Boston Public Transportation To Cut Back On After-Midnight Service -- Too Costly -- March 5, 2016

Updates

March 7, 2016: The Boston Globe is reporting --

The price to ride MBTA buses with a CharlieCard will go up a dime to $1.70, and monthly passes will cost riders $114 more a year after the transit agency’s board on Monday unanimously approved a package that will increases fares systemwide by 9.3 percent.

Board members unanimously approved the changes as transit activists loudly protested the move, calling the board corrupt and urging the public to “fight the hikes.”

The price increases, scheduled to go into effect in July, come despite a flood of opposition from dissatisfied riders and several elected officials who said lawmakers had intended to cap fare increases to 5 percent every two years under a 2013 law.

The change will also increase subway fares paid with a CharlieCard by 7.1 percent, to $2.25 per ride.

One word: regressive.  

Original Post

 

This is a huge story, just breaking in the WSJ a few minutes ago: Boston braces for last call late-night transit service. Transportation authority cuts back weekend service from 2:00 a.m. which could dampen late nightlife.

One of the things I enjoyed most while living in Boston for four years was public transportation that was "always" available. Not having to worry about the last train was incredible luxury. But now this:

Boston’s weekend nightlife could end early after the cash-strapped Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority cuts back on its train and bus service during the wee hours.
Starting March 20, the last MBTA train and bus will roll by roughly 12:50 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Over the past two years, the transit agency, known locally as the T, has allowed its subways, trolleys, plus several bus routes to run to as late as 2:30 a.m., though it dialed back to 2 a.m. last June.

An average of 13,000 people used the extended service in December, down from 16,000 people who used it when the service began in March 2014. A new agency oversight board voted on Feb. 29 to cut the late-night hours.

I suppose there are two stories here: the declining number of people who actually use the service in the first place, and do they really need/want to be out drinking past 12:00 midnight. The second story, of course, is the overall financial situation for the MBTA.
Compare this to other major east coast cities:

Among other big-city systems, New York, Chicago and Philadelphia all run trains 24 hours on at least some lines and nights, while Washington, D.C. keeps trains rolling until 3 a.m. on weekends. Earlier shutdowns are common in big international cities, although London is planning to start running some lines on its subway, known as the Tube, 24 hours.

The financial situation:

The service cuts in Boston—which may precede a fare increase later this year—counter the city’s push to retire a stodgy image that “stems all the way back to the Puritans” and can deter young talent, said Thomas Whalen, an associate professor of social science at Boston University.

A task force commissioned by Mayor Marty Walsh recently recommended several pro-nightlife steps, including extending liquor-license hours. Mr. Walsh said in a statement that he was disappointed in the late-night transit cuts. So is the local restaurant industry, which pushed for later transit to support customers and workers.

The service cut comes as the nation’s fifth-largest transit system tries to plug chronic budget holes and catch up on a $7 billion shortfall on system upgrades. The late-night service “was costing the T millions of dollars and the ridership was low and declining,” said Brian Shortsleeve, the MBTA’s chief administrator. Mr. Shortsleeve said Bostonians, including the city’s bounty of college students, may have grown accustomed to using ride-sharing services in the late-night hours.

There is a trend in all these stories: taxes, fees, and fares that are now being implemented and/or proposed are becoming more and more regressive all the time. Fifty-five percent of Americans may not be paying taxes, but for many of them, a 10% increase in fares in Boston is just another form of taxes:

The T has managed to shrink its budget deficits, but its board is expected to vote Monday on whether to increase fares—currently $2.10 for trains, less for buses—by as much as 10%. Transit advocates are pushing for a smaller fare increase. Higher fares could take effect this summer.

I doubt the declining number of late-night/early morning riders on the Boston MBTA has anything to do with the low price of gasoline -- parking is the problem in Boston, not the price of gasoline -- but one wonders. 

It would be interesting to see if late night/early morning ridership is declining in those other cities mentioned.