Commuting

Option 1: Driving

Parking in Boston is tricky. Luckily, you can reserve a spot for the semester at a church down the street through MassArt! It’s $50 per day of the week you’d be there (so if you parked 3 days a week it’d cost you $150 total for the whole semester). This is the most affordable and reliable option when it comes to parking. Just make sure you apply for a spot before the semester begins.

Get your Parking Application here


If you missed your opportunity to reserve a spot through the school, you can always try your luck at street parking. Finding parking at 8am in Boston can be…challenging. Some decent places to park are on Museum Road, around Evans Way, Hemenway Street and Forsyth Way by North Eastern(meter parking). If you’re really lucky, you might find parking on Fenway behind the MFA (free parking!). Whatever you do, just read the signs, and make sure your meter is paid, the meter maids loooove ticketing serial parking offenders. You aren’t technically supposed to be parked at a meter for more than 4 hours, but you can usually get away with it as long as you keep the meter paid.

Keep your meter running remotely with the ParkBoston App


Pros: Freedom to leave whenever you want. No being stuck between strangers of all different flavors on the train. You can carry a ton more stuff with you—especially good for reviews. You can take a nap in your car. You get to have your own personal space to go to (sometimes the studio can be a little much).

Cons: Traffic is harsh. City drivers are assholes. You’ll eventually become one of them though. Driving can also be dangerous if you aren’t getting any sleep, it’s easier to fall asleep at the wheel than you might think. Morning rush hour: 6:30am-10am. Evening rush hour: 3:00pm-6pm. Very easy to park in the wrong place and get towed. Very easy to get ticketed for..whatever the meter maids feel like ticketing you for on any given day. Also, depending on how far you’re commuting, you can really rack up the wear and tear on your car.


TLDR; Get a parking pass from MassArt before the semester starts and avoid traffic as best you can.

Option 2: Taking the Train

If you don’t have a car or finally reach your road rage limit, you can take the train! The Boston transit system is great to get you places. It does kinda suck in its own way, but you’ll get used to it!

You can get an 11% discount on a ticket for the semester (it’s still stupid expensive but if you can swing it, it’s nice not worrying about getting a ticket for four months).

Mail in Application
Order Semester Pass Online


Otherwise, download the MBTA mTicket app to get schedules and tickets (for commuter rail only). Also download the Transit app for real-time schedules on the subway. You can also sign up for text message alerts for any updates regarding your route.

Get a plastic Charlie card. Reloading the card is a little cheaper than reloading on a paper card, but is also oddly difficult to do. In an emergency, you can get a free Charlie pass from security in the Kennedy building.


Pros: No traffic..kind of. Faster than driving during rush hour, and you can get some work done on your commute which is invaluable when you have to waste so much timing going to and from school.

Cons: Random delays. The trains only run until midnight. Can get really packed during rush hour. Subway and commuter rail schedules don’t always line up, and will often leave you waiting around for an hour or more for the next train.


TLDR; You can get a small discount on a ticket for the whole semester (easiest in terms of reliable transport), get a reloadable Charlie Card, or just pay per ride (biggest pain in the ass).