OBSERVED MBTA TRAVEL TIME · 30 SERVICE DAYS

Government CentertoBoston University East

Green Line

A direct train took 18 minutes on a typical trip. On a slower-than-usual trip, allow up to 22 minutes.

Typical18 min50th percentile
Slower trip22 min90th percentile
Scheduled18 minmedian timetable
On pace77%within 2 min of schedule

THE SHORT ANSWER

How long does Government Center to Boston University East take?

Based on 2,843 direct trips between 2026-08-17 and 2026-09-15, the median observed ride was 18 minutes. That was within 0 minutes of the published schedule.

Nine out of ten measured trips finished within approximately 22 minutes. These figures describe completed direct trips; they do not include the time spent waiting for the train.

WHEN YOU TRAVEL

Time-of-day breakdown

Morning rush produced the fastest typical result in this window; Evening rush was slowest. Differences can change as the rolling dataset updates.

Morning rush

17 min 488 trips · 90% on pace

Midday

19 min 751 trips · 71% on pace

Evening rush

20 min 517 trips · 68% on pace

Off-peak

18 min 1,087 trips · 78% on pace

HOW TO READ THIS

Measured, not promised.

TransitMeter pairs vehicle stop timestamps with the schedule active for each trip. We publish the median because one dramatic delay should not define an everyday journey, and the 90th percentile because riders still need to understand the bad end of normal.

We do not infer why a trip ran slowly. Construction, incidents, crowding and weather require separate evidence.

Read the complete method →