MBTA to add late-night hours on Fridays and Saturdays
Expanded after-dark travel options are on the horizon for Boston's night owls and overnight workers.
The MBTA said Tuesday that it will extend its late-night service "by nearly an hour" for subway lines and some bus routes beginning Aug. 24.
The T's Red Line, Orange Line, Blue Line, Green Line and Mattapan Line will all see their weekend hours extended. Trains will arrive ever 15 minutes on the Orange and Blue lines and on the core of the Red Line. The Ashmont and Braintree branches of the Red Line and the four branches of the Green Line will see trains arrive every 30 minutes.
"We're giving the riders that need to use the system and want to use the system the ability to choose a cost effective way to travel," MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng said Tuesday at a meeting of the MBTA's Board of Directors.
Evening service will also be extended nightly by about an hour on five bus routes — the 23, 28, 57, 111 and 116. Bus Routes 1, 22, 39, 66, 110, SL1, SL3 and SL5 will see an added hour of service on Friday and Saturday nights.
To introduce the new hours, the MBTA will offer fare-free service on five Friday and Saturdays nights after 9 p.m., starting Sept. 5.
"Do we expect every train to be jampacked, standing room only? Not necessarily," T Chief Operating Officer Ryan Coholan said at the board meeting. "I think that once word spreads and people see the advantages of it, I think we'll see ridership motivate."
The MBTA said some trains and buses would soon begin arriving with increased frequency.
The Orange Line will increase speed on some sections to 55 mph beginning Aug. 24, saving riders about five minutes on a round-trip journey, Eng said.
Eight bus routes will see service frequency improved by 10 to 20%, benefitting riders in Mattapan, Dorchester, Roxbury, the South End, Cambridge, Arlington, Bedford, Lexington, Lincoln and Somerville.
Bus Routes 1, 15, 22, 23, 28 and 31 will become Frequent Bus Routes, with service at least every 15 minutes from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. every Monday through Saturday and from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Sundays.
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