Massport Logan/Back Bay Shuttle

Shepard

Shepard

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http://www.metro.us/boston/news/local/2014/03/20/massport-launching-shuttle-logan-airport-back-bay/

The Massachusetts Port Authority announced Thursday that it will start offering daily shuttle service from Logan Airport to the Back Bay, making stops at Copley MBTA Station and the Hynes Convention Center.

The shuttle service will launch this spring as a two-year pilot program, with service every 20 minutes between the Back Bay locations and the airport, Massport said.

Massport said it expects to carry up to 1,400 passengers each day using 40-foot clean fuel buses. Service will be seven days a week starting at 5 a.m. and running until 9 p.m. from the Back Bay and from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. from Logan Airport, Massport said.

The fare will be $5, payable with a credit or debit card, or free for riders with a valid MBTA pass, Massport said.

“Logan Express service between the suburbs and Logan Airport is successful and the time is right with the closure of the Government Center T station for us to test that concept in the Back Bay where demand is high for direct airport service to accommodate the growing number of visitors and conventioneers,” Massport CEO Thomas P. Glynn said in prepared release.
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My opinion: Even when Govt Center comes back online, this is a real game-changer. The airport has always been tough from the Green Line, requiring 2 transfers (GL-BL-Massport or GL-RL-SL1). This service really helps solve that tedium.

Also: If this new service hops on the pike to/from Copley (as I imagine it will) it could likely be a significantly faster route into town than either Massport-BL or SL1 to/from South Station. (Depends on where you are going, of course.)
[EDIT: Wait, how would it hop on the Pike eastbound to/from Copley?]

In some respects, I see this as the start of an SL1 killer. If Massport is going to be willing to run express buses to Back Bay, they will probably be willing to run express buses to South Station too - making the SL1's twisty-turny-bumpy journey obsolete. In that case, the Piers Transitway can actually be converted to rail without the worry of either severing an airport connection or taking on the expense of a dual-use tunnel.
 
I dunno. Depends on the exact details. It's a 20-minute frequency bus that gets stuck in traffic. Once Gov't Center re-opens it's going to be a real tough sell I think. Get off at Copley for an infrequent bus that goes roundabout, or stay in dedicated right-of-way and make connections? Good for tourists I guess. Well, except that they're going to be fumbling to pay up front and making the bus slow...sigh.

You may be right about the precedent-setting though. Also consider that it's a non-*TA bus taking Charlie presumably? Might set a good example for other such efforts.

Or will they be taking Charlie? Or is this going to be one of those "flash your paper pass at the driver" type deals, like the commuter rail? Ugh.

Shame they aren't doing anything to help East Boston riders get to the Red Line. Maverick to Park Street!
 
Have to expect that they'll be taking the Allston 'slingshot' uturn to get back to Logan from Copley.

Adding the BCEC stop, however, will jam things up just like it does for the Silver Line, because you cant get out of the tunnel and back in without going around the block twice. Will be amusing of course if Massport can manage to get access to the 'emergency' EB onramp in the boat section at the mouth of the TED (which the silver line has been denied)

Direct to SS in the future is very intriguing - theres a WB 'HOV' offramp from the fort point tunnel that goes straight to the bus terminal and which *no one* ever uses. EB, can take the almost-empty HOV lanes from the bus terminal straight to the front of the line at the merge entering the TED. (this was my shortcut to eastie during the Callahan closure and it is very fast - the advantage is bypassing the multiple merges at the mouth of the TED and entering nearly-free flowing traffic within the tunnel itself). The downside is that - until SS is renovated / expanded / reworked - the bus terminal is a long connection from the red line. Alternatively, you can talk about bypassing the transitway via dedicated lanes from SS to BCEC on Summer St., but as a great man once said, that's too great an idea to ever have a chance of happening.

Also - fascinated by the element of this that has Massport continuing its evolution into a parallel transit agency. If they could tighten up the transfer time between the terminals and the blue line / ferries, then Logan Express becomes an intriguing two-seat option for downtown commuters (who could already do a terminal-curb transfer from LE to the SL to get from Woburn to WTC, for example). Same with this BB bus proposal - if it includes a stop at Airport station on the blue line, you have a new transit option for Eastie / North Core commuters.

But to be clear - the mini-transit system that Massport is developing is a high-end one, with the footprint and operational flexibility to poach high-end customers who have the ability and willingness to pay for enhanced & direct service, and with no obligation to provide general service and accessibility (much less to provide universal access a la The Ride) like the T does.

What could possibly go wrong?
 
These have started running from in front of the Hynes. Sleek Massport buses, which truly do look great. It doesn't seem like Massport's site has been updated to reflect the new service, so I don't have any information about times and frequencies.
 
Massport still doesn't have a map showing the location of the consolidated rental car facility, or how to get to it.

Shall we take wagers on how long before the new United concourse appears on Massport maps?
 
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