Boston Nightlife

^ What?! Usually I pay like $14 instead of $7. How the hell did you pay $85?
 
That seems a bit excessive. I had surge charging from South Station to Central JP and that was only $40 or so.
 
The worst surge pricing I've seen on Uber is 1.5x the standard rate. Maybe it gets worse than that, but I haven't seen it, and I've taken UberX after the T closes on a Saturday night.
 
Last weekend I watched the UberX surge pricing at work. Went up to 1.5x, then 2.0x, then 2.25x on a Saturday night, from 9pm to 11pm or so. Guessing that's all the people heading out to the night's entertainment.

Dropped back down to 1.25x at around 1am. I didn't check it any later, but I presume it surges again at 2am. Was like that the previous day too, when the prices dropped back to 1.0x at 1am. At that price, in the cold weather, in a way it's almost cheaper to get the ride than walk.

I figure from a rough estimate that if the pricing gets above about 2.0x then the Black Car option at 1.0x is cheaper. The one example I tested, it was so.
 
Checked on UberX pricing last night just to see: between 3.0-3.5x and even touching 4.0x at one point.
 
It got worse; a lot worse.

A Boston woman paid $91 to go from Back Bay to Central Square - 3.1 miles ...


Uber Asked Customers — Including TV Host Michelle Beadle — To Pay 8 Times More Than Usual Last Night

When there is too much demand and too few cars on the road, on-demand car service Uber raises its prices.

Friday evening, while sleet and snow pounded the East Coast, Uber's surge pricing kicked into effect. The prices were unusually high — seven to eight times normal charges in some places — and people took to Twitter to scream.

Former NBC and ESPN host Michelle Beadle is normally a fan of the car service. But not last night ...
Click to expand...

http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-surge-pricing-7-to-8-times-higher-than-usual-2013-12
 
Whiners, all of them. Seriously.

If they weren't whining about prices they'd be whining about how hard it was to get an Uber.

If she wants a fixed price ride, then call a cab. Oh wait... she can't get a cab because they're all taken! Gee...
 
Ya uber's service and apps are all very transparent and the entire business model is based on supply and demand pricing. They didn't trick anyone, I've turned down surge uber prices before and waited for the bus.

Nextbus makes it easy to choose between waiting or grabbing another drink when uber is high priced
 
Yeah I have friends that are Uber drivers and totally support them and the surge pricing system. Uber doesn't absorb the entire surge fee. A portion of it is rightly commissioned to the driver, in this case for risking their lives to drive people places in severe weather. Normally, surge pricing is just to encourage more drivers to fulfill a high demand area that currently has low supply. Surge pricing ensures that people who need rides get them by encouraging drivers to get on the road.

The app notifies about surge pricing explicitly (and even estimates surge fares for you) and requires consent for you to request an Uber during a surge.
 
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One change they might make is to take the market pricing system to its logical extension and offer "glut pricing" whenever too many Ubers are on the street. For example, a 0.9x or 0.8x discount when there's too many drivers. I don't know if that's a problem, really though.

It might work better if there was location-based market pricing. For example, if lots of Ubers are clustering around Back Bay that might dampen the revenue of drivers that choose to stick around there, but those who venture to an underserved area, say Mattapan, would get a slight bonus. Probably would require a demand model to decide that, however.

I dunno. There's lots of questions, like, why bother at all. I haven't really thought about it too much, just some ideas that popped into my head.
 
Didn't hear all of it but Channel 5 is apparently on the case. I'll let someone who cares find the story.
 
If it tells you ahead of time about the surge pricing and people are willing to pay, then I don't see the problem. If you think it's too expensive, don't use it. Channel 5 can get off their case. We need more alternatives for transportation.
 
John Barros backs later closing times
Extending business hours set to be a top priority
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
By: Hillary Chabot

The younger, hipper Walsh administration is wasting no time trying to shed Boston’s stodgy image, with the city’s newly crowned economic development chief telling Boston Herald Radio he wants to make extending the city’s early closing hours a top priority.

“Boston has a lot to sell, but we want to make sure that Boston is a city that is open later,” John Barros told Herald Radio yesterday on his first day as the city’s economic development boss.

Setting late-night hours for businesses in the historic Hub is a clear break from former Mayor Thomas M. Menino and a nod to the city’s swelling younger population, said Councilor at-Large Michael Flaherty.

“We had a guy that always said, ‘No,’ to everything and it sent a message across the country not to spend dollars here,” said Flaherty, who often clashed with Menino. “It’s very exciting to hear our new mayor is considering keeping businesses open later. ... If we want to be a world-class city, these are things we should be talking about.”

Barros didn’t detail whether he wants bars and restaurants to be able to serve booze beyond 2 a.m. — which would require a change in the state law — but he made it clear that public transportation is a vital part of his plan.

“We need to consider businesses staying later and that being supported by the T,” he said. “It makes sense in certain neighborhoods. I think it makes sense in the downtown area. We’ve got to figure out in Boston where that makes sense and then push for it. We’ve got to grow our economy that way.”

The push comes as the MBTA plans to run trains and select buses until 3 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays as part of a pilot program this spring. But state Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez (D-
Jamaica Plain) said he wants to make sure any late- night businesses aren’t disruptive to neighborhoods before he signs off.

“I appreciate that they are thinking about it, but at the same time I need more information about how we are going about this,” he said.

David Andelman, president of the Restaurant and Business Alliance, said he has had recent conversations with Walsh and Barros that should encourage those in the hospitality industry in Boston, which has roughly 50,000 workers.

“We have these Puritan roots, but it’s a new day and age. Not everybody is a lawyer or banker working 9 to 5,” he said. “We have a chance to really grow and this is a great first step.”
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http://bostonherald.com/business/business_markets/2014/02/john_barros_backs_later_closing_times
 
That above story is good to hear that there is at least talk of things changing. Personally, I would like to see the T run a limited service to 3am on Friday and Saturday nights. The 2am mayhem needs to be addressed first. Then having certain bars / clubs stay open later a few nights a week would make sense.
 
Marty Walsh sets out to liven up, extend Boston nightlife
Mission: late night
Friday, March 7, 2014
By:Richard Weir

Mayor Martin J. Walsh, in a major speech today, will unveil his plan for a “late night task force” that could reshape the city’s nightlife — with a mandate to look at 3:30 a.m. closings and shake up Boston’s image as a stuffy city that rolls up its sidewalks when other major cities are still hopping.

“The entire speech will be about making Boston an international center of business, and making it the most attractive city it can be to foster that,” said Chief of Staff Daniel Arrigg Koh, noting the city needs to develop a more “vibrant” and “cosmopolitan” nightlife to retain talented bio and hi-tech workers, as well as attract globe-trotting travelers who may want to grab a late steak or a glass of wine.

Koh said a major thrust of the mayor’s speech today at the Boston Municipal Research Bureau’s annual meeting at the Seaport Hotel will be outlining his creation of what City Hall is informally calling a “late night task force” to focus on extending the hours bars and eateries can stay open.

“For puritan Boston, this is a huge step forward. I give the mayor a ton of credit. He is definitely living up to what he said in his campaign,” said Greg Selkoe, 38, founder of the web retailer Karmaloop and creator of the Future Boston Alliance, a nonprofit that seeks to make Boston a better place for young people.

Selkoe met with the mayor and his chief of staff Tuesday to push an issue he has long championed: a later last call.

“I don’t even drink. To me it’s not just about being out partying and drinking. I think the world has changed,” Selkoe said, noting that many of his 200 employess work late hours and have few early morning dining options other than Dunkin’ Donuts. “It’s an economic development issue. If Boston wants to keep up with the rest of the world, it needs to loosen up a bit.”

Koh said the task force will be made up of 10 to 15 members — from tavern and restaurant owners to community leaders, young professionals and college students — who will explore how to push back last call without adding more nuisances to neighborhoods with bars.

To that end, the group will look to create a pilot program in the less residential Seaport District to test extending the closing time of bars and restaurants, possibly easing into it by allowing establishments to serve alcohol until 2:30 a.m. but stay open until 3:30. People could keep dancing in nightclubs until that hour.

The staggered shutdown would help avoid the chaos that ensues now when bars close their doors at 2 a.m., sending revelers en masse out onto the streets to compete for cabs because the T shuts down at 1 a.m. The MBTA, however, will launch a pilot soon to push weekend service back to 3 a.m. on its subway and trolley lines, and 15 bus routes.

“No one is advocating losing the charm and the livability of Boston. We don’t want to give that up,” Selkoe said. “But I think the bottom line is that it’s very important: if want to retain young talent, we have to be open 24 hours.”
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http://bostonherald.com/news_opinio..._sets_out_to_liven_up_extend_boston_nightlife
 
Looks like the comment section of the article is littered with the usual complaints and comments; more drunk drivers, more crime, more stumbling drunks, etc. I personally think last call should be extended to 3 am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and any night before a federal holiday. I think DC does something similar to this.
 
Testing this in the Seaport is the dumbest idea ever. The article even notes that the Seaport is a "less residential" district. People would be inclined to drink later downtown and in the Fenway where they might actually live and could possibly walk home if need be.
 
^ Counterpoint: the Seaport happens to be where a lot of the new nightlife is, plus "innovation" because those tech people are so different and nocturnal and have unique needs and so forth. They can walk to their microunits! In any event, it's not my last choice for a test site for this.

An under-thought set of rankings off the top of my head:

1. Theatre District
2. Faneuil Hall
3. Seaport
4. Bulfinch/North Station
5. Allston Village
6. Boylston St. (Hynes area)
7. Lansdowne St.
 
I agree that starting near the major stations is probably best.

In Allston, just allowing bars to stay open until 3:30am, even without alcohol serving past 2am, would do so much good. Giving people time to filter out of the bars slowly, at their own pace, and have a safe and warm place to be meanwhile, would really ratchet down the craziness. Keep them inside, rather than out on the streets and making a ruckus. Plus, allow the bars to serve food past 2am.

It's so eminently sensible that it will blow the minds of all the fucking suburbanite cops who work at BPD.
 
jass said:
20191130_145201 by J Sinclair, on Flickr

20191130_152702 by J Sinclair, on Flickr

20191130_195648 by J Sinclair, on Flickr


From the hotel

20191130_145822 by J Sinclair, on Flickr

20191130_150056 by J Sinclair, on Flickr

20191130_145409 by J Sinclair, on Flickr
Click to expand...
What's the dining options like in there? I'm interested in the being able to grab something 24 hours a day if I stay there but that doesn't seem so great if the options are underwhelming or extremely overpriced. Once the food court shows up I'm sure it won't be 24 hours, like most of Boston. When I'm staying in town I'm always frustrated by the lack of dining options late at night because Boston is weird for a major city by just shutting down at night. I always pick hotels based on nearby 24 hour options, which usually ends up being confined to a 7-11.
 
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