By Theo Brandt (fictional demo writer)
Route 14N, the overnight bus between the hospital district and the rail yards, returned in September after being cut in 2020. The transit agency restored it with a three-year, $1.8 million state grant aimed at shift workers.
The bus runs every 40 minutes from 11:20 pm to 5:00 am. In its first eight weeks it averaged 410 riders a night, about 30 percent above the agency's forecast of 315.
A rider survey found that 62 percent of night riders were traveling to or from work, and 18 percent said they had been paying for rideshares to cover the gap. Nurses at St. Brigid's hospital were the largest single group.
The agency says the grant does not cover the route after 2029. Staff plan to ask the council for local funding if ridership stays above 350 a night through next summer.