The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) bus system encompasses 151 routes throughout the Boston metropolitan region, providing connections to the MBTA subway, Commuter Rail, and other bus lines. Of these, 147 routes are operated directly by the MBTA, while four are managed by private contractors; additionally, four suburban services receive partial funding from the MBTA.
As of 2024, local bus fares stand at $1.70 for a one-way trip. The Silver Line waterfront routes (SL1, SL2, SL3, SLW) charge the standard subway fare of $2.40. Express buses apply a two-tier fare structure: passengers pay the local fare for the initial segment and $4.25 for the express highway portion.
Service levels were significantly affected during the COVID-19 pandemic but were mostly reinstated by 2021, though some routes were permanently eliminated. Since 2018, the MBTA has been developing a comprehensive bus network redesign anticipated to conclude by 2028; initial modifications commenced in December 2024.
Silver Line
The Silver Line is a bus rapid transit network consisting of six routes and promoted as a rapid transit alternative. It operates two main branches: the Waterfront service (SL1, SL2, SL3, SLW shuttle), which runs through the South Boston Transitway tunnel, and the Washington Street service (SL4, SL5), which travels along surface streets. Waterfront routes require payment of the subway fare, whereas Washington Street routes charge the standard bus fare. All Silver Line vehicles are 60-foot articulated buses; those on Waterfront routes are hybrid models with extended electric capabilities to accommodate tunnel operation.
The SL5 route commenced in 2002 as a replacement for the Washington Street Elevated line; the Shuttle service started in 2004, followed by SL2 and the original SL3 also in 2004, and SL1 in 2005 utilizing dual-mode buses. The SL4 began operating in 2009 after a planned tunnel extension was canceled. A new SL3 route serving Chelsea was introduced in 2018.
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From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
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From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
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From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
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From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
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The two crosstown (CT) lines provide limited-stop service linking key subway and bus transfer hubs. Initially launched with three routes in 1994, route CT1 was merged into route 1 in 2019.
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When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
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These routes constitute nearly all local transit service within Boston’s metropolitan core and largely originated from Boston Elevated Railway streetcar lines. Numbered approximately in a clockwise fashion from southeast to northeast, they have remained mostly unchanged since the BERy era through transitions to the Metropolitan Transit Authority and eventually the MBTA. Smaller lines have been consolidated into main trunk routes while new ones were added during both M.T.A. and MBTA management.
Seven routes— , , , , , , and —serve western suburban communities such as Bedford, Waltham, Lexington, and Needham. These lines descend from the Middlesex and Boston Street Railway system acquired in 1972 and were reassigned numbers previously unused.
In 2004, fourteen routes—including , , , , , , , , , , , , , and —were designated as key bus routes due to their high ridership levels. These critical lines complement subway service by offering frequent buses to densely populated city areas and generally operate with increased frequency. The MBTA’s Bus Network Redesign beginning in 2024 is gradually replacing this designation with an expanded frequent route system. Routes 28 and 39 utilize 60-foot articulated buses.
There are also four early morning round trips connecting outlying stations to , primarily intended for station agents but available to all riders; these services operate over multiple local routes and are internally numbered 191–194 but appear as variants of local lines in schedules.
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Routes numbered 131 through 137 operate within the Melrose vicinity, tracing their origins to former Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway lines that became part of the MBTA network in 1968. Under MBTA oversight, the now-defunct routes 136 and 137 once extended service briefly to Lowell and Lawrence. Route 132 began as a Service Bus Lines operation before its integration into the MBTA system in 1975.
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When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
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From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
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From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
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When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
Route 171 operates as a limited schedule substitute for early morning CT3 trips that were curtailed from Logan Airport in 2002. Historically, other routes in the 170 series primarily served industrial zones but generally had brief operational spans.
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Originally designated as the 20 belt route by the M.T.A. in 1962 from former BERy services, this route was renumbered in 2005 as routes 201 and 202 to better distinguish the loop directions around Fields Corner.
Operating mainly within Quincy, routes numbered 210 through 245 derive from former Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway lines incorporated into the MBTA in 1968. Following the gradual introduction of the Red Line’s Braintree Branch during the 1970s and 1980s, these routes were adjusted to primarily terminate at Quincy Center and other rapid transit stations.
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From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
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From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
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From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
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From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
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From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
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From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
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From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
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From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
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From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
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From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
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From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
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From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
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From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
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From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
Covering the Burlington and Woburn regions, these routes trace their origins to the Lowell–Boston line of the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway, which the MBTA took over in 1968 and subsequently shortened to terminate at Burlington.
These services operate in Lynn and across the North Shore area. They incorporate former Service Bus Lines routes (411, 430) acquired in 1975, alongside primarily Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway lines obtained in 1968. Weekend routes with a W suffix represent short-turn trips concluding at Wonderland station.
Route
Overview
MBTA link
411
Malden Center station–Kennedy Drive or Jack Satter House
These express routes connect Newton with downtown Boston by traveling along the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90). The MBTA introduced the 500 series in the 1960s to utilize the newly extended turnpike into Boston. The 550 series evolved from Middlesex and Boston Street Railway lines serving Newton Corner, extended downtown during the 1960s, taken over by MBTA in 1972, and then truncated back to Newton Corner as of 2020.
The MBTA provides partial funding for suburban transit lines beyond its primary service area that connect to its overall network. Commuter routes 712 through 716 were originally operated by private companies and later incorporated into the MBTA system—specifically, Rapid Transit Inc. managed routes 712 and 713, Nantasket Transportation handled route 714, and Hudson Bus Lines operated route 716.
Local circulator services without route numbers are initiated by local governments and receive some MBTA financial support. Except for the Beverly Shuttle, which is overseen by the Cape Ann Transportation Authority, all such services are run by private contractors.
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From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
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From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
