Boston City Guide - Getting Around

The Massachusetts Bay Transport Authority (MBTA), 10 Park Plaza (tel: (617) 222 5000 or 1 800 392 6100; website: www.mbta.com), operates four subway lines (blue, green, red, orange), which spread out from a central point at Park Street Station, at the northeast corner of Boston Common. The ‘T', as the system is known, began in 1897 and is the oldest in the USA. The lines run seven days a week.

MBTA also runs 13 commuter rail lines, three boat services and numerous bus routes. The public buses are cheaper and have many more stops than the subway but bus routes can be more difficult to navigate.

Passes (Boston Visitor's Passport) for one, three and seven days are valid on both. Route maps are available at all stations.

Taxis are plentiful and can be hailed on the street or reserved by telephone, but they are not cheap.

There are plenty of companies including Bay State Taxi Service (tel: (617) 566 5000), City Cab (tel: (617) 536 5100), Green Cabs (tel: (617) 625 2000) and Metro Cab (tel: (617) 782 5500). Over the river in Cambridge, providers include Ambassador Brattle Cab (tel: (617) 492 1100) and Star Taxi (tel: (617) 876 8888).

Water Taxis
An interesting way to get to know the inner city area is to use the water taxis, which run throughout the year both as commuter taxis and as ordinary water buses. City Water Taxi (tel: (617) 422 0392; website: www.citywatertaxi.com) operates 10 waterfront stops, seven days a week. Shuttles run to Logan International Airport with Harbor Express (tel: (617) 222 6999; website: www.harborexpress.com) from Downtown, Hull and Quincy Shipyard.

Boston is not on a simple grid plan, curving as it does to accommodate both the Charles River, running more or less west-east, and the coastline, running more or less north-south. Though the ‘Big Dig,' the most expensive tunnel-rebuilding project in America's history, has been completed, traffic in the city is still very congested. Parking can be confusing with many areas having local residents' rules and public parking lots being expensive.

A car is only necessary for locations outside the city. Much of the central part of Boston was built before cars and so lends itself to exploration on foot, and public transport in and around Boston is good and inexpensive.

Hire cars are available from Alamo (tel: 1 800 327 9633; website: www.alamo.com), Avis (tel: 1 800 331 1212; website: www.avis.com), Budget (tel: 1 800 527 0700; website: www.budget.com), Dollar (tel: 1 800 800 4000; website: www.dollar.com), Enterprise (tel: 1 800 325 8007; website: www.enterprise.com), Hertz (tel: 1 800 654 3131; website: www.hertz.com), National (tel: 1 800 227 7368; website: www.nationalcar.com) and Thrifty (tel: 1 800 367 2277; website: www.thrifty.com).

Most car hire companies require drivers to be over 25 years of age or impose hefty surcharges.

Cycling on the city streets of Boston is not for the faint-hearted. Only brave locals do so. There are scenic cycle paths, however, along the Charles River. Bike hire is available at Back Bay Bicycles, 366 Commonwealth Avenue (tel: (617) 247 2336; website: www.backbaybicycles.com). Helmet and lock are included in the day rate.