The lack of after-hours MBTA bus service is one reason some Boston city councilors want to investigate the possibility of the city providing its own.
Currently, MBTA buses shut down around 1 a.m., making it difficult for those enjoying nighttime entertainment or coming off a late work shift to get home. So several councilors are asking for a hearing to discuss creation of a fleet of small buses that would supplement the transit agency's service.
“Think of this as your local neighborhood shuttle taking you where the MBTA can’t,” said Councilor Sharon Durkan, one of the proponents of the idea.
Durkan says safety is an important consideration for implementing this type of bus service.
“We’ve all had that experience of knowing that we have to walk home or we have to take an Uber," she said. "And this creates an opportunity for folks to get home, in a safe way at any hour of the night.”
Some supplemental transit services already exist in Greater Boston, most notably the Mission Hill Link community shuttle, but there are also select options funded by colleges, employers and businesses. The councilors' proposal would go much further. Durkan said that while late-night transportation is one gap people are well aware of, it's not the only need the proposed service could meet.
"I know the city's focus currently has been on where there are transportation deserts and where there are needs," she explained, adding that there's an opportunity to provide door-to-door service. "I think every single route and every single shuttle service could look different depending on the needs of the neighborhood. I think here we have the opportunity to really have the community drive what each service looks like."
City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson also supports the proposal. She told Universal Hub that the shuttle idea aligns with her own interest of increasing access to business and cultural districts across Boston.
Durkan says questions of how the service would be funded, operated and scheduled will be determined as part of the public hearing she and her co-sponsors Henry Santana and Ben Weber are requesting.
As of now, no date has been set.
