A little help with the Boston "T", please?

[pseudotriton_ruber_ruber]

@Serronaulta

Chinatown? Are you taking the “Chinatown bus” into Boston? The “Chinatown buses” drop off inside the South Station bus terminal now.

If you are indeed taking the bus into South Station, the commuter rail would definitely be the most convenient way to get to Wellesley–it’s right there. But I still think you should find a hotel room in Boston/Cambridge. That way you’d get to your hotel and be rid of your luggage that much sooner. Then you can head out to Wellesley when you’re ready, if you want.

It takes a minimum of half an hour to travel from Boston to Wellesley College by car. The train ride takes around half an hour, but then you have to add in walking time to/from the Wellesley Square station.

Frankly, there isn’t much to do in the town of Wellesley. This is why there’s a mass exodus from campus starting every Friday evening.

Unless you want to see the college campus or hang out with your daughter and her friends, you’ll probably have more fun in Boston before the game.

It occurs to me that if your daughter comes into Boston to watch the game with you, it might be easier for her to return to Wellesley using the Senate Bus afterwards. The Senate Bus stop on Beacon Street is not far from Kenmore Square–about a ten-minute walk more or less, and you two wouldn’t have to deal with Green Line crowding to get there.

Just to report back, as promised: I ended up staying at a bed and breakfast with my daughter Saturday night in Brookline, so we were able to walk to and from Fenway easily. Thanks, Serronaulta, for the good advice. We did take the Senate bus the next morning out to Wellesley. I was further confused by the commuter rail line. We explored the Yawkey stop in Boston and the Wellesley stop in Wellesley, and they looked fine, except that there was no ticketbooth or other source of information, just a posted schedule. Do people just pay for their tickets on the train every morning? Rather than wait for a train that may or may not run on Sundays, only to find out I had to buy a ticket elsewhere once I’d boarded the train, I did the Senate bus-to-Harvard Square (which was fine) and Red Line to South Station things again, but I’d like to try the commuter line if I could find out how that’s done. Anyone know the deal there?

[Laughing_Lagomorph]

@pseudotriton_ruber_ruber

… Do people just pay for their tickets on the train every morning? Rather than wait for a train that may or may not run on Sundays, only to find out I had to buy a ticket elsewhere once I’d boarded the train, I did the Senate bus-to-Harvard Square (which was fine) and Red Line to South Station things again, but I’d like to try the commuter line if I could find out how that’s done. Anyone know the deal there?

Yes, you buy your tickets on the train. You can buy a round trip or one way from the conductor. Most commuters have monthly passes of course.

[Anaptyxis]

And be warned that the Yawkey stop is not consistently used – the closest station that’s in full service will be Back Bay station. All trains on the Framingham/Worcester line (that’s the one that goes through Wellesley) will go through Back Bay, but only a few will actually stop at Yawkey.