Rapid transit quiz

3) Maverick, Broadway, Andrew, Shawmut. I'm not sure which of the Roxbury and JP Orange Line stations are considered to be in "tunnels" and which in open cuts.

4) Wonderland - named after dog track (and former amusement park)
Suffolk Downs- named after horse track
Prudential - named after insurance company skyscraper
Airport - maybe; is Logan considered to be a commercial venture?
Hynes/ICA - maybe; is a convention center a commercial venture?
Packard's Corner - named after an auto dealership
Brandon Hall - named after an apartment building?
Mission Park - named after an apartment complex

Fenway doesn't count (the Olmsted parkway predated the ballpark).
Lechmere doesn't count (the square and canal predated the department store).

5) the morning of January 1, 2000, for the millennium celebration

[originally this my answer to 7) as well, but the quizmaster later edited that question to add the words regularly scheduled]

9) Orange Line

10) (assuming you mean only places served by electrified rail) Brookline, Braintree, Milton

11) (assuming you mean only places served be electrified rail) Milton

1. Maximum one-way fare is $4 for the Riverside and Quincy/Braintree Night Owl buses; otherwise it's $3 on the D line inbound boarding between Riverside and Chestnut Hill.

Minimum one-way fare is, well, free -- for the blind, children under 5 accompanied by an adult, MBTA employees and pensioners, firefighters and police officers in uniform, elevator inspectors, DTE employees, and last but not least, Boston parking meter persons. Okay, I peeked for this part. Nyaaaah.

2. Davis Square (Ron, how come you didn't get this one?)

6. 1962 sticks in my mind, but I'm not certain...

8. Is organizational obstinacy a technical reason?!?

Also free fare for outbound trips on the surface Green Line, and on the Mattapan Line.

If you throw in stations named after non-commercial ventures (non-profit institutions) you get a bunch more:

colleges: Harvard, Kendall/MIT, JFK/UMass, Northeastern, BU West, BU Central, BU East, Boston College, Community College

museums: JFK/UMass, Museum of Fine Arts, Science Park, Hynes/ICA

hospitals: Charles/MGH, New England Medical Center, Longwood Medical Area

cemeteries: Cedar Grove, Forest Hills

music halls: Symphony

Whaddya mean, no? Look at this:

http://www.mbta.com/traveling_t/fares_subway.asp

Unless you count "one way" as getting off at every station and then turning around and paying again, or transferring from subway to bus, I can't see where you're saying I'm wrong.

I got the info on who rides free from an MBTA tariff.

Although my answer to #5 was January 1, 2000 (when both subway and some bus services ran without a break all day), I'm not positive that's correct. On later New Year's Days, did the last outbound trains from downtown Boston leave at 2, or 2:30?

You're right, I forgot at least one station named after a commercial venture:

Porter Square, named for the (former) Porter House Hotel -- which brought us the Porterhouse steak.

smashmont wrote:Musn't be too difficult, I think, since I know most of the answers. Covering the Blue, Green, Orange, and Red Lines, including the streetcars and the Mattapan trolley:

1.) What is the maximum one-way fare? The minimum?

Riverside to Braintree would be the most expensive at $4.25. Mattapan to Alewife, Quincy Center, Riverside, BC, Cleveland Circle, Heath Street, Wonderland, Oak Grove, or Forest Hills is the cheapest

2.) In which station's platform surface are short poems engraved?

I would say Broadway, had no idea there were any on the T!

3.) In the City of Boston: What tunnel stations exist, if any, outside of Boston proper?

Maverick in East Boston, Broadway and Andrew in South Boston, Shawmut in Dorchester

4.) Which stations, if any, are named for commercial ventures, or are named for places that are named for commercial ventures?

Symphony, Prudential, Wonderland, Orient Heights(never said how old or out of date it can be!), Museum of Fine Arts, Brigham Circle, Science Park would be the only ones, unles you want to include the colleges as commercial ventures?

5.) When was the last time, if ever, that passenger rail service was provided after 2 AM?

early 1970s?

6.) When was the last time, if ever, that such service was <u>regularly scheduled</u>?

the late 1960s?

7.) <b>Bus:</b> When was the last time, if ever, that [edit] <u>regularly scheduled</u>[/edit] all-night passenger bus service was provided?

unless you are excluding it, Saturday night would probably be it!

8.) <b>Flamebait:</b> Is there any <u>techincal</u> reason (engineering, maintenance-related, etc.) that the subway can't operate all night? <i>Hint: Strictly two-track subways in New York and Chicago run 24/7.</i>

you could, but more time spent doing MOW during revenue hours and more bustitutions prevent running all night!

No peeking for these!

9.) Which subway line or branch "features" the period of least frequent service on the system?

the Blue Line

10.) Among the communities served, which, if any, are incorporated as Towns?

Brookline, Braintree, Milton are the only ones served by heavy or light rail, many more served via bus routes though

11.) What is the least densely populated community served? Second-least?

Brantree would probably be the least? Followed by Newton or Milton?

12.) Which station garage has the highest capacity?

Wellingoton, since the T just got control of the garage on the other side of Wellington Yard!

13.) What color are this month's passes?

Blue and Orange? have not seen the new passes!

Bold are my answers

The current Night Owl buses are not "all-night" service.

>3.) In the City of Boston: What tunnel stations exist, if any, outside of Boston proper?

Is there an agreed-upon distinction between "City of Boston" and "Boston Proper"? Someone once told me that a neighborhood wasn't in Boston Proper if you could write "Neighborhood, MA" on a letter and not have it look funny (e.g., "Roxbury, MA" looks okay but not "Back Bay, MA"). But that seems like an ad hoc distinction.

>10.) Among the communities served, which, if any, are incorporated as Towns?

Brookline, Braintree, and Milton are all officially towns.

"Boston Proper" means Boston before the annexations -- so, Downtown, Beacon Hill, North End, Waterfront, Leather District, Chinatown, Bay Village, South End, Back Bay, and Fenway.

Areas outside "Boston Proper" are Allston-Brighton, Charlestown, East Boston, South Boston, Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury, and Hyde Park.

You could also look at the distinction as "brick and stone neighborhoods" vs. "wood neighborhoods".

Ron Newman wrote:The current Night Owl buses are not "all-night" service.

I consider it "all night" service, regardless of what time it ends.

I see #1 was a trick question of sorts... the maximum one-way fare without transferring anywhere along the way is still three bucks.

Now, what if I were to, say, go Riverside to Reservoir, transfer there to a Beacon Street car, get off at Copley and take the Orange Line at Back Bay to Downtown Crossing and then catch the Red Line to Braintree. It's still a one-way trip, and nobody said walking transfers were prohibited!

1.) What is the maximum one-way fare? The minimum?

Maximum: Riverside-Chestnut Hill to Braintree or Quincy Adams, $4.25.
Minimum: Outbound on Green Line outside of Kenmore or Symphony, FREE

2.) In which station's platform surface are short poems engraved?

Don't know, but judging from other's answers, I have Davis and Broadway, could there be others?

3.) In the City of Boston: What tunnel stations exist, if any, outside of Boston proper?

The entire Red Line northwest of Boston, except for Charles/MGH, which is in Boston anyway, is underground.

4.) Which stations, if any, are named for commercial ventures, or are named for places that are named for commercial ventures?

Wonderland is named after the now defunct Wonderland amusement park. I can't think of any others right now.

5.) When was the last time, if ever, that passenger rail service was provided after 2 AM?

Never, that I know of.

6.) When was the last time, if ever, that such service was regularly scheduled?

Don't know.

7.) Bus: When was the last time, if ever, that [edit] regularly scheduled[/edit] all-night passenger bus service was provided?

The closest thing to that is the Night Owl.

8.) Flamebait: Is there any techincal reason (engineering, maintenance-related, etc.) that the subway can't operate all night? Hint: Strictly two-track subways in New York and Chicago run 24/7.

I'm not going to answer this one.


No peeking for these!

9.) Which subway line or branch "features" the period of least frequent service on the system?

The Orange Line, definately. The Blue Line comes a close second.

10.) Among the communities served, which, if any, are incorporated as Towns?

Don't know.

11.) What is the least densely populated community served? Second-least?

Don't know.

12.) Which station garage has the highest capacity?

Wellington, for the reasons Ed stated.

13.) What color are this month's passes?

June, 2004, you mean? Then, Blue/Green.

"All night" means all night -- the bus service never ends. That's what you have in London, Paris, and Amsterdam.

The last Night Owl bus service on the #1 (for example) leaves each endpoint at 2:30 am. The next regular #1 bus leaves Harvard at 5:10 am, or Dudley at 4:37 am. That's not "all night" service.