MBTA Bus Route 47

The fact they run so few cross town buses during rush hour to longwood is stupid. They consistently drive past people waiting for the bus.
Buy a bike or take the T that’s my advice to you

Meh. You get me to work awfully quickly. But I get on at Central. And if I don’t strategically place myself at the bus stop to make it to the front of the line (Is there a 1 or a M2 coming? Should I stand at the top or the bottom of the bus stop? Where will the bus stop in respect to the mess of 40 or so people waiting here?), or I make it there just a minute (a minute!) before you leave, somehow that means I am standing on the bus. Oh why oh why 47? You start at Central. I am the first stop! And I cannot get a seat?
And when I leave work, I trek it down to a stop earlier, because I am a popular stop and that requires the same magic 8 ball predictive abilities noted above, just to make sure I can get a seat. Not that I mind standing. But sometimes I just want to sit and look at facebook and feel better about myself that I am not complaining about my kids toilet training.
Oh 47, if only you had a few more buses at peak times…

Oh 47, I have such mixed feelings about you.
When I first discovered there was a bus from Ruggles to Central Square, I was overjoyed! No switching trains! And the first month or so the 47 was either on time or a couple of minutes late every single time, and got me quickly from home to work everyday.
As time went on though, the bus has progressively been less reliable. In the morning, it’s usually about 10 minutes late, and the afternoon has turned into somewhat of a crap shoot. The construction on the BU bridge also makes the commute quite a bit longer.
All in all, this is still the best option for me when getting to work, but there is definitely room for improvement.

I truly hate the 47. I take it almost every day from Cambridge to the Fenway. For a while, its timetable was almost reliable when leaving Central Square, but that’s changed. The drivers (at least in the late mornings/​early afternoons) have taken to leaving 3 – 4 minutes before the scheduled departure time. That’s fine when you are on an airplane and all booked passengers are seated, but on a public bus, it’s just not acceptable. 3 – 4 minutes late is far more helpful than 3 – 4 minutes early. I have missed the bus on a number of occasions simply because I arrived at the bus stop with only a minute or two to spare before the scheduled departure time. I have sent in multiple complaints through the MBTA customer service website. Nothing changes. Sometimes they are late; sometimes they are early – and this is from the beginning of the line in Central Square. Imagine how unpredictable it is somewhere in the middle of the line!
Oh, I don’t have to imagine that; I live it. I try to take the 47 home from the Fenway area. Taking the 47 in the evening back to Cambridge is even more unreliable. The timetable is completely unpredictable. And, at that time of night, the buses only run every 45 minutes. Not knowing if a 47 bus has gone by or not, I have waited up to an hour and ten minutes for the next bus (even every 45 minutes is unpredictable). On other occasions, assuming that the 47 has already gone, I have started to walk home in the snow/​freezing rain, only to have the bus pass me when I am between stops (and it’s too far to run). In the past two months, I’ve only been able to catch the 47 three times. Mostly I just walk home, in the dark, late at night, hoping I don’t get mugged. My fifteen minute bus-​ride is usually a cold forty-​four minute walk.

I experienced the 47 bus for the first time today. I wasn’t sure what time it was coming, but it came within 5 minutes of me waiting at the bus stop. I was going towards Ruggles Station from Beacon St. To summarize the trip– we basically took a circle around Longwood medical area to end up back where we started and then continue forward to Ruggles Station. Although it was warmer and more comfortable than making the walk– with traffic (especially mid-​afternoon) and the round-​about trip. it really didn’t save me any time. So I will zip up my heavy duty coat and make the walk and save the $ 1.50.