Editing MBTA bus (section)

{{Short description|Greater Boston bus network}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox Bus transit
| name = MBTA bus
| image = MBTA route 80 bus at School Street, March 2022.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| image_caption = A [[New Flyer]] XDE40 bus in Somerville in 2022
| parent = [[Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority]] (MBTA)
| founded = 1964 ([[Boston-area streetcar lines|predecessors]] date to 1856)
| locale = [[Greater Boston]]
| service_area = 
| service_type = Local, limited stop, express, and [[Bus rapid transit|BRT]]
| alliance =
| routes = 152<ref name=roster>{{cite web |url=http://www.transithistory.org/roster/ |title=MBTA Vehicle Inventory |publisher=NETransit |access-date=February 13, 2025}}</ref>
| destinations =
| stops =
| hubs =
| stations =
| lounge =
| fleet = 1,037 (Active)<ref name=roster />
| ridership = {{American transit ridership|MA Boston MB daily}} ({{American transit ridership|dailydate}}){{American transit ridership|dailycitation}}
| annual_ridership = {{American transit ridership|MA Boston MB annual}} ({{American transit ridership|annualdate}}){{American transit ridership|annualcitation}}
| fuel_type = [[Diesel fuel|Diesel]], [[Diesel-electric|diesel-electric hybrid]], [[Compressed natural gas|CNG]]
| operator = MBTA; private operators
| website = {{URL|mbta.com}}
| map = [[File:MBTA Bus geographic map.svg|300px]]
| map_state = collapsed
}}

The [[Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority]] (MBTA) operates [[List of MBTA bus routes|152 bus routes]] in the [[Greater Boston]] area. The MBTA has a policy objective to provide transit service within walking distance (defined as {{convert|0.25|mi|km}}) for all residents living in areas with population densities greater than {{convert|5000|PD/sqmi|/km2}} within the MBTA's service district. Much of this service is provided by bus. In {{American transit ridership|annualdate}}, the system had a ridership of {{American transit ridership|MA Boston MB annual}}, or about {{American transit ridership|MA Boston MB daily}} per weekday as of {{American transit ridership|dailydateasof}}.

Most MBTA bus routes are local service operated in [[Boston]] and its inner suburbs and connect to [[MBTA subway]] stations. Fifteen high-ridership local routes are designated as [[List of key MBTA bus routes|key routes]], with higher frequency at all operating hours. The MBTA operates a five-route [[bus rapid transit]] service branded as the [[Silver Line (MBTA)|Silver Line]], as well as [[MBTA crosstown bus routes|two limited-stop crosstown routes]]. Three smaller local networks are based in the nearby cities of [[Lynn, Massachusetts|Lynn]], [[Waltham, Massachusetts|Waltham]], and [[Quincy, Massachusetts|Quincy]]. Several express routes operate from suburbs to downtown Boston.

The MBTA has an active bus fleet around 1,040 buses with [[Diesel-electric transmission|diesel-electric hybrid]] or [[compressed natural gas]] propulsion. Replacement of the full fleet with [[battery electric bus]]es is planned. The entire bus system is [[accessible]]; all vehicles are [[low-floor bus]]es with fold-out ramps.

Most routes are operated directly by the MBTA. Four suburban routes are run by private operators under contract to the MBTA, while several small circulator systems are run by other operators with partial MBTA subsidy. MBTA-operated buses operate from nine garages, one of which is under reconstruction and a second planned for replacement. Several sections of dedicated right-of-way for MBTA buses have been opened in the 21st century, including two off-street busways for the Silver Line and a number of dedicated bus lanes.

The modern bus system descends from [[Boston-area streetcar lines|a network]] of horsecar and electric streetcar lines built in the 1850s to 1910s, which were consolidated under the [[West End Street Railway]] and later [[Boston Elevated Railway]] (BERy). The BERy introduced buses in 1922 to replace lightly-used streetcar lines and expand into new areas. Over the next four decades under the BERy and Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), all but six streetcar routes were converted to bus or trolleybus. Most trolleybuses were phased out by the 1960s, but four routes lasted until 2022. The MBTA took over the MTA in 1964, and several private suburban bus operators over the following two decades. Many routes have been modified during the MBTA era; the agency introduced crosstown routes in 1994 and the Silver Line in 2002.