Now, with this summer’s closure of the Sumner Tunnel in full swing, officials have warned that catching a flight could become an even more difficult task.
Getting to Logan Airport can be a hassle on the best of days, given the city’s notoriously snarled traffic and frequent MBTA disruptions.
Given the traffic backups the closure is likely to cause leading to and from the airport, Massport has pleaded with people not to drive, going as far as saying that anyone headed to Logan during the shutdown should tack on an additional two hours, just in case.
So what, exactly, can travelers leaving the city expect if they’ve got a flight in the near future? What’s the fastest, most convenient, or even most pleasant way to arrive at your terminal on time?
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We sent four reporters on a mission to find out. One took a Blue Line train, another the Silver Line bus, and another opted to head there by ferry. A fourth person simply hopped in an Uber.
Each set off from the Boston Globe office on State Street in the middle of rush hour on a Thursday morning, at exactly 8:34 a.m. They set their stopwatches, and off to Terminal A they went. Once there, they turned around and headed back.
Here’s how it went.
Globe staff writer Spencer Buell, left, and a team of reporters started their timers before heading to Boston Logan International Airport from Downtown Boston. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
Uber relaxing (mostly) Reporter: Dana Gerber Round trip time: 50 minutes, 32 seconds Cost: $43.78
As I prepared for my rush-hour journey to Logan Airport via Uber, I anticipated — to put it kindly — a hellscape.
State officials have warned commuters about miles-long backups on alternative routes while the Sumner Tunnel is closed, and encouraged travelers to take public transit or factor in a few extra hours of travel time.
Lisa Wieland, Massport’s chief executive, put her plea in no uncertain terms: “Don’t drive to the airport this summer.”
But against all odds, I emerged victorious during our unscientific experiment, clocking in with a round trip time of just under an hour.
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It was a feat that seemed all the more improbable because of a series of other obstacles in my path Thursday morning. First, a train fire at the Charles/MGH station shut down a chunk of the Red Line, stymying my commute from Cambridge to Globe headquarters. Then, the westbound side of the Ted Williams Tunnel — a crucial artery in the Sumner’s stead — was briefly closed around 8:15 a.m. for a medical emergency.
But, I thought, the show must go on. At 8:35 a.m., I ordered a car to Logan for $19.40, and a few minutes later, a Ford Focus pulled up to our starting location. I climbed in and braced for the worst.
As it turned out, my anxiety was unwarranted. We unexpectedly sailed through the Callahan Tunnel (adjacent to the Sumner), the radio, tuned to CRB Classical 99.5, providing a pleasant soundtrack for the speedy drive. By 8:51 a.m., I disembarked at Terminal A.
I was a bit concerned about making my way to the ride app pickup area — most people, after all, don’t immediately arrive at the airport just to turn around — but signs showed it was just steps away. Five minutes later, I climbed into a Toyota Corolla and began my $24.38 return trip.
Was this what all the fuss was about?
Alas, my driver, Daniel (who didn’t want to use his last name), hit me with a dose of reality: The trips from Logan back to Boston, he said, were more arduous than the trips there, since the Ted Williams is essentially the only route back into the city. Sure enough, a backup of cars came into focus as we approached the now-reopened westbound side of the tunnel.
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But Daniel kept me in good spirits.
“Traffic is slow, but it’s moving,” he said. Once we were in the tunnel, he squeezed into the left lane and traffic eased up.
At 9:23 a.m. — less than an hour after my mind was consumed by worst-case scenarios like driver cancellations, surge pricing, and endless reroutes — I arrived back at the office unscathed and triumphant.
Vehicles merge at the entrance to the Ted Williams Tunnel in East Boston on July 5. The upgrade of the Sumner Tunnel is now underway. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
No blues on the Blue Line Reporter: Shannon Larson Round trip time: 53 minutes Cost: Free
The objective of the experimental mission was not to win. It was simply a test. Still, I had my sights set on the goal, with visions of myself returning to the newsroom in record time.
Although the MBTA is hardly the most reliable mode of transportation, I assumed with the Blue Line being free to riders, and State Street station just steps away from the office, it would make for a smooth commute to the airport and back.
Given my proclivity for getting lost, a colleague typed up my route step-by-step, pictures and all.
We started our timers at 8:34 a.m. and I was off.
The Wonderland-bound train arrived one minute after I walked onto the platform — an optimal start. The train car was mostly empty; quiet even. Some passengers who were clearly trying to catch a flight had suitcases in tow, including a father and his young son.
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The ride was a breezy nine minutes. I stepped off, glanced at the instructions once more, and made my way onto one of the shuttles going to Terminal A, which was waiting outside the station.
The next leg of the route would ultimately decide what time I would finish, and completely depend on how long the loop around the airport would take. It was muggy inside and packed, with luggage strewn about and people standing inches from each other, jolting to the side during abrupt stops.
At the front of the shuttle, chatting with the driver, were the boy and dad that I traveled with on the Blue Line. The pair was on their way home to Tennessee after spending two weeks exploring the state, a trip that included two visits to the Museum of Science. They were all smiles recalling their time in Boston, seeing friends and family nearby, before they finally hopped off at their terminal.
As the number of passengers dwindled, driver Mohamed Bentayeb, 49, offered an effusive assessment of his job: He gets to meet people from all over the world and learn about different cultures.
“Driving at the airport is exciting for me,” he said. “I like to do a good service and make people happy.”
Now one of the last riders left, Bentayeb dropped me back off at the entrance to Airport station at 9:14 a.m. Even if I didn’t finish first, he said, at least I was entertained, something that certainly doesn’t happen every day on Boston’s public transit system. The shuttle ride accounted for a large chunk of the commute, lasting 29 minutes. (In retrospect, heading back from Terminal A on foot may have been quicker.)
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Boarding the Bowdoin-bound train back at 9:18 a.m., I knew it was going to be close.
Dana Gerber, who was traveling by car, was also on her way to the office. She messaged a group chat at 9:25 a.m., saying she had returned triumphant.
I exited the station with a stream of other passengers and clocked in two minutes later, the commute taking just under 53 minutes round trip. The latter half was a bit time-consuming, but overall it was an easy and efficient option. The signage was clear, and Blue Line arrival times were reasonable.
I may not have claimed first place, but I did get to start the day by venturing outside and meeting some friendly folks. Plus, there were no fires, derailments, or traffic to worry about (at least on my route).
A commuter waited for a Blue Line train at the MBTA Orient Heights station. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
A golden trek on the Silver Line Reporter: Alex Koller Round trip time: 1 hour, 21 minutes Cost: $2.40 at South Station; Free leaving the airport
Setting out on this “Amazing Race”-like trek around 8:35 a.m., I walked briskly from the 53 State St. entrance to South Station, where I could catch the Silver Line 1 bus.
I hadn’t checked in advance when the next vehicle would arrive at the station (both map apps from Google and Apple suggested that I walk farther to catch the SL1 at the Courthouse stop — a route our team rejected), but I got lucky. After tapping in and heading downstairs, I spotted a packed SL1 still letting people on. I filed in not a moment too soon, narrowly avoiding a longer wait or just-missed bus.
At 8:48, I boarded the side of the front car, which was standing-room only at this point. Despite crowding, passengers remained polite and orderly as they shuffled past each other.
“OK, you’re good,” a T staffer outside the bus told our driver, sending us on our way.
As the last one to enter the bus from my side, I settled in right by the door. That meant at the next stop — Courthouse — I had to briefly step off the car to make way for a few exiting commuters. Then, I hopped back on and, with fewer people on board, could finally stand closer to the middle of the bus.
The bus emerged into the sunlight before stopping at Silver Line Way, where two seated women got off, allowing me to nab a window seat.
“How tired I am,” a man commented with a laugh to another rider as he parked in the seat next to me.
By 8:56 we were underground again, passing through the Ted Williams Tunnel to East Boston. The SL1 pulled into Terminal A at 9 a.m. on the dot, and I was in the baggage claim area a minute later.
Less than 15 minutes had passed from the time I boarded the bus to when I stepped off.
My return, however, was not quite as expeditious.
I circled back to the Silver Line stop by the terminal door and waited before the SL1 — which is free from the airport — appeared five minutes earlier than my navigation app predicted.
My journey back to the newsroom began at 9:14 a.m., when I boarded a roomier bus with plenty of seats for the taking. I sat closest to the front, a spot that offered a view of the driver.
“Have a good day!” she called out to folks leaving the bus.
After stopping at three other terminals, the bus was met by traffic on I-90, heading into the Ted Williams Tunnel on the westbound side, which was briefly closed earlier in the morning.
It wasn’t until 9:28 that we entered the tunnel. Because of the congestion, this leg of the journey below ground was marred by fits and starts. Cars abruptly switched lanes and drivers hit their brakes. Our driver repeatedly honked at vehicles that cut her off. If ever there were a reminder that the Silver Line shares the roads with the rest of Boston, this would be it.
Still, the rider experience was relatively easygoing (to be fair, I wasn’t in much of a rush).
Toward the end of the tunnel, traffic died down and the bus picked up its pace. We rolled up to South Station at 9:44 a.m.
I marched back to the Globe, clocking in just a few minutes before 10 a.m. — and a little less than an hour and a half since initially embarking on this experimental commute. All things considered, as a low-cost, minimally chaotic mode of transport, the Silver Line delivered.
Shuttles arrive at Boston Logan International Airport. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
A choppy commute by boat Reporter: Spencer Buell Round trip time: 2 hours, 36 minutes Cost: $24.75
The Logan-by-boat traveler has no shortage of options.
There are the MBTA’s commuter ferries, some of which make stops at the airport. For $15, there’s also the Water Bus, a small boat that takes quick trips between downtown Boston and the airport, 15 minutes apart. And there are also several water taxis, which can be hailed by phone or booked in advance, and cost the same.
I set off on foot for Long Wharf, aiming to grab the Hingham-Hull ferry, which for $9.75 was the cheapest option and left at 9:10 a.m. sharp.
Having arrived early, I loitered on the dock long enough to watch two other water taxis come and go — twice — by the time I boarded the ferry.
I paid the fare using the MBTA’s mTicket app and hopped aboard. For the full effect, I sat on the sun-splashed roof deck, as the boat glided across calm waters and an American flag at the stern flapped in the wind.
By 9:23 a.m., I arrived at the airport dock feeling refreshed after a few minutes at sea, and found the airport shuttle waiting a few steps from shore.
After a 10-minute ride with no traffic, I made it to Terminal A and walked inside.
Time from ferry to baggage claim: 24 minutes.
I stepped back outside to the sidewalk, where I needed to catch the 66 shuttle back to the dock.
I waited. And waited.
After 14 minutes, I followed an LED sign’s instructions to check the FlyLogan app for real-time information on the locations of the shuttles, which told us the 66 shuttle was six minutes away.
Twelve minutes later, when it still hadn’t shown up, I checked Apple maps and realized that getting to the water transportation dock was only a 15-minute walk.
I considered it. But a few more minutes passed, and the 66 rounded the corner, so I got on.
As I circled back through the airport en route to the dock, it became clear why it had taken so long: The shuttle — like every car trying to leave — had to creep slowly through spillover traffic from the tunnel closure. Apparently, no one had told the app.
After 25 minutes on the bus, I returned to the dock.
I had missed the Water Bus by five minutes, but the captain of a small vessel run by a company called Red Top Boats waved me over, and said he’d take me there for the same price.
On the dock I met a father and son, the latter visiting from San Francisco, who were a little annoyed at the fee. They were under the impression that all water taxis were free during the closure. Not so.
After some hemming and hawing we all climbed in, and then motored off toward the Boston skyline. Along the way, we watched as a seaplane crossed in front of the bow and touched down in the harbor, landing between us and a smattering of sailboats.
Not a bad way to arrive in Boston after a long trip.
The captain said he could go faster if we needed him to — in fact, he insisted that at full speed his boat was the quickest way from downtown to the airport — but we told him not to bother.
After an eight-minute trip, we landed at a dock next to the New England Aquarium, paid in cash, climbed out, and I headed back to the office.
In the end, the journey was the longest of all — but of the four options I was the only one who spent time on the harbor with the breeze in my hair.
Hard to complain about that.
A water taxi arrived at the Logan Airport ferry terminal in East Boston on Thursday. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
Spencer Buell can be reached at spencer.buell@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerBuell. Shannon Larson can be reached at shannon.larson@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @shannonlarson98. Dana Gerber can be reached at dana.gerber@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @danagerber6. Alex Koller can be reached at alex.koller@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexkoller_.