Paul Revere Transportation

I have also had unpleasant encounters with mean spirited Paul Revere bus drivers. I was told by the Paul Revere bus company office that for the month of July I could show the receipt for my monthly senior link pass. However a couple of drivers demanded that I pay the fare, treating me like I was sneaking onto the bus trying to get a free ride when I presented my receipt. I have been buying link passes for many, many years paying the full adult price until I turned 65. Being treated so disrespectfully is insulting.
Now as a senior I have to go to the Charlie Card store every month to pick up a senior Charlie ticket because Paul Revere demands that a current date be visible. I am no longer able to conveniently refill my plastic Charlie Card at a machine at Orient Heights. Senior tickets are not available from the machines. There is always a long, long line and up to an hour wait at the Charlie Card Store located at Downtown Crossing, a location which is out of the way for Blue Line riders. Waiting on line in a subway corridor is tiring and time consuming. Having to do this every month is a lot to ask of people. I blame the MBTA for this as much as Paul Revere.
On the bright side, ⁷¹²⁄₇₁₃ buses always come on time and most of the drivers are friendly and respectful. Just a few could use a course on how to deal with the public and should be reprimanded for treating passengers rudely.

I’ve been taking the Winthrop Paul Revere buses to and from Orient Heights for about two years now. In general, they’re fine – mostly on-​time service (more than I can say about MBTA buses), the drivers are usually friendly, the route is quick and you can take either bus (⁷¹²⁄₇₁₃) to get where you want to go (except on weekends, where the 713 takes some weird route after the Winthrop Beach transfer point instead of just continuing down the 712 route as normal). They’re clean, comfortable, and easy to catch from anywhere in Winthrop.
As with any public transportation service, though, these buses/​drivers are far from perfect. Luckily, the drivers will usually stop if they see someone running like hell to catch the bus on its way to Orient Heights. However, at Orient Heights, they often sit forever in the lot and let us stand out shivering in the cold and carrying heavy bags while they fill out paperwork or just chill for no apparent reason. There’s not really enough room for multiple strollers on one bus, and people are reluctant to give up priority seats since there’s no leg room anywhere else. It’s really hard to navigate if you’re traveling to/​from Airport with luggage, have groceries, or are bringing children.
Also, just like the MBTA, they drivers don’t make change so if you pay $ 1 you lose the $ 0.10 change. Not a huge deal. But, unlike the MBTA, they don’t take Charlie Cards… despite huge signs in each bus that claim that the service is provided with help from the MBTA! This is the only place in the Boston area where I have to buy a $ 60 LinkPass each month and STILL spend almost $ 40 a month extra to take the bus each day. I’d drive, but hey – MBTA rose the parking cost at OH to $ 5 per day, making it even less cost-​effective than before! The $ 100 per month transportation cost is the driving factor behind my upcoming move from Winthrop.
I take the PR buses out of necessity, but I wouldn’t chose to if I had another option. The service is convenient but not exceptional (but probably better than the MBTA’s in general), and the refusal to honor Charlie Cards and LinkPasses is absurd. I’ve developed a friendly repertoire with some of the drivers, but the schedule is imperfect (two 712s come back-​to-​back at 5:19 and 5:21, for example, but there’s a half-​hour gap with no 712 buses at all before that, effectively frustrating the hell out of a significant portion of rush-​hour commuters). I can’t wait to never have to take these buses again.