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Brookline isn't waiting for the T to fix the 66 bus
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Comments
Perhaps
Perhaps they should use the money to dig a tunnel under Harvard Avenue. I can't think of anything else that would improve the 66 unless they prohibit all the cars and trucks that get in the way from driving that route.
Also, what are the five busiest MBTA bus routes. I would've expected the 66 to be in the top 3.
Tunnel under Harvard St and
Tunnel under Harvard St and conversion to trolley FTW!
Also, if the 66 wasn't a top three busiest bus, I'd be incredibly surprised. I always thought the 66 and 86 vied for the dual honors of busiest and slowest
what about the 39 to Forest
what about the 39 to Forest Hills down Hungtington, I remember that looking like a Jamaican cab all the time when I used to take it.
66 is the 6th busiest bus
66 is the 6th busiest bus route, 14th busiest transit line overall.
This is the kind of thing menino needs to do. He has made no effort to improve T service within the city. Same with the other mayors. They should not leave it to Massdot. 3 years ago, a stufy was made on how to improve route 39. No changes have been made based on the recommendations of the EOT.
The article talks about the simple and quick changes that this (and other) bus routes can get
"Options could include the removal of underused stops, relocation of existing stops, curb extensions that allow buses to stop without pulling out of traffic, traffic signals that give buses priority and better signs. "
Refreshing View of the MBTA
It's great to see a municipality taking responsibility for the portions of the MBTA that fall within its jurisdiction. Careful what you ask for with Menino, though, or we'll end up with shiny new "Brought to You By Mayor Thomas M. Menino" stickers on the bus stop signs and no changes to service.
Route 66 bus is often crowded...
During my vacation, I rode Route 66 between Coolidge Corner and Harvard.
It's not bad through Brookline, although the three times I picked up the bus there were standees. If Brookline eliminated three or four stops on Harvard Street that aren't used that often, traffic would flow smoothly.
From Dudley to the Brookline line, Route 66 has to fight narrow streets and the E trolley. From the Brookline line to Union Square, Route 66 has to fight the very narrow Harvard Avenue and must make the turn onto Brighton Avenue to Union Square as residents at the end of Harvard Ave don't like the buses going down their street. After that, Route 66 isn't bad from Union Square to Harvard, although the other pinch point is indeed Harvard Square.
What the T should do is introduce two routes from Kenmore to Harvard to relieve Route 66. One route would parallel Route 57 territory to Union Square, and follow Route 66 to Harvard (Route 56?) and the other would bypass Huntington Avenue and use Brookline Avenue instead and rejoin Route 66 on Harvard St (Route 58?)
Route 666
Bus from hell!
I dont think the dumb detour
I dont think the dumb detour in brighton (to union square) is due to residents, but to provide transfers at union square.
Also, I dont think length is a problem. If managed well, it shouldnt be. Of course, this requires a dispatcher doing their job. Ive never seen the 66 dispatcher, but I know the dispatcher at Kenmore is useless (I always see two 57s leave at the exact same time....why not express one to packards corner?). I think a one seat ride is better than splitting the line in two.
Currently, the 66 is interesting because it provides an urban ring of sorts. What it needs is:
-Better enforcement of bus stops
-Better dispatching
-More frequency....look at the night schedule, it's pretty bad for such a popular line
-Signal priority (especially at harvard and comm and harvard and brighton)
Dublin-style bus lanes
For the 666, these would really help. They are dedicated bus/bike lanes that exclude cars at certain hours or altogether. They appear on even small streets throughout Dublin - areas that resemble the neighborhoods on the 666 route quite a bit.
Then again, that would require commitments to transit in the urban core that aren't trains and coordination between agencies ... can't do that.
66 Bus
I've lived on the route of the 66 (and former 86) for most of my life, and have commuted on it daily for the past 4 years.
The routing of the 66 bus through Union Square (BTW - that's Allston, not Brighton) is a legacy of the merger of the old Dudley-Union Sq. 66 route with the old Harvard-Union Sq 86 route, as mentioned above. Had nothing to do with imaginary NIMBY-ism. Frankly, I wouldn't want to see buses making the right turn from Harvard onto Cambridge on a frequent basis - that intersection is enough of a bottleneck as it is.
Service on the current 66 is much improved from what it was on either of those older routes. Until the two routes were merged, Sunday service on the 86 was every 40 minutes throughout the entire day. I agree that nighttime service could be improved - I take a 66 from Harvard one night a week after 10pm, and it's ridiculous that the bus should be packed at rush-hour levels at that time, but it invariably is. The current schedule is supposed to be every 20 minutes; every 15 would probably make a significant improvement, though only if it can actually run to schedule, something that isn't happening lately (and is probably contributing to that late-night crowding.)
harvard ave./cambridge st.
The traffic flow for the right off of Harvard onto Cambridge has been greatly improved since BTD added the green arrow for that right. So long as no one is parked on the right side (I think there is a temporal restriction or at least one for a few yards back from the curb), and the contractor/property maintenance people aren't lined up in front of the hardware store, I think things now move pretty nicely down there.
Harvard/Cambridge
I was mostly thinking of how often I see traffic that's trying to turn onto Harvard Ave. from Cambridge St. blocking the box, and what it would be like to to get a bus through that turn in either direction with traffic backed up well into the intersection. Admittedly not much different from getting the 66 through the left turn from Harvard onto Brighton, which often requires blatant disregard for the law, but that seems like a roomier intersection overall.
Weekend jams
At least on the weekends, with double parkers and drivers following their GPS blindly down Harvard to get to the Pike, it's probably faster for the bus to go around to Union Square than to stay on Harvard. It should probably even go down Comm Ave to Warren or something. The blocks of Harvard between Comm Ave and Cambridge St are a nightmare most weekend days and I've seen many a 66 bus just sit and crawl through there.
I took the 66 at 11:30pm
I took the 66 at 11:30pm recently and only two seats were available.
It makes no sense that it runs at 25-30 minute intervals at night when the other "top 15 bus routes" run at 15-18 minutes or so.
There is no reason headways should drop to 20 minutes after 7pm. This isnt a commuter route, its an intercity route that hits major evening destinations.
66 night schedule
The 66 runs every 15 minutes from 7:15 until 9 on weeknights, and every 20 minutes from 9 until midnight, when it drops to every 30 minutes. The Saturday and Sunday schedules are comparable. It could definitely stand to run every 13-15 minutes, probably until the end of service (as the 1 and the 77 do), but the schedule is nowhere near as bad as you make out - as long as the bus can actually run to schedule, which is another problem entirely.
My error - forgot the MBTA consolidated the routes :-)
I thought for the longest time they consolidated 66/86 because of neighborhood complaints. They actually did it to eliminate changing buses - which makes sense. This actually eliminated the former Route 63 bus from Central Square to Cleveland Circle and re-routed the Route 86 onto Western Avenue.
Rerouting
Yes, and I had forgotten that the old 86 route ran from Union Square Allston to Sullivan Square, not to Harvard.
Rte 66 & 86 have been extended & are too long
Route 66 used go between Dudley and Union Square, Brighton (or is it Allston?).
Route 86 used to go between Harvard Square and Union Square, Brighton.
The way the MBTA has extended both lines (66 to Harvard) and 86 (to Sullivan Square) provides considerable opportunity for both lines to bunch up because of the traffic.
I think the way to improve performance on the 66 is to terminate at Union Square again. And, perhaps, route the 86 back through Union Square.