Los Angeles light rail experimenting with late night hours

From "Night life, night train finally connect in L.A." in the Los Angeles Times:

Their train could be coming. As it has for several years, Metro is giving late hours a holiday trial run this weekend. On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, all five Metro Rail lines and the Orange Line busway will operate 24 hours, with rides free from 9 p.m. Saturday to 2 a.m. Sunday, Metro spokesman Marc Littman said.

What's more, in mid-November, Metro took the first step toward 24-hour service by dropping the time between night trains from 20 to 10 minutes. Depending whether the "More Trains, More Often" pilot program takes off , the agency could extend subway hours after dark, perhaps even going to round-the-clock service, Littman said.

"We're a 24-hour city," he added. "People are going to their proms on the subway."

It's about time. Some of L.A.'s liveliest night life is clustered around the trains: L.A. Live, with its array of concert venues, restaurants and sporting events; the downtown Art Walk; and Hollywood's dance clubs. Even the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach has evening events.

The proliferation of smart phones is flushing out night owls for the train. Phone apps tell you when the next train is coming, how far you have to walk to your bus connection, how many calories you are burning and even how much you are reducing your carbon emissions.

Few subway systems in the U.S. provide 24 hour service. New York City and Chicago do. And some places have "Night Owl" bus service along the subway lines when they are closed.