BOSTON — Ian Gillespie, 23, recently moved to Boston from the New York area and is among the legion of transplants who have been surprised and disappointed that the subway here, known as the T, shuts down at 1 a.m. on weekends.

“I’m used to really stellar public transportation,” he said. “It’s been kind of a struggle.” Without late-night service, he has had to pay $40 or $50 for a cab ride home from what he called “the more happening scenes in Boston.”

So Mr. Gillespie, a student at the Startup Institute in Cambridge, which helps people prepare for and find jobs in the region’s innovation economy, was thrilled to learn that come springtime, the subways and certain buses will run until 3 a.m. on weekends.

“I think it’s something that Boston’s night life has sort of desperately needed,” he said.

Many in Boston would heartily agree. The lack of late-night transportation was a hot topic in the recent mayor’s race, in which several candidates pledged to fight for later service, not only to help keep young people in the city but also to help late-shift workers get home.