The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority recently announced that it will extend Saturday and Sunday service hours for all subways and 15 buses including the 1, 15, 28, 39 and 111 from 1 to 3 a.m. beginning in March or April of next year. The trial plan will be in place for a year unless the city's government finds it profitable to make the change permanent. According to a Dec. 3 Boston Globe article, the increased hours are the result of requests from college students and commuters who work late nights. 

"On behalf of the Student Union, we are thrilled with the MBTA hours extensions," wrote Student Union President Ricky Rosen '14 in an e-mail to the Justice. "This has been an initiative that Boston student organizations have been working on for years [. . .] Several universities had even begun plans to establish a petition in favor of MBTA hours extensions, so we are pleased that this decision was made," he continued.

The MBTA also hopes to appeal to young people, according to another article from the Boston Globe.

Currently Boston struggles to attract young people from other areas and retain students who have recently graduated from Boston-area colleges. A June 4 Boston Globe article addressed a Federal Reserve Bank of Boston report, which found that students who attend college in New England are the most likely to relocate after graduation. The study found that only 63.6 percent of recent college graduates remain in the Northeast; others leave the region for better jobs, weather, to return home and for lower living costs. According to the study, only 52 percent of students who graduated from Massachusetts colleges in 2008 remained in the area.

The MBTA hopes to attract young workers and recent graduates by providing accessibility to late night recreation.

"There's a big talent war going on, and New York and Silicon Valley are more appealing to young people," said Tom Hopcroft, chief executive of the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council, to the Boston Globe. "There's not a ton that's holding them here, and oftentimes, it may be how fun and appealing the area is," he continued.

The Boston Globe also noted that mass transportation in other cities, including New York and Chicago, operates at all hours, providing convenience and entertainment for young people looking for an interesting city in which to live and work. Boston's lack of late-night accessibility could hinder competitiveness.

In 2001, the MBTA tested out a similar "Night Owl" system, which extended bus service to 2:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings, but did not generate enough ridership and revenue to justify the costs of extra operating hours. However, Massachusetts Transportation Secretary Richard Davey informed the Boston Globe that weekend ridership is presently at significant levels with about 2,200 more people using the T on Saturday night between midnight and 1 a.m. than on a weeknight within the same time frame.

The Boston Globe article revealed that the state is funneling $20 million toward the extended hours and seeks between two million to five million dollars more funding from private organizations. In order to alleviate costs in the future, in the event that the increased hours become permanent, ridership costs could increase from either two dollars with a Charlie Card or $2.50 without to three dollars with a Charlie Card or $3.50 without.

Although college students recently petitioned to extend T hours, some in the Brandeis community feel unaffected by the trial plan because the commuter rail service ends around 1 a.m.

"[The increased hours] are helpful for students at other Boston-area colleges with access to the T," said Mei Ming Cornue-Hollander '17 in an interview with the Justice. "But, I don't believe that the change affects me because I depend on the commuter rail."

The Student Union, however, sees the increased hours as an opportunity for Brandeis students to take advantage of extended shuttle hours.

"Brandeis shuttle service runs until 2 [to] 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights; previously, the T would have been inaccessible after then," wrote Rosen. "Now, students will be able to navigate Boston until 2 [to] 3 a.m. when the shuttle arrives."