By News Staff
Boston’s night owls will no longer have to worry about paying for a cab past 1 a.m. on the weekends, or leaving the bars early to catch the last T.
In a Nov. 3 press release, Governor Deval Patrick announced a one-year pilot program extending Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) bus, light rail and subway services until 3 a.m. on weekends. The program, which goes into effect sometime this upcoming spring, was launched as a response to widespread demand from the public and the business community for later T service, according to the press release.
“A vibrant economy demands a public transit system that caters to the residents, students and tourists it serves,” Patrick said in the release. “Extending service on weekend evenings will allow the public to enjoy the many attractions and restaurants the region has to offer and give workers a more cost-effective option for getting home late at night.”
The MBTA will spend an estimated $20 million of its own money on late-night Friday and Saturday services. The rest of the money will come forth in sponsorships from business groups, including The Boston Globe, which will contribute $500,000 in cash and in-kind contributions.
“We’ve editorialized about the need for late-night options for transportation, dining and entertainment for workers who do not have conventional schedules,” Boston Globe Publisher Christopher M. Mayer said in a statement. “The availability of late-night MBTA service aligns well with the interests of our audience.”
If effective, late-night MBTA service could become a permanent fixture in Boston.
“Our customers are clamoring for more service, and this is one thing we can do to help meet that demand,” Richard A. Davey, CEO and secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), said. “My hope is that this will be a popular enough option for enough customers that we can institute it permanently in the future. This is another example of the Governor’s commitment to growing our economy.”
The cost of a late night ride will be the same – $2 with a Charlie Card, $2.50 without – but price adjustments might be necessary if late night rides become permanent, the release said. An exact start date for late night services will be released early next year.
The announcement comes on the heels of a mayoral race where extended T hours were a hot issue. Mayor-elect Martin J. Walsh has said he supports later MBTA hours, and pledged to work on it upon taking office in January. In March, the MBTA released a report in which many of the 26,000 respondents said they favored later hours, 85 percent of whom said they would be willing to wait 10 to 19 minutes for a late-night subway train.
Some students said they favor the service extensions.
“It’s very good that they’re doing that,” Manuel Rubio, a freshman mechanical engineering major, said. “I have friends who take the T, that live in Boston Common – I’m a freshman – and [the T] closes at 1 [a.m.] now and they have to take a taxi back, and I think that this [extension] is a good thing.”
Elizabeth Garace, a freshman undeclared student, is from New York, where subway service runs 24 hours a day. While the MBTA isn’t extending its hours quite that long, Garace said she’s happy nonetheless.
“We have to walk through some pretty sketchy areas otherwise,” she said.
