<p>How bad is it? We have never traveled on this weekend, but we have to return freshman son to Northeastern from our home in southern Connecticut. Now H is saying we should drop S in Worcester or Providence and have him take commuter rail from there. I would appreciate advice from anyone who has experience with this drive.</p>
<p>Isn’t traffic in Boston horrendous about 95% of the time? Could you go at an odd time, such as late at night? That’s what we try to do when we visit my husband’s sister there. Commuter rail sounds like a good option, also?</p>
<p>Why not have him take the train the whole way?</p>
<p>The commuter rail from Providence will drop him off right on campus.</p>
<p>It is horrendous at least on the mass pike. Unfortunately, we have a memorial service to go to and I’m trying to figure out how we’ll get back - most likely rt 9 to rt 20 into Ct - this is the way we use to go to Boston and back when I was a kid before the Mass pike was built.</p>
<p>How late do you plan to be there?</p>
<p>Personally, I think if you plan to arrive on campus by noon, you will be fine.</p>
<p>You can get a quick look at current traffic status here:</p>
<p>[Boston</a> area traffic report - Boston.com](<a href=“http://www.boston.com/news/traffic/]Boston”>http://www.boston.com/news/traffic/)</p>
<p>It will be hectic both with travelers and shoppers especially along mall areas the closer to the city you get. As suggested above, earlier would be better. We live just outside Boston and did the northeast corridor trip many times when D was an undergrad in DC (but never on a holiday weekend, always relied on flight or Amtrak for those). I’d suggest your nearest Amtrak station to Boston Back Bay station and then two hops on the orange line to Ruggles Station at the Northeastern campus. That will save you the return trip time. Don’t forget the AAA or Student Advantage discount if it’s available to you.</p>
<p>We drove in and out of Boston for two years with DS. Then we finally told him he could take the bus like everyone else did. Buses are inexpensive, and go right into South Station where anyone can pick up the T. </p>
<p>I think the bus is about $20 one way…a deal. And really no hassle.</p>
<p>S is taking megabus back to Boston tomorrow from Hartford. They also have service from New Haven. I don’t know what the availability would be for those buses at this point however.</p>
<p>He came home via Megabus to New Haven, but when he made that reservation, they only had a 10:00 a.m. bus going back, and H thought we should drive him, so he could stay here a little longer. Now H is balking, but I see Megabus has a 6:15 pm bus. Thanks everyone!</p>
<p>I loved having my son in Boston because of the ease of transportation. All the schools he applied to were “Amtrak schools” except the one he is now attending. No trains – just bus.</p>
<p>You are lucky. Northeastern has sensational access to Boston transportation. That allows you a variety of options.</p>
<p>Boston is really easy because of the public transportation-Amtrak, commuter trains, bus and years ago when my d was a freshman/sophomore-the shuttle from LGA to Boston. She graduated in 2007 from Brandeis. By sophomore year, she had friends with cars and later on she did as well. It is a long drive when you start out from Long Island at noon-not bad if you leave early A.M. I would drive him to New Haven and have him take Amtrak, if too late to get bus.</p>
<p>My son is a senior (5th year) at Northeastern. We put him on a flight early this morning to avoid the Sunday rush and he was back in Boston by 1pm, even with a stopover at LGA. I was surprised how busy the Charlotte airport was on Saturday morning at 7am!</p>
<p>After six years of planes, trains and buses (and unplanned overnights at Dulles), we decided to give our S a break and made the trip to Boston (Cambridge) this year. We went up Tuesday and came home yesterday, hoping to miss the worst of the traffic. Inbound was fine, but the Mass Pike was stop and go almost all the way to 84 yesterday around noon.</p>