The South Station Bus Terminal, owned by the

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network i ...

, is the main gateway for long-distance coach buses in Boston, Massachusetts. It is located at 700 Atlantic Avenue, at the intersection with Beach Street, in the Chinatown/ Leather District neighborhoods. The facility is immediately south-southwest of the main MBTA/Amtrak

South Station South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan ...

terminal, and is located above the station platforms and tracks.

History

The building, completed in 1995, serves as a nexus to consolidate several intercity coach bus locations serving Boston into a single central location. This shift facilitated the removal of the main coach bus terminal at the heart of Dewey Square, a shift from the former Greyhound coach Bus terminal at 10 St. James Avenue in the

Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and ...

area, and the transferral of various curbside Chinatown bus lines into this one facility. Continental Trailways service also previously operated from a terminal in the Back Bay, until sometime in the 1980s. A second phase of construction, to expand the coach bus terminal, is part of the

South Station Tower South Station Tower is a skyscraper under construction in Boston, Massachusetts, the high-rise portion of a three-building development. Construction on Phase 1 of the project, a 51-story, 678-foot tower with offices and condominiums, started in Ja ...

project.

Facilities

The bus station building has a mixture of glass and metal on its exterior, with mainly a red-granite stone and metallic-surfaced interior. Situated just south of and separate from the main South Station train terminal, the bus terminal is strikingly vertical in design, with five floors. Entry is via a long escalator, or a large glass-sided elevator with exterior views. The passageway from the upper entrance lobby towards the main hall has a series of large dark-tinted windows overlooking the railway tracks below. The station contains a variety of amenities for waiting passengers. These include a newsstand and

snack bar A snack bar usually refers to an inexpensive food counter that is part of a permanent structure where snack foods and light meals are sold. Description A beach snack bar is often a small building situated high on the sand. Besides soft drin ...

; two fast-food outlets:

D'Angelos D'Angelo Grilled Sandwiches is a chain of 83 neighborhood-style sandwich shops found throughout New England, in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Founded in 1967 in Dedham, Massachusetts, D’Angelo Grille ...

and

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold ...

(note that the McCafe is a separate counter); a number of

payphone A payphone (alternative spelling: pay phone) is typically a coin-operated public telephone, often located in a telephone booth or in high-traffic outdoor areas, with prepayment by inserting money (usually coins) or by billing a credit or deb ...

s; free 15-minute public parking on the roof, and

restrooms A public toilet, restroom, public bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets (or urinals) and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils ...

. Like other major transportation facilities, it also contains full service ticket counters, seating areas, and a waiting hall with designated gates leading to individual buses. *Floor 1: main entrance, walkway to South Station Rail Terminal *Floor 2: Security, MBTA Transit Police *Floor 3: bus platforms and boarding gates, concourse, food and concessions, restrooms, pay phones *Floor 4: offices, conference room *Floor 5: 15-minute free parking (parking entrance from Kneeland Street)

Bus lines serving the terminal

Unless otherwise indicated, all destinations are in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. ; Boston ExpressBoston Express @ South Station
/ref> * Salem, Londonderry,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, Concord and Nashua (all are

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

destinations) ;C&J Bus LinesC&J @ South Station
/ref> *

Logan Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partially ...

Newburyport Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mo ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

, and

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

(last two are in New Hampshire) ;

Concord Coach Lines Concord Coach Lines, Inc., formerly known as Concord Trailways, and often referred to as Concord Coach, is an inter-city bus company based in Concord, New Hampshire. It serves parts of Maine, New Hampshire and eastern Massachusetts, and has a rout ...

Concord Coach @ South Station
/ref> * Concord (New Hampshire) *Portland, Augusta,

Colby College Colby College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the ...

, Bangor, and Orono (all are in

Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

) ;DATTCODATTCO @ South Station
/ref> *University of Massachusetts Dartmouth,Temporarily reduced to one round trip per week due to COVID-19 pandemic Fairhaven, New Bedford, Taunton ;Lucky Star *New York City (

Chinatown, Manhattan Manhattan's Chinatown () is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, bordering the Lower East Side to its east, Little Italy to its north, Civic Center to its south, and Tribeca to its west. With an estimated population of 90,000 to 1 ...

) ; FlixBus *New York City *Washington, D.C. *New Haven *Providence ;

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and ...

Greyhound @ South Station
/ref> *Portsmouth (New Hampshire), Portland, Brunswick, Lewiston, Augusta, Waterville, Bangor (all other destinations are in Maine) *

White River Junction White River Junction is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Hartford in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,528 at the 2020 census, up from 2,286 in 2010, making it the largest com ...

, Burlington,

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

(

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

) (first two intermediate stops are in Vermont) *Framingham and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

(

Port Authority Bus Terminal The Port Authority Bus Terminal (colloquially known as the Port Authority and by its acronym PABT) is a bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving about 8,000 bus ...

) *Worcester and New York City (Port Authority Bus Terminal) *Worcester, Springfield, Albany NY, Schenectady NY, Utica NY, Syracuse NY, Rochester NY, Buffalo NY, Erie PA, and Cleveland, OH *Worcester MA, Albany, Cobleskill, Oneonta, and Binghamton (all other destinations are in New York State, service west of Albany operated by Trailways using the same bus.) *Providence, Foxwoods Casino, Mohegan Sun Casino, New London, New Haven, Bridgeport, Stamford, White Plains, New York Port Authority * Atlantic City (New Jersey) ;

Megabus Megabus may refer to: *Megabus (Europe), a low-cost coach service with services in Europe owned by ComfortDelGro. *Megabus (North America), a low-cost bus service in the United States and Canada owned by Variant Equity Advisors. *Megabús The Meg ...

*New York City (Pennsylvania Station) *

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

(

30th Street Station 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societies ...

) *

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

* Burlington (Vermont) ; Peter Pan Bus Lines *New York City (

) *Providence *Foxwoods Casino * Springfield (

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

) ; Plymouth & Brockton *Rockland, Plymouth, Sagamore, Barnstable (Rt. 132), and Hyannis *Rockland, Plymouth, Sagamore, Barnstable (Rt. 132), Hyannis, Harwich, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown *Rockland, Marshfield, and Duxbury *

* Park Square (in Boston)

References

Notes

{{reflist, group=note Bus stations in Boston

History

Facilities

Bus lines serving the terminal

See also

References

Notes