Bus updates: CT2 & 85
Mar. 24th, 2026 08:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
magidThere are three bus routes that end by my work. One I take when I don’t walk the whole way, one I take to Brighton (friends and/or shopping), and the third, the 85, goes from Kendall Square to Union Square (Somerville) (it claims to go to Spring Hill, but that was cut off the other end years ago due to some construction and never put back afterward).
Until early next month, that is. The powers that be at the T have decided to merge the CT2 route, which currently runs from Ruggles to Sullivan (southish and northish on the Orange Line, but with the route wiggling west from the train route, going through the medical area, and not-close stops to make it more express, as befitting a “cross-town” bus), with the 85. Although the route will be almost the same as the CT2’s much longer path, for some reason, the name CT2 is being retired, and the new route will become the 85.
The new route bypasses the last stops of the old 85 route, leaving the Spring Hill area without much bus service. I use the current route as a convenient way to get to Market Basket after work. The new route will mean a longer walk to make that happen, though still doable. On the plus side, it will go past Sullivan to Assembly Square, which I haven’t visited in ages, so maybe I’ll manage to get there some time. (Also helpful for folks who have jury duty at the courthouse.)
I took the 85 (old route) last night, and the bus driver was Not Happy about the route change, partly about how it leaves that part of the Union Sq area unserved by buses, and partly about how the route will be moved from one T garage to another, after a previous change left the current garage down a route already.
Until early next month, that is. The powers that be at the T have decided to merge the CT2 route, which currently runs from Ruggles to Sullivan (southish and northish on the Orange Line, but with the route wiggling west from the train route, going through the medical area, and not-close stops to make it more express, as befitting a “cross-town” bus), with the 85. Although the route will be almost the same as the CT2’s much longer path, for some reason, the name CT2 is being retired, and the new route will become the 85.
The new route bypasses the last stops of the old 85 route, leaving the Spring Hill area without much bus service. I use the current route as a convenient way to get to Market Basket after work. The new route will mean a longer walk to make that happen, though still doable. On the plus side, it will go past Sullivan to Assembly Square, which I haven’t visited in ages, so maybe I’ll manage to get there some time. (Also helpful for folks who have jury duty at the courthouse.)
I took the 85 (old route) last night, and the bus driver was Not Happy about the route change, partly about how it leaves that part of the Union Sq area unserved by buses, and partly about how the route will be moved from one T garage to another, after a previous change left the current garage down a route already.