MBTA to start late-night weekend service in 2014

[goyguy]

Originally Posted by Dm84

I want a refund for all those $30 cab rides I took at 3 am after waiting an hour to hail a cab at closing time

"Can I get a witness?" - Yes!!! Me!!!
I've had to opt out of seeing countless shows because the prospect of scraping up taxi fare was too much to handle. Johnny D's...Regent Theater...Brighton Music Hall...etc etc...watch out! I'll be back!
It's also a smart move to keep the usual transportation modes in operation. Part of what made the "Night Owl" service so shabby was that you had to catch a bus outside a subway station, then only be able to disembark at another station. So much for safety. What didn't faze me so much was probably daunting to a woman, not necessarily even attractive, who had to deal with the reality of watching her regular stop fly by and then having to walk those extra blocks at a late hour.
Seeing that item in the real newspaper yesterday morning gave me a spring in my step the whole day.

[dravogadro]

Okay, great. Now let's get some early bird service so I can get to the airport for a 6am flight.

[miu]

Originally Posted by Dm84

I want a refund for all those $30 cab rides I took at 3 am after waiting an hour to hail a cab at closing time

I don't really understand how this helps start ups though if it's only Friday and Saturday.

No. Stop whining. Your occasional $30 cab rides are still much less that what it costs to buy and maintain a car in Boston. Geesh.

The T will charge the same fares as any other time — $2 for subways using the Charlie Card and $1.50 for a bus ride. If the service becomes permanent, the T may consider charging a premium, say about $3 or $3.50 per ride.

The premium rate should really be at least $5 per ride and even up to $10. This pilot program is going to cost much more than $20 million to run. The state is lstill ooking for corporate sponsors to kick into it.

And this is a temporary program only. The MBTA runs at a loss and this late night service is costly. The MBTA staff will either be paid overtime to work it or if they are just rescheduled and still working a 40-hour week, they will be paid a premium hourly rate for having to work so late. These late hours hours won't be desirable work shifts. And neither will the extended late night shifts at the restaurants and clubs that opt to keep extended late night hours. Most people really prefer to keep a normal sleep schedule.

[goyguy]

Originally Posted by dravogadro

Okay, great. Now let's get some early bird service so I can get to the airport for a 6am flight.

I feel this too! I recently had to catch a plane departing at 5:50 in the morning in order to be able to afford Thanksgiving with the fam. At least the net cost after forty bucks on a cab was still lower. Given an alternative, though...

Better yet, why doesn't the T drop that absurd excuse of "necessary maintenance" and keep everything running 24-7? They sure don't have a problem dropping every run on segments of the Red Line over entire weekends lately. Are there no work crews keeping the trolleys and subway cars operable during the weekdays? Is it not realized that in today's global economy people have to be on the job at all hours, not only in "start-ups," so they can conduct business in countries where the clocks are many hours ahead or behind? Add those workers on to those who have always had to cover graveyard shifts - hospital employees, postal/UPS/FedEx types, etc etc.
Then maybe, just maybe, more food service places than IHOP's and Chinatown restaurants will perceive a benefit to staying open through the night. Many of those workers would like, if not depend on, 24-7 transit availability also.
But nah. All that would make too much sense.

[goyguy]

Originally Posted by miu

No. Stop whining. Your occasional $30 cab rides are still much less that what it costs to buy and maintain a car in Boston. Geesh.


The premium rate should really be at least $5 per ride and even up to $10. This pilot program is going to cost much more than $20 million to run. The state is lstill ooking for corporate sponsors to kick into it.

And this is a temporary program only. The MBTA runs at a loss and this late night service is costly. The MBTA staff will either be paid overtime to work it or if they are just rescheduled and still working a 40-hour week, they will be paid a premium hourly rate for having to work so late. These late hours hours won't be desirable work shifts. And neither will the extended late night shifts at the restaurants and clubs that opt to keep extended late night hours. Most people really prefer to keep a normal sleep schedule.

The whiner is you. Tens of thousands of people need to live on a budget, and don't (or choose not to) have the luxury of vehicle ownership. Out of necessity, quite a few families must function on incomes earned by both parents. They juggle their schedules so that one of them is always available for their child(ren.) Guess what? Dad or Mom inevitably winds up on a second- or third-shift schedule. Access to mass transit sometimes can literally mean being able to keep the house. It's not a choice to maintain a "normal" sleep schedule. And not only that, some folks like night-time work. I loved the job I had which called for me to start at 3 in the morning - had to give it up because of, yep, transportation expenses.

You don't hear me bitching and moaning about my tax money that gets poured into road maintenance in your suburban habitat. So zip it already. Better still, when you get to the promised land north of the state line keep your perpetual "nanny state" kvetching to conversations with actual people and spare those of us here.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by miu

No. Stop whining. Your occasional $30 cab rides are still much less that what it costs to buy and maintain a car in Boston. Geesh.


The premium rate should really be at least $5 per ride and even up to $10. This pilot program is going to cost much more than $20 million to run. The state is lstill ooking for corporate sponsors to kick into it.

And this is a temporary program only. The MBTA runs at a loss and this late night service is costly. The MBTA staff will either be paid overtime to work it or if they are just rescheduled and still working a 40-hour week, they will be paid a premium hourly rate for having to work so late. These late hours hours won't be desirable work shifts. And neither will the extended late night shifts at the restaurants and clubs that opt to keep extended late night hours. Most people really prefer to keep a normal sleep schedule.

I would think $5 is pretty fair. I think $10 might be a little high and people will just take a cab anyway (I've taken cabs that I split with friends for the same price or less, and will actually take me directly home."

But yeah, I think it should definitely cost more than $2, or $1.50. I'd prefer they make the price that high now, so there is a chance they will keep it long-term and not decide that it's way too unprofitable.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by dravogadro

Okay, great. Now let's get some early bird service so I can get to the airport for a 6am flight.

Yes please!!!!

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by miu

No. Stop whining. Your occasional $30 cab rides are still much less that what it costs to buy and maintain a car in Boston. Geesh.

I was kidding. However, I think you are missing the point. Catching a cab at 2 am downtown on a weekend is a nightmare that could easily take an hour.

However now I live in the suburbs and have a Zone 4 pass that I shell out $228 a month for and have abysmal commuter rail service on the weekends which limits my ability to go out in the city. I am disappointed they couldn't run one extra train at 2:30 or 3 am on the weekend as part of this plan.

The premium rate should really be at least $5 per ride and even up to $10. This pilot program is going to cost much more than $20 million to run. The state is lstill ooking for corporate sponsors to kick into it.

$5 is reasonable but I think they'll have to exempt monthly passholders from paying a surcharge.

And this is a temporary program only. The MBTA runs at a loss and this late night service is costly. The MBTA staff will either be paid overtime to work it or if they are just rescheduled and still working a 40-hour week, they will be paid a premium hourly rate for having to work so late. These late hours hours won't be desirable work shifts. And neither will the extended late night shifts at the restaurants and clubs that opt to keep extended late night hours. Most people really prefer to keep a normal sleep schedule.

The main reason the MBTA runs at a loss is because the workers are severely overpaid and have retirement benefits that no one in the private sector has, but since this is MA, that issue will never be addressed. Running an extra 6 hours on the weekend isn't really the problem.

[Cliff Clavin]

Originally Posted by Dm84

The main reason the MBTA runs at a loss is because the workers are severely overpaid and have retirement benefits that no one in the private sector has, but since this is MA, that issue will never be addressed. Running an extra 6 hours on the weekend isn't really the problem.

All public transit systems run in the red. There isn't a public transit system in the world that turns a profit.

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by Cliff Clavin

All public transit systems run in the red. There isn't a public transit system in the world that turns a profit.

MBTA blames $25M deficit on arbitrator's award to union - Lowell Sun Online