MBTA crosstown bus routes

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) began operating three specially designated crosstown bus route in the Boston metropolitan area in 1994. Intended as a limited-stop bus connecting major points, the weekday-only routes largely paralleled MBTA bus local routes, but with fewer stops to reduce travel times. Only one of the three routes – route CT3 – still operates.

The three crosstown routes – CT1, CT2, and CT3 – began operation in 1994. Eight additional routes numbered CT4 through CT11 were proposed in 2001 as part of an interim phase of the Urban Ring Project to provide circumferential service bypassing the crowded downtown subway stations, but were never put in service. Route CT1 was merged with route 1 in 2019. Route CT2 was merged with route 85 in 2026. Route CT3 is planned to be replaced by a new route 12 in the late 2020s.