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An Orange Line girl takes the 39 bus
By adamg on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 9:48pm
And is not impressed:
... [Y]ou get on the #39, which stops every 10 yards and each time picks up between 6 and 8 students from Wentworth, MassArt or Northeastern, all of whom are carrying backpacks the size of Amy Winehouse's beehive. You are at least 18 stops from your final destination, and already it's like being stuck in an old toolshed with 9 dozen wet dogs, half of whom have wracking, croupy, Dickensian coughs. ...
And that's before the driver decides to take a break to make a call on her cell phone.
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Comments
Given all the 39 has to deal
Given all the 39 has to deal with (including, yes, too many stops that are too close together) I think it runs surprisingly well. It varies wildly how packed the bus is, even if you pick it up at the same time every day...
I noticed recently that there are fewer and fewer articulated busses on the 39- that probably accounts of the congestion.
I've never been on the 39 when the driver has stopped to make a call- and I've been riding it daily for a year. Why didn't she pick up the phone and call the MBTA complaint hotline?
I think her post makes a lot more sense when you read her comments on the perspective of someone who considers "not being able to wear cute shoes" to be the end of the world....Sweetie, this be Boston. Not San Fran.
Um, Here in "San Fran ..."
I'm here now in SFO dearie, where it was in the 60s today. I was noticing as I walked around that "cute shoes" - e.g. shoes that destroy feet and/or knees and backs for the sake of fashion - are in vastly shorter supply on the feet of walking professional women in SFO than they are in Boston. Even in winter in Boston. The women here seem to prefer cute but sensible shoes for walking around the city.
Then again, as a West Coast Native, I've always been amused by the status clothing obsessions and appearance fixations of Bostonians.
As for the 39, my coworkers at HSPH and I used to call it the "tardy nine". Outdone for lateness only by bus 666 - line of satan.
laugh out loud
You're claiming that Bostonians are obsessed with appearance and status clothing? That's hilarious and just plain wrong! In general, Bostonians are well known for their casual devil-may-care attitude toward fashion.
Let's just say ...
That I never heard so many different classifications of pants, shirts and shoes before I moved east.
Slacks? Dungarees? Seriously. I thought they were all called "pants", but that's it's own class here. Where I grew up it was either shoes or boots, not "shoes" being somehow different from "sneakers" from about sixteen divisions and classifications of stratified footwear.
And, yes, compared to Portland or Seattle, Boston is snobbish about clothing- not "fashion" snobbish per se, but obsessed with what kind of clothing you wear broadcasting your social status in a heirarchical system more complex than the names for pants. Count the dry cleaners, and note the number of wool suits downtown on a hot day. My Aussie friend used to have a field day with that!
Ew. "Slacks."
I hate the sound of that word. It's up there with the sound of mayo being mixed into tunafish.
Not that "dungarees" is much better.
SwirlyGrrl is spot on
I've lived here my whole life and have never been able to sum up the anti-fashion/fashion-snobbery dichotomy of New England so aptly and succinctly. Well said, SwirlyGrrl.
Trust me, she's not the kind
Trust me, she's not the kind of person who considers a temporary cute shoe impairment to be life-threatening.
Well...
My trip on the #39, I understand, was not typical. The "cute shoes" comment was a joke, and not to be taken as indicative of my priorities.
I thought it was pretty clear that the overall intention of that particular entry was to poke fun at myself as someone in recovery who can, and does, flip out over nothing, but okay. I can run with the perception that I'm a shoe whore, too.
No day for cute shoes
Perfect day for knee-high, insulated green rubber boots. That's what I wore yesterday to ford the foot of backed up water under the train tracks. Buy yourself some nice wellies and you'll feel better about the rain.
But nothing will make you feel better about the 39.
Last ride on 39
As a former #39 commuter I had to laugh at your post. So true. My last ride on #39 before I moved consisted of a fist fight right behind me on the back of the bus. A nice send off.
Compared to the orange line?
The 39 is heaven compared to taking the orange line outbound from Mass Ave or Ruggles, especially at night. I don't think I could design a creepier subway station if I tried.
what's wrong with Ruggles station?
It is a major bus transfer point, it has a commuter rail stop attached, it even has retail stuff in the lobby. It's always busy. Seems a fine place to me.
If I want to take my bicycle on a commuter train out to the south suburbs, this is where I usually get on or off the train. It is much more pleasant than Back Bay station with its poorly ventilated diesel fumes.
I have to agree. I work at
I have to agree. I work at Northeastern, and come and go through Ruggles during all times of the day. It is almost always populated enough to feel safe, and the NEU campus police station is a short dash away if you do feel threatened. Plus, all the shootings happen between 1:30 and 3:00 pm, so you know when to avoid the place.
Sorry, but I think Chinatown
Sorry, but I think Chinatown takes the cake for being the station with the creepiest late-night wait on the OL, with Jackson Square as the most depressing at any time of the day or night, for some reason.
The sketchier folks who loiter around Chinatown usually don't pay to get in, but I can't blame the CSAs for not confronting them.