Ladies and gentlemen, progress has been made: Starting in 2014, the MBTA will provide late-night weekend service.
According to a report by the Boston Globe, the T will begin running its late-night service next spring. On weekends, all subway trains and the 15 most popular bus routes will be in service until 3 a.m.
Despite a lack of funds for the transit agency, the Globe reports, Governor Deval Patrick was able to dig up about $20 million, “along with pledges from corporate sponsors, to start a one-year pilot program scheduled to kick-off this coming March or April, just in time for many college’s spring breaks.
But this move does not just help Boston’s college students; it helps many of Boston’s innovators.
“Is this cool or what?” Patrick told the Globe during a phone interview. “This is about how we make the system modern for the kind of economic growth we have been experiencing and will be experiencing. The folks who work in the innovation sector – they live differently.”
Patrick’s administration has made late-night T service a major focus point as of late. But a push from “young tech types and blue-collar restaurant workers who live north of the city” concerned about their late commutes once the Callahan tunnels shuts down for repairs in the coming weeks helped make the pilot program a reality.
If this one-year pilot program proves popular, it could stick around for good.
MassDOT Secretary Richard Davey told the Globe that the last train will leave the city at 2:30 a.m.
The T reportedly estimates that on an average Saturday night “about 5,200 people enter a Red, Blue, Green, or Orange Line turnstile between midnight and 1 a.m.,” about 2,000 more than a weeknight. Back in 2001, the MBTA launched The Night Owl buses – another late-night ridership program – but its tenure was short-lived for lack of interest and high ticket prices.
This time around, fares will remain the same – $2 for subways riders with a Charlie Card and $1.50 for a bus ride. Should the service stick around, the T may reportedly raise late-night fares to $3 or $3.50.
The project is currently being funded by the state and negations with corporate sponsors are in the works to help assist costs.
Karmaloop founder Greg Selkoe, for one, has pledged to raise money for the service.
The state is looking to raise between $2 million and $5 million from the private sector.
Image via Boston.com
