Getting from PVD to BOS without a car

November 14, 2006 6:29 PM

What's the least expensive and most efficient way to get from Providence airport to downtown Boston when you don't have access to a car?

I've been Googling for the last hour and I'm not finding anything encouraging. Basically I need a way to get someone who's arriving into PVD at 8:00 on a Friday night into Boston in the least expensive and least scary way possible. The fares on the Peter Pan bus are great, but I have no idea where their "Providence Terminal" is in relation to the airport, and if it's safe or if it's just a crack house on wheels. Any suggestions -- that don't involve a $150 each-way hiring of a private van -- would be much appreciated.

posted by shiu mai baby to Travel & Transportation (10 answers total)

You could take the Providence Line of the MBTA Commuter rail. I think you would have to take a cab to the MBTA station, but from there it is only 6.00 right into Boston. Once in Boston you would have access to the "T" Subway and should be able to get most places in the city.
posted by irisell at 6:34 PM on November 14, 2006

RIPTA is the name of Rhode Island's ... uh ... Public Transit Authority. Google for them, and that should get you to Providence Station. From there, you could take the bus, or you could take commuter rail (see www.MBTA.com) to South Station in downtown Boston. South Station is a major bus/airport bus/subway hub, and you should be able to get anywhere in the city from there.
posted by spaceman_spiff at 6:35 PM on November 14, 2006

I did this once. There's a shuttle from the airport to downtown Providence, where you can catch a bus to Boston.

Here's the airport shuttle info on Southwest's website:

Airport Van Shuttle
Van Shuttle Service from T.F. Green Airport to downtown Providence. The shuttle leaves the airport on the hour and stops at all hotels and Brown and Johnson and Wales Universities. Van or car service is also available to any destination in New England with an advance reservation. The Van Shuttle Service booth is located on the lower level next to the baggage carousel.

[phone]

The website linked above also has info for buses you can catch downtown. I don't know if it's the cheapest, but it certainly was cheap and convenient, and I got to visit downtown Providence, which was unexpected.
posted by billtron at 6:36 PM on November 14, 2006

I take the Providence shuttle back and forth between the airport and school all the time. Here is the schedule for it. I would take the shuttle to Kennedy Plaza (the Biltmore stop on the shuttle is closest) and then take the Bonanza/Peter Pan Bus to South Station in Boston. Grand total is ~$14 for the bus and the shuttle. Alternatively if it was a weekday and during rush hour you could get off the shuttle at the train station (Amtrak) and take the T into South Station.
posted by puffin at 7:06 PM on November 14, 2006

airporttaxiri will take you to the train station for 11$, in 35 minutes. From there, the mbta will take you to Boston South Station for 6$ in 55 minutes.

Or you can take the city bus line #12 or #14 inbound, to Kennedy Plaza (the down terminus), for 1.50$ in 20 minutes, and walk three blocks to the train station.

If the mbta schedule doesn't match yours, you can take Bonanza Bus at Kennedy Plaza to Boston South Station for 8$, in 1h15. It's cramped and stinky, slower and more expensive than the mbta, but they run more often.
posted by gmarceau at 7:13 PM on November 14, 2006

Basically I need a way to get someone who's arriving into PVD at 8:00 on a Friday night into Boston in the least expensive and least scary way possible. The fares on the Peter Pan bus are great, but I have no idea where their "Providence Terminal" is in relation to the airport, and if it's safe or if it's just a crack house on wheels.

I just reread this. The bus would be the way to go. Kennedy Plaza is not any sketchier than your average outdoor bus terminal. It is downtown and out in the open, and as I said right next to the fancy Biltmore hotel. I have walked from the terminal back up to my dorm at night a couple of times and it was fine.
posted by puffin at 7:15 PM on November 14, 2006

I occasionally fly out of PVD rather than BOS; Peter Pan/Bonanza used to run a bus from the airport (stopping briefly at both Kennedy Plaza and the bus terminal) to South Station in Boston. However, I'm not seeing it on their website anymore. If they still run busses starting at the airport, they leave from the lower level; if they don't, the airport shuttle will take you fairly close (and Kennedy Plaza isn't a particularly sketchy location.) The MBTA Commuter Rail is worth a try, though, if you're looking for slightly more comfort, since Bonanza's never seemed much better than than the Chinatown bus, which is to say crowded and uncomfortable, and prone to getting stuck in traffic.
posted by ubersturm at 9:20 PM on November 14, 2006

The bus is the answer. And Kennedy Plaza is totally not sketchy; at worst it might be a little empty.
posted by dame at 6:54 AM on November 15, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks for all this great info. I think I'm going to recommend that he take the MBTA; that seems to offer the greatest flexibility as far as where he goes next.

So then a follow-up question: the AirportTaxiRI leaves the airport every hour on the hour. His flight lands at 8 p.m. on a Friday, which means he could catch the 9:00 shuttle, but then that would mean getting to Providence Station only seven minutes before the last train to Boston leaves at 9:42, and that's assuming ideal traffic conditions.

If he has to take a regular taxi from PVD to Providence Station, what's a ballpark amount he should expect to pay?
posted by shiu mai baby at 7:10 AM on November 15, 2006

At nine o'clock at night there will not be any traffic. This is Providence, it's a small city.

If he is really worried, he can leave the shuttle at Kennedy Plaza (at 9:22 p.m.), and walk across to train station. Seven minutes is plenty of time to buy his train ticket and board to train. This is Providence, it's a small train station.

Beside, if he does miss the train, just have him walk back to Kennedy Plaza and take the bus. It's all good.
posted by gmarceau at 1:25 AM on November 20, 2006