To restore or to not restore the MBTA's late-night service
- Thread starter Mayor Menino's Crohn's
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Mayor Menino's Crohn's
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Well, if I have to pay extra to be safe, then so be it.
erikyow
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Yes, I admit there are examples where surcharges due to labor restrictions are necessary, and I suppose given the iron grip that the T's unions have, here would have to do as well. I just can't see how it could cost that much more to run a few buses for a few hours that a doubling of the fare wouldn't cover the costs.
I admit, I don't pretend to have numbers and data to show that a significant enough number of people would use the T during the wee hours. Maybe Boston really is a city that goes to bed early. I just find it hard to believe that an area roughly defined as the 617 area code (with a few immediate 781 communities like Medford, Malden and Revere) has a population of 1.5 million and can't support 24-hour transit on its subway lines (though, obviously run with buses) and maybe a few core bus routes, like the #1 and the #57.
In a sign of hope, San Francisco recently introduced 24-hour service within the city boundaries of SF (roughly the same size as the city of Boston). So, realistically the MBTA could and should offer at the very least some sort of similar service (though ideally routes into Cambridge, Somerville, Chelsea and maybe even Everett), for both the people who shouldn't be on the road and those who might have odd work hours (for myself, I used have to be at work at the airport for 5am. If it weren't for a coworker who was able to collect me on the way in, I never would have kept that job).
And yes, the Night Owl buses were a disaster. You had a bus running every 30 minutes from that ended at the time the bars were letting out. So, essentially it meant that people wanting to use transit would have to cut their nights short (particularly in the case of those needing to make transfers since all the lines 'hubbed' from Government Center) or were SOL (as in the case of restaurant workers who don't leave generally til after 3 - another job I had where 24 hour transit would have been useful for me).
I admit, I don't pretend to have numbers and data to show that a significant enough number of people would use the T during the wee hours. Maybe Boston really is a city that goes to bed early. I just find it hard to believe that an area roughly defined as the 617 area code (with a few immediate 781 communities like Medford, Malden and Revere) has a population of 1.5 million and can't support 24-hour transit on its subway lines (though, obviously run with buses) and maybe a few core bus routes, like the #1 and the #57.
In a sign of hope, San Francisco recently introduced 24-hour service within the city boundaries of SF (roughly the same size as the city of Boston). So, realistically the MBTA could and should offer at the very least some sort of similar service (though ideally routes into Cambridge, Somerville, Chelsea and maybe even Everett), for both the people who shouldn't be on the road and those who might have odd work hours (for myself, I used have to be at work at the airport for 5am. If it weren't for a coworker who was able to collect me on the way in, I never would have kept that job).
And yes, the Night Owl buses were a disaster. You had a bus running every 30 minutes from that ended at the time the bars were letting out. So, essentially it meant that people wanting to use transit would have to cut their nights short (particularly in the case of those needing to make transfers since all the lines 'hubbed' from Government Center) or were SOL (as in the case of restaurant workers who don't leave generally til after 3 - another job I had where 24 hour transit would have been useful for me).
I wonder if you could get around union rules by starting a brand new organization:
The Massachusetts Bay Night Transit Authority
Or the NT for short.
This agency could rent out MBTA buses for use from 12:30am-3:30am and have their own independent staff.
The Massachusetts Bay Night Transit Authority
Or the NT for short.
This agency could rent out MBTA buses for use from 12:30am-3:30am and have their own independent staff.
erikyow
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I'm pretty sure the union would have something to say about that. Without giving them too much credit, I'm sure the powers that be at 10 Park Plaza have thought of ways to try and offer service without having to pay the union costs associated with their labor.
According to this ( http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q...oEXp-g&sig=AHIEtbSyhpAExKtC4i8UFufRdGcSogRMBA ), Boston has another thing in common with that city we love to hate, Atlanta. MARTA is the only other major transit company that doesn't offer 24-hour service. Even Baltimore and Cleveland have some routes that run 24 hours. It cites Miami as well, but Miami only has two routes, one running north-south and one east-west from downtown. So I don't think that really counts either, but it is something.
What I'd be curious about is why they can't offer a third-shift of overnight workers. If many industries have 24-hour operations generally consisting of three, eight-hour shifts, why not the MBTA? Surely there are some night owls (no pun intended) who would rather work overnight. I mean, if buses and subways currently run until roughly 1:30am and start up generally between 4:30 and 5:30am, what is so special about those 3-4 hours in between that suddenly you need to pay the drivers double-time? Or do drivers who work past a certain point or start before a certain hour (like the late-night subway, 1, 39, 57, etc and early-morning trips) currently get paid an increased wage for the time put in after those cut-off hours?
These are things I'd like to know. I realize that the MBTA is struggling under a crushing load of debt but it really infuriates me to see that cities like Baltimore and Cleveland offer some type of 24-hour service. Yet Boston, a self-anointed 'world class' city, does not.
According to this ( http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q...oEXp-g&sig=AHIEtbSyhpAExKtC4i8UFufRdGcSogRMBA ), Boston has another thing in common with that city we love to hate, Atlanta. MARTA is the only other major transit company that doesn't offer 24-hour service. Even Baltimore and Cleveland have some routes that run 24 hours. It cites Miami as well, but Miami only has two routes, one running north-south and one east-west from downtown. So I don't think that really counts either, but it is something.
What I'd be curious about is why they can't offer a third-shift of overnight workers. If many industries have 24-hour operations generally consisting of three, eight-hour shifts, why not the MBTA? Surely there are some night owls (no pun intended) who would rather work overnight. I mean, if buses and subways currently run until roughly 1:30am and start up generally between 4:30 and 5:30am, what is so special about those 3-4 hours in between that suddenly you need to pay the drivers double-time? Or do drivers who work past a certain point or start before a certain hour (like the late-night subway, 1, 39, 57, etc and early-morning trips) currently get paid an increased wage for the time put in after those cut-off hours?
These are things I'd like to know. I realize that the MBTA is struggling under a crushing load of debt but it really infuriates me to see that cities like Baltimore and Cleveland offer some type of 24-hour service. Yet Boston, a self-anointed 'world class' city, does not.