Introduction
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, or MBTA for short, operates bus, trolley, trackless trolley, subway/rapid transit, ferry, and commuter rail service in Boston, Massachusetts, and its suburbs. MBTA also provides service to Greater Boston, as well as Rhode Island, connecting with RIPTA. MBTA is the largest transportation agency in Massachusetts and the 8th largest in the United States overall.
Headquarters Location
MBTA Headquarters is located at 10 Park Plaza, Boston, Massachusetts
MBTA Bus Operations
MBTA over one hundred bus routes, with each of them being numbered in a range that makes them easily identifiable. With the exceptions of the Crosstown Routes (which are respectively numbered CT-2, and CT-3) all MBTA bus routes are numbered depending on where or how they operate.
Boston local bus routes operate within the city of Boston. Most of these routes were originally Boston Railway routes. Generally, the further from South Boston you are, the higher the number For example, you’d see Routes 4, 7, and 9 near Boston South Station but most of the upper 100 series routes are in Medford. Route numbers for bus routes in this division typically lie within 1-130 (currently, the highest is 121). Routes 71 and 73 in the Harvard area were trackless trolley lines until March 2022.
Bus services to the suburb of Melrose are numbered in the 130s range.
There are also early morning one-direction bus routes from Nubian Station numbered in the 170s, and service to eastern Boston Subway Station numbered in the 190s. The 190s cannot be found on any maps or timetables due to the fact that they are meant for subway cashiers but are open to the public
Routes in the 200 series serve the Quincy area. Most routes in this range terminate at Quincy Center station. Routes 201 and 202 are special routes in this range, that are known as “Fields Corner Loop.” These two routes as well as route 240 are the only 200 series routes that do not connect with the Braintree branch of the 
.
400 series routes serve Lynn and North Shore areas. Most of these routes serve to connect with the 
.
MBTA’s 500 series are express bus routes that operate via the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90). For the most part, these bus routes operate to downtown Boston and charge a premium fare ($4.45). Route 502 and 503 instead go to Copley Station (but still are premium fare lines).
MBTA also looks over some county-run bus lines, numbered in the 700 series. These bus lines are numbered within MBTA’s numbering, and, with the exception of routes 712 and 713, use buses provided by their own operators.
Silver Line Bus routes are dedicated rapid bus routes that wear a special livery, all originating in downtown Boston. These lines are numbered SL1 through SL5. 
, 
, and 
operate via Silver Line way and use the subway fare, whereas the 
and 
operate via Washington Avenue and take traditional local bus fare.
MBTA Local Bus Fleet Roster
MBTA Silver Line and Bus Fleet Roster
MBTA Rapid Transit Rail Operations
MBTA also operates subway and rapid transit lines within Boston. These lines are identified by color with the exception of the “Mattapan High-Speed Line,” which is referred to as such.
Green Lines can also be identified individually by each route they are. Green Line routes are B, C, D, and E. Green Line A service was replaced by bus route 57.
Rail Cars for MBTA are assigned to specific lines, and usually named referring to such. Below shows each car type and which lines they are assigned.
MBTA Subway and Rapid Transit Fleet Roster
Commuter Rail (Coming Soon)
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