MBTA key bus routes

The key routes had been treated as a distinct category for the purpose of service improvement, such as trial runs of late-night service, and due to the high volume of passenger traffic they carry, both individual routes and the category as a whole have been the subjects of urban planning and transportation engineering studies.

In November 2006, the MBTA launched a concerted effort to improve service quality on key bus routes.

[8] The 2008 Service Plan recommended improvements for various lines, including upgrading the 31 bus to key route standards.

[9] A second round of upgrades, entitled the Key Routes Improvement Project and costing $10 million in all, was supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

[10][2][11] The Silver Line services were originally considered part of this program,[12] but were later split off into a separate enhancement project.

[16][17] As of April 2015[update], late-night service was cut back from 2:30am to 2:00am, and extended hours were dropped from 5 of the 15 key bus routes.

[21] In addition, a new key route was proposed to connect the Longwood Medical and Academic Area with JFK/UMass station via Roxbury.

[22] In May 2022, the MBTA released a draft plan for a bus network redesign, which included potential changes to most of the key routes.

[28][27][29][30] Elected officials and members of the public have asked the MBTA for limited-stop or express service along all of these routes.

The route now runs mostly along Massachusetts Avenue,[28][33] from Harvard, past the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,[34] 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.

Night and weekend service terminates at Fields Corner station, running on Geneva Avenue and Bowdoin Street to St. Peter's Square.

Buses started running on the 15 Kane Square–Dudley via Uphams Corner and Dudley Street route on April 6, 1962, replacing trackless trolleys.

From there it continues north on Columbus Avenue and Tremont Street along the course of the Orange Line before ending at Ruggles.

From Nubian, the 23 heads west on Malcolm X Boulevard to Roxbury Crossing and north on Tremont Street to Ruggles station.

[43] 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.

[38][44] 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.

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.

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.

[23][25][26] In February 2024, the city announced plans for a $44 million reconstruction of Blue Hill Avenue including center bus lane, with construction expected to start in 2026.

In 1958, all trackless trolley services south of Forest Hills were discontinued and replaced by diesel buses.

[23][25][26] 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.

[65] The high ridership of the 39 was one motivation for expanding the Forest Hills station during the Casey Arborway overhaul.

[71] The 71 Watertown Square–Harvard station begins at the Harvard bus tunnel lower level and leaves via the south exit onto Mount Auburn Street.

[38] In 2017, Arlington applied for a private grant to add signal priority, queue jumps, and possibly bus lanes on their section of the route.

When the Boston Elevated Railway bought the route in 1936, it ran as streetcars between Chelsea Square and Woodlawn.

The line was extended in April 1975 to Haymarket after the closure of the Charlestown Elevated; the partial extension beyond Woodlawn was done in January 2001.

[80][38] The 111 is among the most frequent numbered MBTA bus routes, with service running every 5 minutes during rush hour.