MBTA
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), is a quasi-governmental organization formed in 1964, which controls the subway, bus, commuter rail, and ferry systems in the Boston, Massachusetts area. Originally it was called the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or the MTA, as immortalized in the popular folk-protest lament "The MTA Song". It is known by the locals as just The T because of the logo it adopted back in the 1960s.
The four-line subway system consists of the Red, Orange, Green, and Blue Lines. The term "four-line" is a bit misleading. The Green line has four branches, B, C, D, and E; the Red Line has two branches and also incorporates a separate trolley line, the Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line.
In recent years, a BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) line known as the Silver Line began operating in the city. In theory, these buses run in dedicated underground tunnels, thereby avoiding traffic of any sort. Due to constraints in existing construction, it was not possible to isolate the Silver Line BRTs from normal street traffic for portions of their operations, making them vulnerable to traffic in the downtown Chinatown and Financial District areas.
The remainder of the bus system is identified by the color yellow, and the commuter rail purple; however, these lines are rarely actually referred to as the "Yellow" or "Purple" Lines.
Related articles
See each line for a detailed description and list of stations.
