The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus division operates 152 bus routes in the Boston, Massachusetts metropolitan area. All routes connect to MBTA subway, MBTA Commuter Rail, and/or other MBTA bus services. Many routes are descendants of the streetcar routes of the Boston Elevated Railway, or of suburban companies including the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway and Middlesex and Boston Street Railway. 148 routes are directly operated by the MBTA, while private companies operate four routes under contract. Four additional suburban operations are partially funded by the MBTA.

A number of routes were temporarily suspended or placed on modified routings during the COVID-19 pandemic; overall service levels were restored to pre-COVID levels in 2021, though some routes were not restored. Since 2018, the MBTA has been planning a major bus network overhaul, with implementation expected to be complete in 2028.^[1]

Silver Line

The Silver Line is a six-route bus rapid transit system marketed as rapid transit. It is divided into two branches: Waterfront service (SL1, SL2, SL3, and the rush-hour SLW shuttle) that runs through the South Boston Transitway tunnel, and Washington Street service (SL4 and SL5) that runs on the surface via Washington Street. The Waterfront service costs the same as a subway fare, while the Washington Street service costs a regular bus fare. All Silver Line routes use articulated 60-foot (18 m) buses; the Waterfront routes use hybrid buses with extended battery range for electric operation in the tunnel.

The SL5 route was created in 2002 as a replacement for the Washington Street Elevated. The Shuttle route began operations in 2004, followed by the SL2 and SL3 (former) in 2004 and SL1 in 2005 when dual-mode buses became available. The SL4 was introduced in 2009 as a replacement for the canceled Phase III tunnel. A new SL3 route to Chelsea opened in 2018.^[2]

Crosstown

The two crosstown (CT) routes provide limited-stop service on two routes that connect major subway and bus transfer points. Three crosstown routes were created by the MBTA in 1994; route CT1 was merged with route 1 in 2019.^[2]

1–121

These routes provide almost all local service in the core of the metropolitan area; most were originally Boston Elevated Railway streetcar routes. They were originally numbered roughly clockwise from southeast to northeast, with 4 the furthest south in South Boston and 121 the furthest north (roughly) in East Boston. The BERy folded into the Metropolitan Transit Authority in 1947, and the M.T.A. in turn was reorganized as the MBTA in 1964. Despite some changes, including minor routes being merged into trunk routes, the core service network has remained roughly intact since the BERy eta. New routes have been added during the M.T.A. and MBTA eras.^[2]

Seven routes – 52, 59, 61, 62, 67, 70, and 76 – serve more distant western suburbs including Bedford, Waltham, Lexington, and Needham. They are descendants of routes acquired from the Middlesex and Boston Street Railway in 1972, which were subsequently renumbered using previously discontinued designations.^[2]

Fifteen routes – 1, 15, 22, 23, 28, 32, 39, 57, 66, 71, 73, 77, 111, 116, and 117 – are designated as key bus routes. The highest–ridership routes in the system, they supplement the subway system to provide frequent service to the densest areas of the city. Key bus routes typically operate at higher frequencies than other routes.^[3] Routes 28 and 39 use 60-foot articulated buses.

Four early morning round trips are run between outlying stations and Haymarket, each running over portions of several local routes. Although intended primarily for station agents, they are open to all passengers. The trips are internally numbered 191–194, but are shown in timetables as variants of local routes.^[2]

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