community input. Residents also objected because the dedicated bus lanes would require removing parking spots and the median strip, and the construction process would disrupt traffic on Blue Hill Avenue for over a year. The state withdrew the proposal in late 2009. In June 2010, the MBTA replaced 40-foot buses on the route with 60-foot buses; although the swap added capacity on the busy route, residents objected to the removal of some bus stops in hilly Grove Hall to accommodate the longer vehicles. In 2012, the Roxbury–Dorchester–Mattapan Transit Needs Study recommended the 28X bus to be implemented with no new infrastructure as an express bus adding additional trips to the corridor. In August 2020, the MBTA and the city applied for $15 million in federal funds for a planned $30 million construction of Blue Hill Avenue. The project would include center-running bus lanes and be completed by the end of 2021. The federal government rejected the funding request in September 2020. A second $25 million application was submitted in July 2021. A pilot program of
free fares and all-door boarding on route 28 ran from August 29, 2021, to February 28, 2022. The $500,000 pilot, funded by the city using
American Rescue Plan monies, intends to reduce travel times on the frequently-late route. A city-funded program includes fare-free service on routes 23, 28, and 29 from March 1, 2022, to February 28, 2026. The May and November 2022 network plans proposed that route 28 be extended from Roxbury Crossing to via the Longwood Medical Area; the Roxbury Crossing–Ruggles segment would be discontinued. Service changes effective August 24, 2025, increased Route 28 frequency to every 15 minutes or less during all operating hours. Service also began operating about one hour later in the evening.
32 The
32 Wolcott or Cleary Square–Forest Hills Station route runs along Hyde Park Avenue from Forest Hills to Readville, serving Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, and Hyde Park. It parallels the commuter rail tracks from Forest Hills to Readville for its entire route. Up until 1953, Route 32 was a full-service trolley route from Forest Hills to Cleary Square, until it converted to trackless trolleys. In 1958, all trackless trolley services south of Forest Hills were discontinued and replaced by diesel buses. (The trolleys ended in the middle of Hyde Park Ave; however, a loop for the trackless trolleys to turn around was placed on Hyde Park Avenue and Pine St.) In 1981, the former Route 31 bus route between Mattapan Square and Wolcott Square was consolidated with Route 32 at Cleary Square to become Route 32 Forest Hills–Wolcott Square. Route 50, which served Cleary Square and Forest Hills via Roslindale, was rerouted onto River St, Gordon Avenue, Summer St (inbound) and Austin St (outbound) to serve the Summer St Elderly Housing Area (aka Malone Elderly Housing). No changes to the route were proposed in the May and November 2022 network plans.
39 The
39 Forest Hills Station–Back Bay Station route is the replacement (described as "temporary" from 1985 until 2011) for
Green Line E branch service from Heath Street to Arborway which has run since December 1985. Aside from paralleling the Green Line from Heath Street to Copley, there are connections to the
Orange Line and
commuter rail at both ends (and
Amtrak at the
latter). Route 39 was the first MBTA route to regularly use
articulated buses, which were later introduced to several other routes (including the 28) in late 2005. , the 39 was the second most heavily used bus line in the city. The high ridership of the 39 was one motivation for expanding the Forest Hills station during the
Casey Arborway overhaul. The May 2022 draft network plan proposed that route 39 be extended to via and , taking over portions of routes , , and . The portion from Longwood Avenue to Back Bay would be discontinued. Route 57 was formerly one of the few routes that ran limited-stop service in the Boston city limits (no pickups were made on
Commonwealth Avenue between
Packard's Corner and
Kenmore), but this practice was discontinued in December 2006. No changes to the route were proposed in the May and November 2022 network plans. begins at Nubian Square in Roxbury, and crosses the
Southwest Corridor Park at Roxbury Crossing. The route follows Route 39 and the Green Line E branch on a short segment from Brigham Circle to the Boston city limits. Traveling via Harvard Street, this bus serves Brookline and Allston, diverting to Union Square (Allston) before following Cambridge Street and North Harvard Street and terminating at Harvard Square, Cambridge. It connects
Nubian station on the
Silver Line to
Roxbury Crossing on the
Orange Line; as well as
Fenwood Rd,
Mission Park, and
Riverway on the
Green Line E branch;
Brookline Village on the
Green Line D branch;
Coolidge Corner on the
Green Line C branch;
Harvard Ave on the
Green Line B branch; and
Harvard on the
Red Line. No changes to the route were proposed in the May and November 2022 network plans. Service began operating about one hour longer on Friday and Saturday evenings effective August 24, 2025. Routes 71 and 73, along with the adjacent routes and , ran with
trolleybuses (locally referred to as "trackless trolleys") for decades after all such other routes in the MBTA system had been eliminated, representing some of the last vestiges of Boston's once-extensive
trackless trolley network. They were finally converted to diesel bus operation on March 13, 2022. Effective December 14, 2025, route 71 is scheduled to operate every 15 minutes or less during normal service hours. Trackless trolleys ran from then until March 13, 2022. Until the
Red Line Northwest Extension opened in the 1980s, routes 77/77A provided the bulk of transit service northwest of Harvard, with combined streetcar headways under one minute during rush hours in 1945. Route 77A formerly provided all local service south of the carhouse, with route 77 making limited stops on that segment; however, it was largely replaced by route 77 service in stages from 1998 to 2005, and eliminated in 2022. No changes to the route were proposed in the May and November 2022 network plans. No changes to the route were proposed in the May and November 2022 network plans. Service changes effective August 24, 2025, added about one hour to the span of evening service. ==See also==