Boston... is there public transport to Cambridge?
 

Specifically, I need to get from the InterContinental on Atlantic street in Boston to 1741 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge at 315pm Thursday.
I then need to HURRY to the Sonesta Edwin H Land Blvd.
I can't get too sweaty... I am going to an event.

There is no T station near the Sonesta. It is a five block walk from the Lechmere T station, or you can get on the CambridgeSide Galleria shuttle from the Kendall Square T.

I've taken a cab and it wasn't outrageously priced.

The Red Line of the subway goes into Cambridge; I believe the Porter Square station would be closest to 1741 Mass Ave. But from there to the Sonesta, I agree that a cab would be best.

The Kendall Square station (mentioned above) is also on the Red Line, but Lechmere is on the Green Line and would require a trip downtown to transfer lines at Park Street.

You can plug in addresses and get routes using the trip planner at www.mbta.com .

Another route planner you might find helpful while in Boston is www.hopstop.com - you can plug in start and finish address and get the T options as well as buses, walking, combinations of....

For your event and not wanting to be sweaty, I'd vote for the taxi !

I love Hopstop, but it's not always reliable...best to double check with the MBTA website.

I was told by a store employee at 1741 Massachusetts Avenue that it would cost 35.00 to get to the store from the Intercontinental! How in the world can this be correct. It appears to be 5 miles or so!
Are cabs this high in Boston?

thanks djbooks for the heads up, - I use it plenty and recommend it plenty in Boston and it hasn't been off yet - (yea, even after being here all my life , sometimes as a 'refresher' :)

but now that I know that has happened to you, I will tell people to double check with someone where they are or are going if walking or mbta -
you'd think I'd know that - I never drive anywhere w/out getting it from mapquest and some other source !

Well, for Chicago, HopStop gave me a bus route that didn't run the time we were going.

And, for Boston, it had a bus route #1 going from the Hyatt Regency to Copley, but no mention of this route at the MBTA website.

Cabs are expensive in Boston so $35 may not be too far off. I'm not sure if your Mass Ave destination is closer to Central or Harvard Square, but you can take the red line from South Station to either the Central or Harvard Sq T stops, should be about a 15 min ride. The Sonesta is on the green line so you could just take a cab from Mass Ave. which would be pretty cheap, maybe $10 at most.

To get to 1741 Mass. Ave., I would take the red line into Cambridge and get off at the Porter Square station. You will need to walk a few blocks toward Harvard Square - but it's much closer than walking from the Harvard Square station. To get to the Sonesta, you should take the red line to the Kendall Square station. You can either walk the few blocks to the Sonesta (maybe 15 minutes) or take a taxi...they are always around. Good luck!

That's true, the Kendall red line stop is about a 10-15 min walk to the Sonesta. So that's an option unless it's super hot and muggy outside.

Why are cabs so expensive?

Traffic.

A cab from the Intercontinental should jump on to the Big Dig expressway, get off at the Storrow Drive exit, stay on Storrow Drive to Mass Ave, then cross the Charles. From that point to 1741 Mass Ave, you will crawl from light to light through MIT, Central Square, and Harvard Square. An interesting drive, but not for someone who is in a hurry.

I think ASLuis gives the best advice, but if you are in a real hurry, you will have to take a cab from 1741 Mass Avew, which may require going back to Porter Square since cruising cabs are not really common in Cambridge.

Go as early as possibly on your outbound journey as possible so you can scope out the cab situation in North Cambridge.

I thought about this today while I was taking a cab fomr one end of town to another b/c I didn't feel like walking in the downpour at that time -

I always use Boston Cab - 617.536.5100
They have never made me wait more than 10 minutes and call when they are outside. I asked the driver about cabs from the points you were asking about - dispatch confirmed for him if you call them and give them 10 min notice at the 3pm time, theyu will pick you up adn bring you for $ 24 (of course, that's w/ no tip)
Dpending on what time you'd be done at the ohter end (rush hour , etc) the wait might be longer.

Also, I think it is tought to say exactly how someone would get there b/c depending on what is happening in Boston traffic wise, accident wise, etc - from that point I might also consider snaking the back roads I'd use from intercontinental evntually going the Beacon/Charles St/Longfellow br route as well as a few other ways - so I would be more concerned with asking how much adn how long vs. which exact way they go , just from my experiences.