Activating Columbia Road: Reframing a Missing Link

Bus Accessibility and Use
Columbia Road currently has limited bus access
for most of the corridor, with the exception of the
16 bus that runs nearly the full length of the road
from its intersection with Massachusetts Avenue
through Franklin Park. At Massachusetts Ave, the
8 bus intersects Columbia Road and the 17 and
41 travel along Columbia Road until Upham’s
Corner. At Upham’s Corner the 15 bus intersects the
corridor, the 41 turns west onto Dudley Street, and
the 17 turns south east onto Hancock Street. Further
south on the corridor, the 19 bus crosses Columbia
Road on Geneva Avenue and the 23 crosses on
Washington Street. Lastly, the terminus of Columbia
Road at Franklin Park has multiple bus routes
that run north and south along Blue Hill Avenue
including the 14, 22, 28, 29, and 45.
comes only once every 30 minutes, which is a
low frequency for the number of passengers it
moves up and down the corridor. Nationally, the
accepted definition of frequent service is every
15 minutes or better from early morning to midevening
routes. By this definition, only 26, or 15% of
the MBTA’s 176 bus routes provide frequent service. 9
In 2019, the MBTA made the decision to expand
early morning service on a select number of routes,
including the 16 bus. This resulted in 17 additional
morning trips along the corridor, starting at
4:00am. 10
The Better Bus Project is an MBTA initiative to
improve bus service on key bus routes throughout
the Metro Boston region. This project is part of a
larger $8 billion modernization effort, which includes
replacing subway fleets, upgrading tracks, signals,
and switches, reinventing the bus system to reflect
changing demographics, replacing the fare
collection system, and bringing all of the MBTA’s
assets to a state of good repair. 6
The 16 bus is one of 63 routes listed as priority
routes in the Better Bus Project. The change will
add midday and Saturday service to JFK/UMass
on Route 16, which currently only operates at
weekday peak times. 7 The key changes for the
route will include:
Figure 63: Bus Stop on Columbia Road
• About a 3-minute shorter wait time for 1,374
midday (25%) route 16 riders
• 69 passenger hours saved and 137 new
passenger trips each weekday
According to the project proposal, the 16 bus is
described as a “local route” which is defined as
routes that provide service along major arterials
and local streets and serve over 3,000 people
per day. The 16 bus is the 22nd highest ridership
route in the metro area, regularly carrying over
5,000 people per week day. 8 This route, however,
is infrequent. During the weekday, the 16 bus
6 MBTA, “Better Bus Project.”
7 MBTA, “Route 16,” 2.
8 MBTA, “Better Bus Project.”
9 MBTA, “Better Bus Project.”
10 Better Bus Project, MBTA, and Nelson Nygaard, “State of the
Bus System, 2018,” 19.
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