MBTA Bus Route CT2

People have been discussing linking inner Boston neighborhoods together using a transit Urban Ring for about a century at this point. Unfortunately, it looks like the CT2 is the best we’re gonna get. I used the bus to hop from Mission Hill to Kendall Square and it was always so much faster than E train to Red Line, even though I had to first walk to Longwood. I’ve moved out but the bus is still useful to get from Kendall to Cambridgeport, BU, or Fenway after work. Its big flaw when I rode it was the horrible traffic snarls at the BU Bridge and at Fenway whenever there was a baseball game. It’s always crowded, but I’ve never seen it bypass people waiting at a stop.
This is a bus desperately needs to run more often and later into the night, and maybe throw in some weekend service as well. Until we get an Urban Ring (keep dreaming) this’ll do.

A cross town bus is such a an awesome idea in theory but in reality it’s pretty awful. I got on the bus at 5pm on a Wednesday night after work to get from Longwood to Sullivan Square and it took 1.5 hours. Just awful. Getting up and over the Mass Ave bridge was fine but everything after it was downhill. The traffic really picks up and the ride slows to a crawl. Sorry CT2 but I’ll probably never take you again.

I would never take this bus again, and have gone out of my way walking for a while to other buses or a combo of bus/​subway when this bus would get me there faster. Over this past winter a new drive took over and she was horrible. Speeding/​not paying attention to the road and the scary part was when she did not know the route for a few weeks (I took it twice a week for a little over a month) and she kept asking passengers what turns to make because she did not know the route.
The first time this happened I got off the bus when the lady who rides it all the time got off because she was the only passenger helping the driver navigate. I ended up walking an extra 30 minutes because of this, but I didn’t trust the driver.
I understand how for some people this bus despite its hiccups is btter for them, but for someone wanting to skip the subway/​bus combo and get somewhere faster or with less transfers, I’d skip this bus and take another means of transportation.

This bus cut 10 minutes of my normal 20 minute commute when the weather doesn’t permit me to walk. This bus moves faster than lightening, weaves through the ambulances and pedestrians of Longwood, and flies by the 47 that takes a similar route in twice the time. Love it.

i agree completely with susie’s review — except i actually really like the kendall stop, because i take another bus that connects to kendall and the timing between the two is very convenient. the bus is very reliable and the stops skipped since it’s express do help get you to longwood slightly faster, but it can get quite crowded. when i get on at kendall in the mornings, very rarely do i get a seat.

This is a solid, reliable bus that links Somerville and Cambridge to the Longwood Medical Area, ending up in Ruggles. If I catch the first two buses of the day, it can take 22 minutes to get from Union Square to Longwood, and if I travel in rush hour it can take about 35 minutes. All in all, not bad.
I find this bus sticks to the printed schedule pretty well. If you’re going to take this bus regularly, it’s best to follow the schedule, otherwise you could be waiting for 20 minutes.
Minue one star for the detour it takes to stop directly in front of the Kendall red line station. This stop is convenient for anyone getting on or off at Kendall, but it adds a few extra minutes for those of us enroute to Longwood. Still, not a huge deal. I love this bus.