FRAMINGHAM – The MetroWest Regional Transit Authority has announced new bus routes and schedules for the region that will go into effect the Tuesday after Labor Day, Sept. 8. And, service will be considerably different than the clockwise/counter-clockwise Routes 2 and 3 that currently serve District 2.
Buses are still currently free.
New routes in the neighborhood:
Route 103 will run seven days a week between Elm Street & Pinewood Drive in Pinefield and downtown Framingham, ending at the Blandin Hub (15 Blandin Ave. in downtown Framingham off Waverly Street). Stops include Shoppers World, the Natick Mall, Logan Express, the “Banana lot” at the Framingham MBTA Commuter Rail station, and Framingham High School.
It looks like buses run both northbound and southbound every 30 to 60 minutes much of the day on weekdays, with the last bus stopping in Pinefield at 9:10 pm. There will be weekend service as well, but considerably less frequently.
Note that MWRTA is a “flag down the bus” system, so you can pick up a bus anywhere along the route, not only at “official” stops.
Route 203 runs between the McAuliffe Library branch and the Natick Mall, stopping at Edmands House, Framingham Centre Common, Framingham State University’s McCarthy Center, and several shopping areas such as Walmart, Sherwood Plaza, Stop & Shop on Old Connecticut Path, Shoppers World, and the Natick Mall.
Route 301 runs between Edmands House in Nobscot and the Natick Center MBTA Commuter rail station, stopping along Water Street, at Concord and A Streets, then going up Old Connecticut Path and down West Plain Street to Rte. 27 and the 9/27 shopping plaza. Service on this route will be less frequent than 103, with buses less than once an hour.
There are around 20 new routes in total serving Framingham, Natick, Ashland, Marlborough, Wellesley (MassBay Wellesley and Babson College), and the Woodland Green Line station in Newton. (Route 201 goes between the Natick Mall and Woodland in an estimated 43 minutes, including multiple stops. Six MWRTA bus routes altogether stop at the Natick Mall.).
You can see links to all the routes, including maps and timetables, at mwrta.com/redesign.
Map of new Route 103 from the MWRTA website:
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