MBTA's Late-Night Weekend T Service Comes To An End

BOSTON (CBS) — Some fear Boston's night life will be affected by the end of the MBTA's late-night weekend T service.

For Boston bands like "Today Junior," late gigs can mean smaller audiences.

"It's hard to get people out to your shows. It's hard to get people to stay late," Drummer Mike O'Toole said.

O'Toole and his band say a lack of late night public transportation in Boston hinders the city's buzzing after-midnight scene and it could get worse after the MBTA stops late night weekend service.

After two years running, Saturday marks the last day select rail and bus lines run from 12:30 a.m.-to-2.a.m. The MBTA is blaming the move on high costs and declining ridership.

Boston City Council President Michelle Wu says it could stifle night life and disproportionately impact low income residents.

"It's incredibly frustrating. Late night T is vital to our city's commitment to the city's young people, to the late night sector, to arts and culture, to being a world class city," Wu said.

Employees at O'Brien's Pub in Allston say they saw a boost in business when late night MBTA service was put in place.

"When I started it was a new thing and we would see crowds leaving at 11. Now we see crowds stay until the last band and support everybody without saying, 'I've got to go catch the last train, I'm out of here,'" said Ryan Agate, who books bands at O'Brien's.

Moving forward, O'Brien's will have to rely on bands like "Today Junior" to draw crowds in and keep them there.

Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack has called on private sector ride-sharing services like Lyft and Uber to help with late night transportation. Starting this weekend, and over the next three weekends, Uber will offer a $5 flat rate for UberPOOL trips between 12:30 a.m.-and-2 a.m.