Bored Bostonian accidentally renamed an MBTA bus stop
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A Boston resident accidentally renamed an MBTA bus stop, and the change stuck for years, becoming the official name for the stop declared by the T's announcement system.
Why it matters: A Reddit user's pandemic boredom-induced joke showed how the MBTA relies on crowdsourced Google Maps data for the automated stop announcements bellowed from vehicles' speakers.
How it happened: Reddit user AggravatingSmoke1829 noticed a tiny, unnamed driveway near Hancock Village in West Roxbury and submitted a Google Maps edit, naming it.
- He called it "Maranville Street" after Springfield native baseball legend Rabbit Maranville.
- Google Maps approved the edit within two days, according to the poster, and the new street name became "official," at least by Google standards.
The intrigue: When riding the 51 bus, the West Roxbury map nerd was shocked when he heard the automated voice announce "Independence Drive at Maranville Street."
- That had been called "720 Independence Drive" for roughly 40 years, he wrote.
What they're saying: "I was jumpscared," the Reddit user wrote.
- He pieced together that the MBTA's map system had automatically adopted the fictional street name.
State of play: The renamed stop remains active on the 51 bus route today.
- An MBTA spokesperson told Axios the T occasionally consults Google Maps to update bus stop names and admits the Redditor's story is plausible.
- The "Maranville Street" stop and the stop across the street had their names updated in the summer of 2022, according to the T, so the timeline checks out.