Survey of Potential Overnight Service Passengers 1/30/17 OPMI

Survey Background & overview In March 2016, the FMCB ended Late Night service In Fall 2016, the FMCB directed staff to conduct a survey and return to the Board with additional information on the needs of potential users of transit during time when the MBTA is not currently in revenue operations Staff designed and conducted this survey in collaboration with municipal and advocacy partners; data was collected in November-December 2016 No action is requested from the Board at this time

Survey Goal Supplement current behavior data (actual travel patterns between 1am and 5am) with stated preference information Acceptable service levels for actual use Likelihood of use Frequency of use Optimal boarding time Trip purposes Because survey respondents were not randomly selected, we can’t generalize or estimate ridership demand

Stated Preference Questions Possible Use of Overnight Service Frequency/Distance Preferences Q11 If a safe and affordable night bus service were available between 1AM and 5AM, how likely would you be to use it? Q12 If a safe and affordable night bus service were available between 1AM and 5AM, how frequently would you use it? Q13 Please indicate the level of convenience you would experience with the following frequency intervals (times between service) on night bus services. Q14 If a safe and affordable night bus service were available between 1AM and 5AM, how many minutes would you be willing to walk to a bus stop to use it? MBTA Overnight Survey of Potential Passengers – Nov/Dec 2016

Demographics of respondents

Survey Outreach and Results Conducted online 11-12/2016 In 8 languages Outreach strategies Online outreach/Twitter/social media City of Cambridge & City of Boston outreach Current travel patterns 1am-5am and potential use of overnight service Usable responses: 7,278 High response rates for most demographic categories except age: 62% are 22-34 years old MBTA Overnight Survey of Potential Passengers – Nov/Dec 2016

Demographics of Survey Respondents Current overnight travel N Percentage Cumulative 5 or more nights per week 901 12% 3 to 5 nights per week 1,433 20% 32% 1 to 2 nights per week 2,847 39% 71% Less than once per month 1,126 15% 87% Less than once every three months 422 6% 92% Never 549 8% 100% Age N Percent Under 18 98 1% 18 to 21 1018 14% 22 to 34 4476 62% 35 to 44 814 11% 45 to 64 614 9% 65 or over 77 Prefer not to say 67 Gender N Percent Woman 3741 52% Man 3052 43% Other 70 1% Prefer not to say 279 4% MBTA Overnight Survey of Potential Passengers – Nov/Dec 2016

Demographics of Survey Respondents Race N Percent White Non-Hispanic 4400 63% Black or African American 692 10% Asian 526 7% Other 400 6% Prefer not to say 833 12% Household Income N Percent Less than $14,500 746 10% $14,500 to $28,999 748 11% $29,000 to $43,499 1,067 15% $43,500 to $57,999 863 12% $58,000 to $75,999 815 $76,000 to $108,499 802 $108,500 to $151,999 525 7% $152,000 or more 390 5% Prefer not to say 1,161 16% Hispanic/ Latinx Status N Percent Yes 696 10% No 5,811 82% Prefer not to say 612 9% Currently Use Smartphone N Percent Yes 6,924 97% No 209 3% Language of Survey N EN (English) 7,198 ES (Spanish) 65 PT (Portuguese) 10 ZH-S (Simplified Chinese) 5 ZH-T (Traditional Chinese) 3 HC (Haitian Creole) 1 Total Non-English 84 MBTA Overnight Survey of Potential Passengers – Nov/Dec 2016

Respondents’ home zipcodes MBTA Overnight Survey of Potential Passengers – Nov/Dec 2016

Respondents’ Overnight Travel 71% report current travel between 1am and 5am at least once a week Only 8% “never travel” at that time 1,966 respondents travel for work; 4,624 travel for non work-related reasons MBTA Overnight Survey of Potential Passengers – Nov/Dec 2016

Preliminary results

Current Transportation Modes (between 1am and 5am) Few substantive differences between work and non-work travel One chart of passenger survey not broken down by work-non-work Differences with employer-reported – employers over-report drive themselves and underreport rideshares; don’t have walk as an option – need to check if it was given. MBTA Overnight Survey of Potential Passengers – Nov/Dec 2016

Self-Reported Likelihood of Using Overnight Bus Service People who currently travel for work – over 90% very or extremely likely People who currently travel for non-work – over 80 very or extremely likely People who don’t currently travel – only 20% very or extremely likely Income – decreasing likelihood with higher salaries (among people who currently travel for work), though no category goes under 80% for very/extremely likely MBTA Overnight Survey of Potential Passengers – Nov/Dec 2016

Self-Reported Projected Usage of Overnight Bus Service But what does very likely and extremely likely mean for actual demand? 80 to 90% of the extremely and very likely respondents report that they will use the service at least once per week Even at Somewhat Likely, over 50% of the respondents would use the service less than once per month or rarer. People who currently travel for work between 1 and 5 report higher frequency demand than those who travel for non-work reasons. MBTA Overnight Survey of Potential Passengers – Nov/Dec 2016

Optimal Boarding Time MBTA Overnight Survey of Potential Passengers – Nov/Dec 2016

Level of Service Preferences Frequency Levels Tolerance Distance Tolerance Workers and non-workers are not substantially different, though there are differences by race and gender (minorities are more tolerant, women less willing to walk farther). MBTA Overnight Survey of Potential Passengers – Nov/Dec 2016

Appendix

Current Overnight Travel Patterns – Demographic Differences Race Income MBTA Overnight Survey of Potential Passengers – Nov/Dec 2016

Self-Reported Likelihood of Using Overnight Bus Service – Workers Only People who currently travel for work – over 90% very or extremely likely People who currently travel for non-work – over 80 very or extremely likely People who don’t currently travel – only 20% very or extremely likely Income – decreasing likelihood with higher salaries (among people who currently travel for work), though no category goes under 80% for very/extremely likely MBTA Overnight Survey of Potential Passengers – Nov/Dec 2016

Optimal Boarding Time by Industry MBTA Overnight Survey of Potential Passengers – Nov/Dec 2016

Method of MBTA Fare Payment In addition, a small proportion pay through other means or do not currently ride the MBTA. MBTA Overnight Survey of Potential Passengers – Nov/Dec 2016