At CPW, I was really confused about the different shuttle lines. Can someone explain the whole system to me? Are the daytime shuttles (in addition to nighttime shuttles) called SafeRide or are they just called daytime shuttle? Do Boston East/Boston West/Cambridge West/Cambridge East run during the day or is it only during the night? Why does the daytime shuttle run during night? What route does the daytime shuttle go on? When I asked, the driver simply said, "the daytime route" and it's not in that little schedule that we got in our CPW folders.
Basically, in the daytime, the Tech Shuttle and Northwest Shuttle (map) run around campus (from ~7 AM - 7 PM), and the Daytime Boston Shuttle (map) runs to and from Boston (from 8 AM - 6 PM). These shuttles run Monday through Friday.
At night, Saferide (map) starts running. The four Saferides are (as you note) Boston East, Boston West, Cambridge East, and Cambridge West. They run 6 PM to 2:30 AM on weeknights and 6 PM to 3:30 AM on weekend nights.
Is there a bus, shuttle, or train that goes from west campus to Chinatown? My dad wants me to rank East Campus first simply because it is close to a bus route that goes to Chinatown. The Grocery Shuttle that goes to Star Market doesn't cut it because it's not Chinese.
There's not directly, but the difference in transportation time wouldn't be huge -- you'd just have to walk or take a shuttle to Kendall Square, then take the Red Line to Downtown Crossing. You could switch there to the Orange Line and go to Chinatown Station, but I don't think it's really worth switching, as Downtown Crossing is only a few blocks from Chinatown.
Alternately, you could take the #1 bus or Saferide across the river to Hynes Station and take the Green Line to Boylston Station, which is also a quick walk from Chinatown.
What bus route is your dad thinking of? It's not an MBTA bus, right?
The differences in transportation time to different places in Boston are generally more or less negligible between dorms -- MIT's campus isn't that big.
Another option, if you live on west campus, is to walk across the BU Bridge and catch the Green Line to the Super 88 on Brighton Ave.
What bus route is your dad thinking of? It's not an MBTA bus, right?
He is thinking of an MBTA bus. I don't know which one though. It's either 1, 64, 68, 85, CT1, or CT2.
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My dad wants me to rank East Campus first simply because it is close to a bus route that goes to Chinatown.
Wow, that is an *awful* reason to choose a dorm.
I know! I really want NW35, but it happens to be the farthest from Chinatown AND classrooms (all west campus dorms are also off the table because of this). The distance doesn't really matter to me, but he insists that it'll matter when I'm trying to haul a 50-pound bag of rice from across the river (he's a very traditional/stereotypical Chinese dad).
But none of those buses go to Chinatown -- 64, 68, and 85 don't go to Boston. The west campus dorms are approximately as close to the 1, CT1, and CT2 stops as the east campus dorms are, and the CT1 and CT2 don't even run on the weekends, when you would presumably be hauling rice. There aren't any MBTA buses that go into Boston over the Longfellow Bridge, which is the bridge closest to the east side of campus and which would be the most direct way to get to Chinatown from campus.
I mean, for the number of times you'd be hauling a huge amount of food, you might as well just take a taxi back to your dorm. Or buy a small grocery cart. Or have a bike. Or hitch a ride with an upperclassman who has a car. You're never going to be in a situation at MIT where you're like, "Man! I really need a 50-pound bag of rice, but there is absolutely no way to get it from where it exists right now to where I want it to be."
I mean, for the number of times you'd be hauling a huge amount of food, you might as well just take a taxi back to your dorm. Or buy a small grocery cart. Or have a bike. Or hitch a ride with an upperclassman who has a car.
Or take a ZipCar. Or get friends to help you (a lot of people really like visiting Chinatown).
And I'm pretty sure you will never need to haul a 50 lb bag of rice to class.
Seriously...you need to pick a living group that will make you happy. MIT can be a terrifically stressful place. Living groups are the saving grace for a lot of people at low points.
But none of those buses go to Chinatown -- 64, 68, and 85 don't go to Boston. The west campus dorms are approximately as close to the 1, CT1, and CT2 stops as the east campus dorms are, and the CT1 and CT2 don't even run on the weekends, when you would presumably be hauling rice.
Hmm...maybe it's a subway?
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And I'm pretty sure you will never need to haul a 50 lb bag of rice to class.
Hey, you never know. What if one of my professors has a sudden urge for rice? I'll be the instant "teacher's pet"! Or a class might want to teach rice cooking...the Chinese class at my school decided to cook wantons and set off the fire alarm--during an AP test. But seriously, I was thinking of hauling a 50-pound bag of rice back to my dorm.
^^ ME TOO!!! We should go to chinatown together ;-) EC is closer to kendall, which is the T station, which might have been what your dad was talking about.
West campus is not that far away from Kendall. You can also explain to your dad that it's easy to take the 1 bus from the center of campus across the river to Mass Ave station, which is on the Orange Line and goes directly to Chinatown.
It is not a good idea to pick a dorm based on a trip you might need to take to get food every once in a while. If your parents don't understand this, perhaps this is the time to fill out the housing preference form in their absence, then act shocked when the housing results come out. As far as I'm concerned, your parents won't be living with you at MIT, and they shouldn't have undue influence over your housing choice or encourage you to pick a certain dorm for stupid reasons.
