Report on Massport Shuttles

Once upon a time, if you were to only take public transportation to Logan Airport, the only way to get to the airport was the Blue Line to Airport, then the  MBTA 98 to the Airport.  It was not a great route, since it was crowded and infrequent. That's when Massport stepped in and made a shuttle system around the Airport. Today I will be doing a report on the shuttle system. I am going to be talking about Logan Express today.


Routes:

Route #11: 

The #11 serves every airport terminal on an endless loop. There is really not much to say about this route, because it is not that exciting.

The 11 leaving Terminal C.

Route #22 & #33:
These routes are the most used routes in the system. They use articulated buses, and they are always packed. These routes are kind of the same route. The #22 runs from Airport Station to the Rental Car Center and serves Terminal A and B. The #33 serves Airport Station and Rental Car Center and Terminal C and D. I have rode both of these routes before.

The #33 coming into Airport Station.

No idea why the #22 was at Terminal C, but here it is at Terminal C!

The #55:

The #55 only runs during Peak Hours and Early Mornings. It is pretty much the same thing as the #11, except it serves Airport Station and the Rental Car Center. Also, it uses articulated buses. It doesn't get a lot of ridership from early morning travelers. 

The #66:

The #66 serves all of the airport terminals, Airport Station, The Logan Office Center, and The Water Transportation Dock. As you can see, the #66 has a major responsibility. The route does not get as many people compared to the #22 or the #33. Still, this route gets 12 minute headways. Some of the busiest MBTA routes get 20 minute headways!

The #66 heading to Water Transportation Dock. 

                               

                                                                The #77:
This is an Employees Only Route that goes from the Chelsea Garage to the Airport. They apparently don't check badges, so you can just ride it if you want to. The route runs very frequently. Also, this route seriously delays the SL3. The route starts out at Eastern Avenue Station and uses articulated buses. Since the SL3 also uses articulated buses, it is very hard to navigate through the Eastern Avenue Busway.


                                                              The #88:
According to Massport, this route does not serve Airport Station. When I rode it, it did. This shuttle serves all of the Airport Terminals, including Economy Parking. It gets lots of ridership and is well used.

                                                         Next stop, terminal E!


Fleet:
When Massport was new, they had a fleet of Novabus RTS 06s, and AN-440s. Now, they have a fleet of all NABI buses. The fleet is very simple. Now they have NABI 42s and NABI 60s

2 NABI 42s at Airport Station. 

                                                          NABI 60 on the #22 leaving Airport Station.

Paint Schemes:
Massport has a total of 3 paint schemes. The first one is the regular blue one. The second one is the "Massport gone green" scheme. The third one is the "Back bay Logan Express scheme." Massport runs a Logan Express bus route out to Copley. It uses the regular NABI 42 buses.

The "Massport Gone Green" scheme 

Sorry about the bad quality. Here is the "Back Bay Logan Express" scheme.

Finally, here is the regular scheme.

So what do I think of Massport? It is a very good system. It is pretty slow, and they are very crowded. But if you wait for the next bus, it is pretty much empty! (That is what happened to me on the #22.) If you are an Orange, Blue, and Green Line user, this is the best way to get to the airport.