Public Transit
The Heart Of Boston's Public Transportation System
MBTA Service Alerts
Stay up-to-date with construction and maintenance that may affect your commute or visit to Boston.
Downtown Crossing CharlieCard Store - One Stop Customer Service
The store is open from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays for seniors, Transportation Access Pass (TAP) customers, and customers with chronic health conditions. It will be open to the general public from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays.
The CharlieCard Store is closed on Mondays.
For more information go to mbta.com/charliecardstore.
MBTA System
Downtown Boston is where American public transportation began--literally. In 1897, Boston's Tremont Street Subway, the predecessor to the MBTA, opened. Running beneath Tremont Street, it linked Scollay Square (now Government Center) to Boylston Street. It was the first subway system in North America.
MBTA Subway & Silver Line
Today, the MBTA's subway system converges in downtown, with the Red, Orange, Green, and Blue lines meeting underneath Downtown Crossing. The Silver Line (bus line) goes through the Downtown Crossing area, too.
Use any of the following T subway stops to access downtown. Click here for more info about the service changes, schedules and maps:
- Boylston Street (Green line)
- Chinatown (both Orange and Silver lines)
- Downtown Crossing (both Orange and Red lines)
- Government Center (both Blue and Green lines)
- Park Street (both Red and Green lines)
- South Station (both Red and Silver lines)
- State Street (both Blue and Orange lines)
In addition to the four subway lines, the Silver Line rapid-transit bus shuttles continuously between South Station and Logan Airport, with additional downtown stops at 600 Washington Street and 26 Temple Place.
Please visit here for additional MBTA subway-related info, including the complete fare schedule and maps.
MBTA Bus System
Complementing the Silver Line in downtown are numerous regular MBTA bus lines. The following routes have stops in downtown:
Please visit here for additional MBTA bus-related info, including the complete fare schedule and maps.
SOUTH STATION: MBTA Commuter Rail, AMTRAK, & Buses
Located just steps from the downtown core, South Station services eight different MBTA commuter rail lines:
Please visit here for additional MBTA commuter rail-related info, including the complete fare schedule and maps.
South Station is also the starting point for AMTRAK's Acela Express (high-speed) train service, which runs from Boston to Washington, D.C. with stops in-between, as well as its Northeast Regional train service, which extends past Washington, D.C. down to Virginia Beach, with stops in-between.
Finally, several bus lines, including FlixBus, Concord Coach Lines, Greyhound, MegaBus, and Peter Pan, operate out of South Station's bus terminal.
Logan International Airport
Although airports in many major cities are located dozens of miles from the central core, Logan International Airport is just a 15-minute drive from the heart of downtown Boston. Public transportation options to Logan include the Silver Line and the Airport stop on the Blue Line.