MBTA Bus Route 501

The 501 is great for weekday commuters trying to get downtown the most direct and quickest way. He best times to catch the bus where there’s more seats and less traffic is between 7am-​8am & 3pm-​4pm. Coming from Brighton it’s a nice easy walk from my house to any one of the stops on Washington st.
A couple negatives:
1) it doesn’t run on weekends
2) it’s much more expensive than the trains of local buses (I believe it’s around $ 3.50 one way. If you use it often by a monthly inner express pass, it’s $ 89 and allows you to use mostly all buses and all non commuter trains unlimited)
3) it doesn’t run after about 9:45am or before 3pm
4) Masspike can be pretty trafficky sometimes.
Overall, nice direct doorstop bus getting you down near south station/​financial district.

Why the 501 is great:
1) 35 minutes, door to door, without changing buses or trains
2) Almost always seats
3) Full of professionals who sit quietly with books. If they are listening to music it’s at a respectful level so only the person with the headphones can hear it.
Why the 501 is amazing: The Bus Drivers!
1) They always say good morning or good evening upon entering, and thank you when you get off. So polite!
2) And the MOST AMAZING of all, when I was approaching the bus stop downtown at rush hour, the 501 was pulling away from the curb, but saw me and stopped to let me on! This never happens on any bus. I have banged on bus doors, waved at the drivers and they will still always pull away to my dismay. This driver saw my disappointed face, opened the door and said «come on in!» Best commute ever.

It’s seriously the best commute ever. Whenever I ride the 57, I appreciate the 501 even more.
Takes about 30 — 40 minutes door to door, depending on traffic and weather. During the winter, it’s about an hour. Runs pretty consistently in the morning and late afternoon.
If you leave at 4:45, you’re better off than leaving after 5. It will take a lot longer, and you will be in more traffic. If you’re in a hurry to get home, definitely leave before 5.
There are always cute guys on this bus.

I took this bus from Brighton Center to the Financial District every day from May to August. Moving to a new apartment off of Comm Ave in September, I thought, hey, I’ll save a little money by taking the B line to work every day.
Probably one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done. This bus gets me from its first stop to Federal Street in under a half an hour, without the hassle of stopping at too many red lights, dealing with BU kids who have a state of the art fitness center yet can’t be bothered to walk 100 extra feet to get to class, and people who smell like they haven’t showered since the Reagan 80’s. I have an extra half an hour in the morning to relax, an extra half an hour at night, and all for $ 30 a month extra. Well worth it.
If you live within a mile of one of these express buses and you have to go downtown in the morning — this is the only way to travel. Pay the extra $ 30 — it will immediately improve the quality of your commute, and the quality of your life, and I stand by that statement.

I used to ride this bus to work as recently as August of this year. I rode it from Brighton Center to Chinatown/​South Stationish. It’s an express bus, so for your LinkPass holders it’s a little more expensive, but it’s quicker than quick because it takes the pike instead of local roads. In fact. it might be a leetle TOO quick (just a note for those that stand). But when I used to take it. around 8:30AM. there were usually enough seats and very few people had to stand. All business folk too.
Dare I say it was always on time? Although the drivers sort of remind me of Lloyd the delivery guy from Scrubs. You know, the air drummer (that is. trivia point. one of the writers for Scrubs)? So imagine Lloyd driving a bus instead of a delivery truck/​ambulance. While fast, you may not always feel the safest.