MBTA bus

MBTA bus

A New Flyer XDE40 bus in Somerville in 2022
Parent	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)
Founded	1964 (predecessors date to 1856)
Locale	Greater Boston
Service type	Local, limited stop, express, and BRT
Routes	152[1]
Fleet	1,037 (Active)[1]
Daily ridership	318,100 (weekdays, Q2 2024)[2]
Annual ridership	91,459,700 (2023)[3]
Fuel type	Diesel, diesel-electric hybrid, CNG
Operator	MBTA; private operators
Website	mbta.com
System map

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates 152 bus routes in the Greater Boston area. The MBTA has a policy objective to provide transit service within walking distance (defined as 0.25 miles (0.40 km)) for all residents living in areas with population densities greater than 5,000 inhabitants per square mile (1,900/km²) within the MBTA's service district. Much of this service is provided by bus. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 91,459,700, or about 318,100 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.

Most MBTA bus routes are local service operated in Boston and its inner suburbs and connect to MBTA subway stations. Fifteen high-ridership local routes are designated as key routes, with higher frequency at all operating hours. The MBTA operates a five-route bus rapid transit service branded as the Silver Line, as well as two limited-stop crosstown routes. Three smaller local networks are based in the nearby cities of Lynn, Waltham, and Quincy. Several express routes operate from suburbs to downtown Boston.

The MBTA has an active bus fleet around 1,040 buses with diesel-electric hybrid or compressed natural gas propulsion. Replacement of the full fleet with battery electric buses is planned. The entire bus system is accessible; all vehicles are low-floor buses with fold-out ramps.

Most routes are operated directly by the MBTA. Four suburban routes are run by private operators under contract to the MBTA, while several small circulator systems are run by other operators with partial MBTA subsidy. MBTA-operated buses operate from nine garages, one of which is under reconstruction and a second planned for replacement. Several sections of dedicated right-of-way for MBTA buses have been opened in the 21st century, including two off-street busways for the Silver Line and a number of dedicated bus lanes.

The modern bus system descends from a network of horsecar and electric streetcar lines built in the 1850s to 1910s, which were consolidated under the West End Street Railway and later Boston Elevated Railway (BERy). The BERy introduced buses in 1922 to replace lightly-used streetcar lines and expand into new areas. Over the next four decades under the BERy and Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), all but six streetcar routes were converted to bus or trolleybus. Most trolleybuses were phased out by the 1960s, but four routes lasted until 2022. The MBTA took over the MTA in 1964, and several private suburban bus operators over the following two decades. Many routes have been modified during the MBTA era; the agency introduced crosstown routes in 1994 and the Silver Line in 2002.