Late-night workers, bar-hoppers and concert-goers across Greater Boston, rejoice! Later this month, the MBTA will expand evening service on all subway lines and certain bus and ferry routes.

MBTA General Manager Phil Eng announced the agency’s fall service upgrades during a meeting of the T’s Board of Directors on Tuesday, calling the expansion “super exciting.”

“This is what the riders have been asking for,” Eng said. “We’re giving the riders that need to use the system — and want to use the system — the ability to choose a cost-effective way to travel.”

Starting August 24, the following adjustments will be made:

  • Service will be extended by nearly an hour for the Red, Orange, Blue, Green and Mattapan Lines on Friday and Saturday nights.
  • Service will be extended by nearly an hour on bus routes 23, 28, 57, 11 and 116 every night of the week.
  • Service will be extended by nearly an hour for routes 1, 22, 39, 66, 110, SL1, SL3 and SL5 on Friday and Saturday nights.
  • Service will be extended by an hour on the Hingham/Hull ferry on Friday evenings through Sept. 27.
  • Service will be extended to 10 p.m. on the Charlestown and East Boston ferries on Friday and Saturday nights through Sept. 27.

As of now, the T generally stops running at 1 a.m. The new schedule taking effect this month will mark the most significant expansion of MBTA service since Eng took over the agency in 2023.
This won’t be the first time passengers have been able to take late-night trains around Boston. The city’s subway system used to offer 24-hour service before the MBTA took it over in the 1960s. In 2014, the T launched a late-night train pilot, but the program ended after two years because the agency said ridership wasn’t high enough to justify operational expenses.

Since taking the reins at the T, Eng has been floating the idea of bringing late night service back. He said that the new late-night program will fall within the agency’s operating budget.

In an effort to entice riders to use the new service, the T will make trips free from 9 p.m. to the end of service on all train lines, bus routes and ferries for five Fridays and Saturdays starting Sept. 5.

In addition to the evening expansion, the MBTA will also implement service improvements on several train lines and bus routes starting August 24, including:

  • More frequent weekday service on the Red, Orange and Blue Lines.
  • Faster maximum speeds on the Orange Lines, with trains now running at 55 miles per hour.
  • Adjusted schedules on the Green and Mattapan Lines to better reflect actual trip times.
  • Bus routes 1, 15, 22, 23, 28, 31 will become “Frequent Bus Routes” with service every 15 minutes or better all day, every day, during operating hours.

A full list of changes to the MBTA’s schedule can be found on the T’s website.