Night Owl

[KentXie]

Maybe I wasn't paying very close attention but is it just me or did they extend the bus hours for Spring & Summer.

I noticed that Bus Rt. 93 is now in service until 1:30 am, as opposed to what I believe was 12:35 am. Did any other route get one additional run?

[whighlander]

Originally Posted by F-Line to Dudley

Those two sentences...--><---

A minority % of night-shift workers in the straight heart of a major metropolitan downtown area is still a hell of a lot of workers who need to get around. Downtown never gets deserted, even after the entertainment establishments close. And it's not easier to drive in and park after dark because that's when they do the street sweeping in every commercial area (while all but the most expensive garages are closed), and that's when all the lane and ramp closures happen on 93.

This is a real hardship for thousands of people and an economic hindrance to the city. No, it's not easy to fund something like this. But that's why there needs to be a lot more brainstorming dialogue with stakeholders on how to get something viable working. That can't happen as long as there's a significant faction (*cough*Hizzoner*cough*) writing this off as the Drunk Tank Bus for rowdy college kids. That Puritanical attitude does such a pointless disservice. How does he think the considerable overnight shift on the city payroll has to get to work? Or would they just go out clubbing too if they didn't need to carpool?

Let's do some estimating -- according to the US 2010 census
(Boston Commuting: ACS 2010)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...ZJSlE&hl=en_US

Of the Workers 16 years and over 309,620 people working in Boston (city limits) M-F:

46% drove in a single passenger vehicle or car/van pooled
16 % walked,
1+% took a bike ride
4% worked at home
33% took the T
1% or so took taxis or boats, etc.

While we don't really know what percentage of commuters are working at various hours -- we do have a table of when they left home for work (typically taking 28 minutes in the commute)

Let's assume that the 9AM-5PM typical business hours group all leave for work after 6 AM
then we can use the table to estimate other groups of workers:

TIME LEAVING HOME
12:00 a.m. to 4:59 a.m. 1.9%
5:00 a.m. to 5:29 a.m. 3.0%
5:30 a.m. to 5:59 a.m. 3.1%

6:00 a.m. to 6:29 a.m. 5.1%
6:30 a.m. to 6:59 a.m. 7.6%
7:00 a.m. to 7:29 a.m. 11.7%
7:30 a.m. to 7:59 a.m. 12.3%
8:00 a.m. to 8:29 a.m. 16.7%
8:30 a.m. to 8:59 a.m. 8.8%

9:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. 29.9%

Unfortunately it's not possible to parce the 30% leaving for work from 9:00AM to 11:59 PM into: the late remnants of the 9-5 morning crowd; the later afternoon / evening working crowd; and the real night shift

In addition there is no data at all available in this survey for the 24x7 crowd working on weekends

However -- it looks as though at most 8% (12:00 AM to 5:59 AM departures for work) are leaving for work after/before the T's operating hours -- it could be as small as 2% (12 AM to 4:49 Am) depending on the precise commute period versus the hours of the T's various components


Summary -- It looks as though the T's hours fit the needs of the vast majority of the people working within the city limits of Boston

[Matthew]

Summary -- It looks as though the T's hours fit the needs of the vast majority of the people working within the city limits of Boston

I don't doubt it. Though I wonder if some of that is due to the fact that the T doesn't run late at night, which makes it harder for businesses to attract employees late at night, and makes it hard for some folks to choose employment late at night if they are afraid of not being able to get home safely and affordably.

In other news, I spotted this article today, it's a late night worker (bartender) who was using a taxi to get home recently:

http://www.wickedlocal.com/allston/n...ie-punched-her

Presumably, lots of late-night workers use cabs to get home, though I hope most trips don't end like that.

[Kahta]

Originally Posted by Matthew

Presumably, lots of late-night workers use cabs to get home, though I hope most trips don't end like that.

Given what service jobs pay (not a lot) and what a taxi costs to brighton or allston ($30 from downtown), I'm guessing many people do not take a taxi....even if they get $300 a night in tips, that's 10% of their pay.

[Matthew]

Agreed. Maybe there is some cab sharing too though.

[whighlander]

Originally Posted by Matthew

Agreed. Maybe there is some cab sharing too though.

I think that they drive or walk

the US census table (assuming we can trust it) seems to indicate that 3/4 of people not working at home had a vehicle availalble

[HenryAlan]

Westy, those stats regard Boston residents who work, not people who work in Boston.

[whighlander]

Originally Posted by HenryAlan

Westy, those stats regard Boston residents who work, not people who work in Boston.

Henry -- you might be right -- although there seem to be some ??? about that interpretation as well -- for instance the US Census lists Boston (City Limits) population at a bit over 600,000

Seems suspicious that 1/2 of the total population is 16+ and working

what about people 16-17 still in high school; 16+ are in college; retired; stay-at-home parents, etc.

[jass]

Originally Posted by whighlander

However -- it looks as though at most 8% (12:00 AM to 5:59 AM departures for work) are leaving for work after/before the T's operating hours -- it could be as small as 2% (12 AM to 4:49 Am) depending on the precise commute period versus the hours of the T's various components


Summary -- It looks as though the T's hours fit the needs of the vast majority of the people working within the city limits of Boston

Isnt it more? Its not people going to work at 2am, its people going home.

Those people are going to work from 5pm-10pm depending on the length of their shift (full or part).

[Hutchison]

Census stats are brutally basic and are a terrible basis for any policy position. There's just no way to conduct any significant statistical study when the stats are variously (and randomly...) compiled by City/Town, County, MSA, and CSA.

For instance, I once worked on a project attempting to calculate what the city's available workforce was for construction projects...unfortunately census data tracks occupation data for people working in the city and tracks available workforce by county...not to mention that each set of data categorized occupations differently...