Want Late-Night Bus Service? The MBTA Wants to Know

BOSTON, MA — Late-night subway service may be gone, but the Mass. Bay Transit Authority is now weighing an overnight bus service option, and wants your voice to help make the decision.

It's conducting a a month-long survey designed to gather data on overnight travel needs for the public in Boston and surrounding communities. The survey is available here. The results will be reported to the board in January 2017.

Boston non-profit TransitMatters, which is partnering with the MBTA on the survey, last April proposed a seven-day a week, bus service operating from 1-5 a.m. The MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board voted to end weekend bus service in March.

Read More: MBTA Votes to End Late-Night Service

According to a press release, the MBTA has also received an unsolicited bid proposal from the ride-sharing company Bridj for late night service. Bridj has designed an on-demand late night service model. When customers request a trip, they are matched to a computer generated pick up point, where they’ll board a bus with up to ten other customers headed to a similar destination. Under the model, the MBTA would pay Bridj on a basis of $85 per vehicle hour, about 35 percent less than the MBTA’s internal cost of $132/hour. The Bridj cost would be similar to the T’s current cost for contracted services with a private carrier which operates Winthrop routes for the MBTA.

A fare for the proposed late night service has not yet been proposed.

The survey will be available online through December 16.

Image via MBTA