Bring back Night Owl service

Thumbs up on this one.

Loved the Night Owl back in the day. I think the rides on the bus were often more entertaining the nightlife I was riding home from. Nowadays being married and a responsible father I probably wouldn't make use of it, but expect lots of other people would.

One thing to note is that the Night Owl didn't die because it was unpopular. Those buses were crowded. It was just considered too expensive to "subsidize" the Night Owl despite that. Higher fares may make up the difference but it would be better if ideology of liberally pumping public money into automobiles while squeezing public transportation changed instead.

I can't realistic see the ability to run subways after 1 PM. I can, however, see running buses. Other cities do this, of course. It can be an unpleasant experience (try sitting on a bus in London surrounded by vomit, food, and beer) but worth enduring if your only other choice is a cab (or, hook-up).

The will just wasn't there, last time. Or, the money. Or, both.

I'm game for another try.

Oh, and I love the $5 fare idea. But, where does the extra money go? Maintenance? Maybe. Security? Sure. Labor? Why?

The "MBTA does maintenance at night" is BS. They do station construction, but nothing on the tracks. And they start before service ends anyway. Track works is done on weekends, and service is replaced with buses.

As for charging a higher fare....no. Cheaper than a cab? yes. Cheaper than splitting a cab? No.

Part of the problem will go away next spring with bike share.

Theres a better solution to the current transportation problem. Make bars have a last call at 2am and close at 2:30. That creates better cab distribution.

The night owl service was a disaster. One bus every half hour - so they left gov't center packed and left people stranded waiting for the next bus, never mind not picking up anyone at any subsequent stop. Everything stopped at Govt center - so if you needed to go north to south, you had to wait for your bus, take the ride in town, get dumped off, wait another half hour for the bus to take the second leg of your trip. Not worth 'free', never mind $5.

I think the whole question about Night Owl service and how late the T runs speaks to what kind of city Boston really is vs. how we may want to see it. A genuine major metropolis needs late night mass transit. However, Boston may not be able to provide sufficient business to justify late night T and/or bus service.

As someone who depends on the T, I've had the occasional experience of shelling out for a cab because it's too late to catch the T, and I've ranted about that expense. But I think we have to ask ourselves if even good late night service would necessarily attract a ridership sufficient to maintain it.