MBTA Bus Rte 117

middle ground

ah yes the 117 (and the 116).
These buses run from Wonderland to Maverick via Beach St/​Revere St/​Broadway/​Meridian Street. Like its cousin bus, the 111, the ¹¹⁶⁄₁₁₇ are just over crowded and are apart of the «Key Bus Route» project.
Pro’s
Schedule/​Frequency — Between the 116 AND the 117 (I get on in Chelsea Center), these buses have a great schedule. Typically I won’t wait longer than 10 minutes in Rush, 20 off peak/​weekends. So you won’t wait long for this bus
¹¹⁶⁄₁₁₇ — There is one variant of this route called the 116/​117, which, instead of going all the way to Wonderland and turning around. The 116 – 117 turns around at city hall (just north of Bellingham Square), and does a return trip.
Key Bus Route Project — The MBTA this year (2013) announced that they will be doing major improvements to the ¹¹⁶⁄₁₁₇ bus. Relocation of stops, 60′ articulate buses, and using such things as ITS and GPS tracking to monitor and adjust when the bus is late/​early. (Yes I consider this project a good thing, as it will greatly improve service)
Con’s
Popularity — Since these routes are identified by the MBTA as a «Key Bus Routes», it has VERY high ridership. During rush hour, they just can’t seem to run enough of them to accommodate all the passengers. Many buses are packed like Sardines in a can. I often will use the NextBus app to see how long the next one is, because if its coming in a minute or two, why wait and stand on a crowded bus when another one will be along shortly.
Schedule — This is a con also. Because these routes are so popular, this route often has many delays. I’ve stopped looking at the schedule and solely relying on NextBus, as the schedule is typically wrong, and NextBus is more accurate.
Overcrowding — This is a big deal on this route. As I said above, they just cannot run enough buses and/​or keep them on to the schedule. Some afternoons when I get to Maverick to catch it, the platform is so full of people waiting to get on.
Meridian Street Bridge — Yes this is a downfall, because if the bridge is up, you could wait as long as 20 minutes for the boat to pass and the bridge to come down. It can really slow down these buses to a grinding halt.
Patrons — Yes I have issues with many of the riders of this bus line. First off, getting ON the bus is a challenge when it picks up at Maverick. There’s so many people waiting on the platform usually, other people PUSH you onto the bus. People also will cut you in line and no one lets you have any sort of personal space.
And then of course the whole stroller issue. On the 116 or 117 buses, there can be as many as 4 – 6 strollers on one bus (if their’s room). They fold up the seats, and block aisles so no one can get on or off. Its very frustrating.
AND. my typical complaints about normal T riders… body odor, too much cologne, dirty clothes, talking loud on their cell phone etc etc, all apply here. (And I think in some ways due to the high ridership on this route, it’s even worse here).
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Overall I am ‘meh’ about the 116 or 117 buses. However, the frequency of the bus route is great, and I can’t really complain, as I’ve lived where the bus runs every hour on weekends… the 111 is a god send. So I’ll still give it three stars.

There’s a 117 bus scheduled to leave Haymarket Station at 5:10am on weekdays, getting to Logan Airport nine minutes later. Perfect, if you’ve just gotten to Haymarket on one of the many crack-​of-​dawn buses that get there at about 5:00.
The schedule says that the bus makes one stop, at Logan terminal C. The bus driver informed me that the bus makes just that one stop, at terminal C, and at no other terminals. That’s nice if you’re going to terminal C, but not if you’re going anywhere else. So you’d have to walk to another terminal at Logan, or to catch a Massport shuttle there to take you to another terminal. That only takes a few minutes, but it’s a pain if you have bags.
So I never got on the bus.
Bonus: on the day before Thanksgiving, the Haymarket area is swarming with cabs, even at 5 in the morning. It’s a $ 15 fare (with tolls) from there to Logan.