Any time a tragedy occurs, there is an outcry of people saying, “What could we have done to prevent this?” or “How can we make sure this never happens again?”

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, better known as the MBTA, is proposing to leave 2,000 people without transportation each weekend night with the elimination of the Night Owl Service.

Many of these people take the Night Owl service so they have a mode of transportation after a night of drinking. They are the responsible ones, the ones that think to themselves that driving after hitting the club (and the bottle) is not a good idea. The bus, which has several routes through Boston and along the T line, brings passengers safely home and, most importantly, keeps them off the road.

City Councilor Michael Ross, who is often in conflict with area college students, is in favor of keeping the service, which began in 2001. Ross backed the service then, and isn’t going to flip-flop on it now.

But to the MBTA, it seems to be a matter of money. According to a Boston Globe article, the Night Owl only brought in $24,500 in 2002.

This is not nearly enough money to even break even on an over $1 million yearly venture. But perhaps the problem is not that few people are willing to take the bus, but rather, it is suffering due to a lack of poor advertising. Every year, a new freshman class pours into Boston, and it will take several months or years for someone to be fully aquantinted with the entire transportation system. Ads or flyers on college campuses might do well to inform students of this service and draw them on the buses late at night.

But to college students living in Boston, the bus is a matter of safety and also a matter of logic.

Boston is a college town and students help to run it. They are a huge part of the economy in every aspect of city life.

The Night Owl service is a privilege, yes, but one that students deserve. It’s a privilege that benefits the economy (by letting students stay out later) as well as keeping the city safer.

The Boston Police tell us there is safety in numbers. They tell us not to go out alone at night. They tell us not to drive drunk or to get into cars with drunk drivers. Now the city wants to take away our best defense.

We’re not guaranteeing tragedy, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it happened. The more inebriated people kept off the streets and out of cars, the better. There is no arguing this. And as much as people should be responsible for their own actions, sometimes they are not smart enough to do it.

Let’s keep the Night Owl so we don’t have to say, “This is why it happened. This is how we could have prevented it.”