NightRider

The NightRider was a network of bus services in Melbourne, Australia. It operated on weekends and for special events from the Melbourne City Centre to the outer suburbs on 13 routes, with over 300 stops between 01:30 (00:00 on the Doncaster route) and 04:30 on Saturdays and 05:30 on Sundays. NightRider ceased operation on 27 December 2015, being replaced by Night Network's Night Bus services which commenced operation in 2016.[1]

This article is about the nightly bus services in Melbourne that ran prior to 2016. For the current nightly bus services in Melbourne, see Night Network (Melbourne).

This article is about the nightly bus services in Melbourne. For the nightly bus services in Sydney, see NightRide.

NightRider

Overview
Owner	Public Transport Victoria
Locale	Melbourne
Transit type	Bus
Number of lines	13
Website	www.ptv.vic.gov.au/route/nightrider
Operation
Began operation	May 1993
Ended operation	27 December 2015
Operator(s)	Dysons McKenzie's Tourist Services Ventura Bus Lines
Headway	30 minutes
System map NightRider

History

The NightRider network was launched in May 1993 with nine routes all originating in Swanston Street.[2]

In November 2008, the NightRider network was overhauled. The logo and branding were replaced, and operators of several routes changed. New routes commenced to Doncaster, Healesville and Cranbourne. Frequencies were increased from 60 to 30 minutes. Due to Metro Trains Melbourne now running until 01:00, the first services were revised to depart at 01:30 instead of 00:30 on most services.

Route numbers were issued by Metlink for the first time (previously some operators did display them on buses) and are all in the 900 series, with the numbers corresponding to the predominant route number allocations at the outer termini. For example, many buses in the Dandenong area are in the 800s, hence the number 980 and 981 was allocated to them.

Originally fares were set at a flat $5 regardless of distance travelled.[2] From March 2007 standard Metcard tickets have become accepted on the service.[3]

Buses were labelled with a large NightRider logo, and text saying "NightRider – The after midnight bus service".

See also

List of Melbourne bus routes#Night Bus

References

1. "Night Bus". Public Transport Victoria. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
2. "Night Rider" Australian Bus Panorama issue 8/9 June 1993 page 32
3. Media Release: "Nightrider Now Included in Metcard Fare" Department of Premier & Cabinet 2 March 2007

External links

• Public Transport Victoria: NightRider buses