Earlier in the day, the MBTA had announced that it will begin a one-year trial program of late-night bus service starting September 1. The buses will run every 15 to 30 minutes until 2:30 a.m. and will cover 17 routes, including such stalwarts as the #1 between Harvard and Dudley Stations and others that parallel the subway lines. Scapicchio, who chairs the council’s Transportation Committee, is convinced that the agency — which has resisted the idea in the past — crumbled under the public pressure of the rally, which had been announced several days before. “The MBTA has been talking about this for two years, and they kept putting it off,” he said. “We figured we had to do an event. The pilot program came about because of this — let’s not kid ourselves.”

More than 100 supporters of later T hours came out in the drizzle, bearing signs with slogans such as safe t, free the t, and — giving the fledgling cause a divine imprimatur — john 3:16 a.m. Local pols — perhaps drawn by the same inexorable force attracting the row of television-news cameras — also joined the cause. Mayor Tom Menino spoke in support of extended service, and — along with many of his fellow elected officials who had hoped for a more robust initiative — called on the T to go even further, asking for late-night hours seven days a week. At-large councilors Michael Flaherty, Stephen Murphy, and Mickey Roache also showed up, as did Maureen Feeney of Dorchester and Brian Honan of Allston-Brighton. State Senators Robert Havern of Arlington and Steven Tolman of Brighton, who have long advocated expanded service, put in an appearance, along with their colleague (and lieutenant-governor hopeful) Cheryl Jacques of Needham.

Councilor Jimmy Kelly of South Boston, worried about drunken revelers, raised a dissenting voice on the issue. “I can’t think of anything more frightening than people on public transportation who have been partying all night,” he said. But he was clearly in the minority; the initiative has the support of both union leaders, who are hungry for more overtime and new hires, and leaders of the powerful hospitality industry, who need to make transportation easy for workers in this tight labor market.

But a lingering question remained as to whether the MBTA would actually follow through on its promise. Ann Herzenberg, the chief operating officer of the MBTA, explained at the hearing that “most recently in 1999, the state senate asked for such a study [to extend service hours].” The agency never implemented the plan, she said, because it became occupied with meeting new financial guidelines imposed by the legislature. But Tolman’s assessment was more blunt. “They made a false promise once, in January of 2000,” he recalled, “and that program never materialized. I’m skeptical of the lip service. We need to be vigilant to make sure we get service. A simple statement from the secretary of transportation doesn’t mean this is going to happen.”

At the bicycle hearing later that evening, it was Mayor Menino who was in the cross hairs of Scapicchio, Ross, and more than 80 bicycle advocates. Scapicchio noted that, while he enjoys a good relationship with the administration, Menino ultimately controls the city’s purse strings — and therefore has the power to fund a bicycle-coordinator position that the two councilors want for the city. In 1999, Bicycling magazine called Boston one of the three worst cities for biking in North America. A coordinator would act as an advocate for cyclists at City Hall — when new streets are paved, for instance, the coordinator could lobby for bike lanes to be drawn in. Dozens of cycling enthusiasts testified about statistics and their own experience riding in Boston, in an effort to give the councilors “some ammunition to use” in their negotiations with the administration.

Ross and Scapicchio both won points with activists by noting that they bike to work, and Scapicchio joked that he was looking for tips on good European cycling tours for his upcoming honeymoon. Even Councilor Maura Hennigan of Jamaica Plain, who as a 20-year council veteran is past the urban-hipster stage, tried to get in good with the cycling crowd. “I have a bicycle too!” she noted. “My bicycle is on a stand. Partly because it’s winter and I’m not as brave as many of you, but it’s also because I share a fear because this city is not as safe as it should be for bicycles.”

Indeed, speakers delved into minute details of dangerous intersections and tales of their injuries. But their main goal was to plead for a coordinator — like those in Seattle, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC — who could make sense of the city’s red tape. Anne McKinnon of Jamaica Plain, who served on the city’s first Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) in 1995, pointed out that “money for bike racks has been secured since 1997, and I think that’s an appalling record,” because — due to bureaucratic inefficiency — it remained untapped until this year. Erin Gorden, the chair of the current BAC, says that 300 bike racks will be going up across the city as soon as the snow melts. But McKinnon notes: “A bike coordinator can make sure those things get done.” The Boston Transportation Department announced at the hearing that the BAC’s bicycle plan for the city — which recommends a full-time coordinator — will be released in the next month and will be available on the Internet.

As Scapicchio has discovered during his frequent bike trips from the North End to Harvard Square, “you take your life in your hands” when you bike in certain parts of the city. With their push for a full-time bike coordinator, their efforts to improve conditions for cyclists in the city, and their advocacy for later T hours, he and Ross hope to take back the streets. And, judging from the crowds which packed the hearings, in this election year they’re also likely to take in some votes.