57 (MBTA bus)

57 (MBTA bus) is a high-frequency bus route operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in Boston, Massachusetts. It connects the Watertown neighborhood, via the major commercial corridor of Mount Auburn Street and Brighton Avenue, to the Kenmore Square transit hub. The route is one of the busiest in the MBTA bus system, providing a critical surface transportation link between inner-suburban areas and the core of the city.

Route description

The 57 bus originates at Watertown Yard, a major bus terminal and former streetcar yard located near Arsenal Street. It travels eastbound along Mount Auburn Street, passing through the commercial centers of Watertown Square and the Coolidge Corner neighborhood of Brookline. The route continues onto Brighton Avenue, serving the densely populated residential and student areas around Boston University and Allston. It terminates at the Kenmore station busway, a key transfer point to the Green Line and other bus routes like the 55 and 60. Major landmarks along the route include the Mount Auburn Hospital, the Harvard University-affiliated Longy School of Music of Bard College, and the Star Market at Coolidge Corner.

History

The route's lineage traces back to the early 20th century streetcar lines operated by the Boston Elevated Railway. The modern 57 bus route was established in the 1960s, replacing the former A Branch streetcar service that ran from Watertown to Kenmore Square via a similar alignment. This conversion was part of a broader MBTA program to replace streetcar lines with trackless trolley and diesel bus service. For many years, the 57 was operated as a trackless trolley route using overhead wires, a legacy of the streetcar system. In 2022, as part of the MBTA bus fleet modernization and the retirement of the aging Neoplan USA trackless trolley fleet, the route was converted to battery-electric bus service utilizing New Flyer vehicles.

Service characteristics

The 57 operates with high-frequency service seven days a week, with headways as short as five minutes during weekday peak periods on the segment between Coolidge Corner and Kenmore Square. Service spans from approximately 4:30 AM to 1:30 AM daily. Due to its path through dense, congested urban corridors like Brighton Avenue, the route is often subject to significant traffic delays, which impact schedule reliability. The MBTA designates it as a key "High-Frequency Network" route, prioritizing resources for maintenance and vehicle allocation. It provides vital connections to the Green Line at Kenmore station and Riverside via other routes, and to the Red Line via transfers at Harvard station.

Fleet and facilities

The route is primarily served by New Flyer XDE40 battery-electric hybrid buses, assigned to the Arborway Bus Maintenance Facility in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood. This garage has historically been the base for the MBTA's trackless trolley operations. The transition to battery-electric buses required upgrades to charging infrastructure at the Arborway facility. Prior to 2022, the route was operated with Neoplan USA AN440LF trackless trolleys, which drew power from an overhead wire system still visible along sections of Mount Auburn Street and Brighton Avenue. The maintenance of the route's buses and the management of its scheduled service are overseen by the MBTA's Bus Operations department.

Ridership and performance

With a pre-pandemic weekday average of approximately 12,200 riders in 2019, the 57 was consistently among the top five busiest routes in the MBTA bus system. Ridership is bolstered by high-density residential areas, major employers like Mount Auburn Hospital, and the large student populations of Boston University and Harvard University. Key performance metrics monitored by the MBTA include on-time performance, which is challenged by traffic congestion, and passenger load factors, which often exceed capacity during peak hours on the eastern segment of the route. The route's performance and crowding issues have been subjects of analysis in MBTA service planning documents and by advocacy groups like the LivableStreets Alliance.

Category:MBTA bus routes Category:Transportation in Boston Category:Transportation in Middlesex County, Massachusetts