This is a guest blog post submitted by Newton resident Richard Rasala, a retired Professor and Associate Dean in the Khoury College of Computer and Information Science at Northeastern.
The MBTA Better Bus Project will begin by shrinking service to Newton with no additions to compensate. The shrinkage consists of elimination of route variants on Routes 52 and 59. This change may make the routes more efficient overall but some people will be left with no service at all.
There is a chicken and egg problem with MBTA service in Newton. There are only 2 north south cross routes in Newton (52 and 59) and no local east west routes. Only a small fraction of the city is within walking distance of the 2 existing local routes. This lack of easy access contributes to the low ridership figures that the MBTA reports.
In my view, the fundamental problem is the lack of a network of bus routes in Newton with sufficient geographic density to make at least one route with walking distance of most people.
I will provide links to three proposed bus routes that in addition to the 52 and 59 should provide enough network density to make MBTA ridership viable for most people.
Each proposal will come with a Google map with stop locations, a list of the stop locations, and extensive comments and explanations.
Proposal 1: A Bus Route Along The Periphery
This route restores service to the sections of routes 52 and 59 that will be eliminated in the MBTA proposal. By following the periphery of Newton, this route will also provide service to many areas of Newton that have been left out of MBTA planning in the past. The periphery route is the key to the connectivity of all spoke routes.
Proposal 2: A Bus Route Along Washington St
This route provides service for the full length of Washington St in Newton starting at Newton Corner. Since the route begins at Watertown Yard, there will be connectivity to Watertown, Waltham, and Cambridge.
Proposal 3: A Bus Route Along Beacon St
This route provides service for the full length of Beacon St in Newton. By starting at the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, this route provides connectivity with the Green Line B [Boston College], the Green Line C [Cleveland Circle], and the Green Line D [Reservoir].
I will be interested to see what citizens of Newton think of these ideas.
Richard Rasala
PS: For those who want further information about the MBTA in Newton or about the MBTA Better Bus Project, see my data site:
I’d like to see all of these in Newton. Living in West Newton, Proposal 2 sounds much needed to me. I’d use it to go to Newtonville, the YMCA, Watertown Square, etc. I could transfer buses and go to Target, the new Arsenal Yards, or to see my family in Cambridge.
The only one that doesn’t make sense to me is #3 since it basically will run parallel to the D Branch from Reservoir to Newton Highlands
Better to run # 3 from the B line out Commonwealth Ave
How about just offering a subsidy on UberPool or Lyft Pool rides originating and ending inside city limits? Even if it’s just $5 off, it would get most people to a proper transit stop (commuter rail or green line) for about the cost of a bus fare. And the T or city would not have to deal with logistics, infrastructure, labor, etc. Forcing it to be the pool would help with congestion as well.
@Yuppie Scum, I’m not supportive of using tax payer money to provide subsidies for private companies, especially companies such as Uber who, in my opinion, have some very questionable business ethics and practices..
Your suggestions are an important first step in a much-needed discussion. It’s also important to consider transit to destinations outside of Newton, and living in Auburndale, I think of Waltham. My wife works there, and we go there often. Check Google Maps and you can find transit connections, but they are only available during rush hours, and they are on the tail ends of express buses (e.g., the 505 and 558) running through Newton to downtown Boston.
Thank you for posting this. I have been soooo disappointed with the MBTA ‘BetterBus’ project. I thought they were doubling the buses on Route 59, when really they are just ending an alternate route. Everything else in the project seems to be just a reduction of service.
Newton’s only cross town buses – 52 & 59 – rarely run and have an ‘overall reliability rating’ of 66% (59) and 47% (52). It’s amazing anyone uses them. Newton is not going to get rid of congestion unless we get better mass transit (or there is an economic crash). Even if we don’t build more housing, developments outside of Newton are going to send more traffic through Newton.
I mentioned Lyft as well as a “woke alternative”, and there is apparently Boston-based Fasten but I haven’t used them yet. I just think that static routes in a city like ours may be a 20th century solution to a modern transportation problem.
I’m not sure there is enough density and businesses along Beacon St to support a route. That said, BC runs a bus along part of this route, maybe getting BC to join a public/private partnership with the City and run this route?
Did you match up your proposed routes with the areas in Newton planned for transit-oriented development or business areas like Wells Ave?
@Claire made an excellent suggestion for a route on Commonwealth Ave. Here is a new link:
https://web.northeastern.edu/rasala/markermaps/?url=newtoncommonwealthave.json
The route may be viewed as an alternative to the Beacon St route or as an additional route that will increase the network density in Newton.
@Claire speaks about the Beacon St route as parallel to the Riverside D line. However, from the maps I do not see things this way. The Riverside D line has seven stops after Reservoir:
Chestnut Hill, Newton Centre, Newton Highlands, Eliot, Waban, Woodland, Riverside.
Only Newton Centre and Waban are close to Beacon St.
Chestnut Hill, Newton Highlands, and Eliot are long walks to Beacon St.
I do not consider Woodland and Riverside within walking distance of Beacon St.
These geographic observations together with the greater frequency of bus stops makes the Beacon St route worthwhile to me even with the existence of the Riverside D line.
I suggest that people think of both Beacon St and Commonwealth Ave as possible routes.
By the way, the following web page holds links to the current 4 proposals and any future ones:
https://web.northeastern.edu/rasala/MBTA/busproposals.html
@Lucia asked about Wells Ave
The periphery route has a stop at Winchester St and Nahanton St. It is a short walk west on Nahanton St from this stop to the entrance of the Wells Ave complex.
An interesting question is: Should the bus have an extra stop in the Wells Ave complex?
Actually, the service frequency on the 59 bus would be doubled for its whole length from Needham Junction to Watertown Square. This is big, because getting to 20 minute frequency is necessary to increase ridership, on the bus and the MBTA inbound services it feeds. True, some people would lose convenient stops, but service would be doubled at Pettee Square, and over 500 apartment condo units on Needham Street, as well as all the employment and retail there. And also Four Corners, Newtonville and Nonantum villages, City Hall and the library. Plus connections to the Green Line, commuter rail, and express buses.
@Jeff: I overlooked your important comment about connections from Auburndale to Waltham.
In the routes I have proposed, I decided to stay within the boundaries of Newton except for the connection points at Watertown Yard and the connection points at Boston College and Cleveland Circle.
That being said, one can certainly image a route that starts at the Riverside MBTA and proceeds north along Grove St, then along Lexington St, then into Waltham on Moody St, and then as far as Lexington center. This route might well be valuable.
At this time, I do not wish to take on the task of detailing such a route stop by stop.
@JimPurdy
I agree with you that the service of the 59 on Needham St will be twice as good as at present but the cost is the complete elimination of service on the current alternate route on Lincoln St and Elliot St. I think the MBTA underestimates the human costs of this elimination.
However, I think the MBTA may well get its way as far as the 59 and the 52.
That is why I proposed the periphery route around Newton. I want to restore what will be lost when the MBTA changes the 59 and 52 and I want other outlying areas of Newton to get access to bus service that they never had had.
BTW, the 59 service along the portions of the route outside of Newton Highlands will not be doubled. What the MBTA is promising is that the spacing between buses will be more uniform since there will no longer be the effect of large gaps due to one bus taking one [faster] route through Newton Highlands and the next bus taking the alternate [slower] route.
Apologies. The 59 is getting better service only on the Needham St segment. Lucia is correct. That’s worth something, but the entire line needs to get 20 minute service.
Uber has killed the taxi industry because of outrageous costs, unethical drivers and overall greediness.
I can’t wait for the day a company does the same for the poor bus service(schedule wise, routes to cambridge) Newton has to put up with..
Lucia, The day it was 5 degree’s out the 3.33 bus in Newton Highlands going to Watertown didn’t show up and about 20 people sat in the cold an extra hour waiting for the 4.10 bus.
I Never take the 52 bus because it never shows up.
Better service equals more riders. I can’t be late for work yet I am everytime I wait for either bus.