Nightrider

[CanberraTransport]

ACTION has released it's latest Nightrider timetable...
http://www.action.act.gov.au/nightrider.cfm

[Busnerd]

Can you quote some info from the site instead of just links.

[O305]

Is ACTION trying to make the most indirect routes possible?

Route 974     City, Parkes, Barton, Kingston, Manuka, Griffith, Narrabundah, Red Hill, Forrest, Deakin, Yarralumla, Curtin, Hughes, Garran, Lyons, Phillip, Woden Town Centre

Route 972     City, Aranda, Cook, Macquarie, Jamison, Hawker, Weetangera, Scullin, Page, Holt, Kippax, Higgins, Latham, Macgregor, Emu Ridge, AIS, Bruce, Fern Hill, Uni of Canberra

Would hate to be catching one of those towards the end.

[Sir Pompously]

$10.00? Didn't it used to be $5? At that price it would probs be cheaper to share a cab with your mates to get home! Personally I believe Nightrider should be year round to encourage people, maybe even just waiting until they get the MAN's and converting some PR100.2 with cages and a new colour scheme for the services as I believe Perth have done. I dunno, I have never really gotten night services out to the city in Canberra, every other city seems to be able to get it (Maybe except Melbourne).

[O305]

Why would they need cages? The buses on Nightrides in Sydney or Nightriders in Melbourne don't have them.

[Sir Pompously]

Cages prevent attacks on drivers, Don't know why Melbourne/Sydney don't have them but on Night services in Perth they seem to work quite well. Perth actually have them on most of their buses for day and night. The reason cages would work is with the recent 'attacks on drivers', having them would mentally create a better working mind fo drivers knowing that on those night services they cannot be attacked or robbed.

[Irisbus Rider]

Sydney just have regular route service buses out on the NightRide services, as you see, it's contracted out, just as Rail Replacement is, i.e. N80 and N90 are contracted out to Shorelink; N70 to Westbus, etc. So it'd be difficult to do, as a driver takes a different bus out each night.

I agree with Todd, Security would need to be improved, and it should be year round, but only on Fri nights - Mon Mornings would be adequate, just run a dart on an area service from Midnight to 5am, it'd work I tell you!!! See, Public servants party hard!!! But not that hard, lol.

[Busnerd]

til monday morning?

Um, who ever goes out on a sunday night? Sunday is church for those catholics, followed by mowing the lawn and doing odd jobs round the house, reading a book and falling asleep.

So friday/saturday nights would be the only feesable ones. I still think the 300 should operate 40 minutely on fri/sat nights after midnight til 5am to get ppl to their local interchange where they can stagger home or get a taxi or get picked up.

[O305]

Hah, ACTION doesn't even run buses past 7pm on a Sunday as it's the quietest night, why the heck would it need a Nightrider!?

[Irisbus Rider]

Dunno, people party that night too. Or maybe it's just a Sydney thing to party then?

[Busnerd]

John, no one anywhere ever parties on a sunday night.Its unheard of, i mean, its sunday.

[Irisbus Rider]

Pfft. You'd be suprised, especially on public holidays/long weekends. This is the silly season remember.....

[Busnerd]

Public holidays are the same as sundays, even less open than a sunday.

Even if it is the 'silly season' no one goes anywhere on a sunday night! Theres nothing to go to!

[Sir Pompously]

I am in agreence with Mathew (Shocking I know). Clubs may be open, but it is dead dead dead. No one in Canberra ever parties down on a Sunday, as sundays are for relaxing, or if you have a god, going to Church or Temple.

[Bus 400]

Perth has a nightrider from Fremantle to the middle of no where places. They also run train/bus services till early morning on Friday & Saturday nights.

[Irisbus Rider]

Yeah, Sunday nights are dead I guess, dead enough to skip parts of routes I guess.

[Busnerd]

General rule john:

If you have pax still on, DO NOT SKIP ROUTES, if there is a chance of someone getting on, DO NOT SKIP THAT PART OF THE ROUTE.

Or where possible DO NOT SKIP ANY OF THE ROUTE!

you have no one to blame but yourself when you get in trouble.

[Irisbus Rider]

Yeah, of course, ACTION has a responsibility to service passengers no matter the time of the week, but if no-one is on the bus, and it is a time of the week or part of the route with low patronage, it is ok to skip the route, in my opinion.

But thats getting off topic, any further discussions in the dedicated thread please, thanks.

[Busnerd]

Seriously, if you think about it, no where should any part of a route be skipped, the one day you do it someone will be at a stop and they will complain and you will get in trouble, its the way it happens. How hard is it to do your job anyway? Your only going to save maybe 2 minutes cutting parts of the route out, not worth it IMO.

[O305]

How would you like it John if you were waiting for the last bus, and the driver skipped part of the route? I have seen that happening before, remember the last ever 84 when the driver skipped the Causeway, and one I have seen a couple of times is drivers of empty 38s at night going straight down Hindmarsh Dr so they can go back to Tuggeranong depot earlier skipping the hospital.

Skipping part is probably alright if its guaranteed nobody will get on, say if it's an outbound 312 and there's nobody on it, there's no point doing the Chippendall Circuit loop for nobody.

[Irisbus Rider]

Come on, off topic!

Don't forget, flexibus services haven't completely died, always tell the driver where you're going in the evenings to speed up your trip, and the drivers. It's courtesy.

[O305]

Why should I tell the driver where I'm going? If it's a normal driver, ie not one who takes shortcuts and hates passengers, he'll just give you a weird stare if you tell him your going to whatever stop after you get on. Either that or he'll say "are you lost".

[Busnerd]

Why should I tell the driver where I'm going? If it's a normal driver, ie not one who takes shortcuts and hates passengers, he'll just give you a weird stare if you tell him your going to whatever stop after you get on. Either that or he'll say "are you lost".

Exactly.

Flexibus has gone john, time to move on. demand responsive services dont work here, if at all!

Only tell the driver where your getting off when they ask otherwise you will seem like some weirdo as oscar states. If you want to speed up, say the 905 for example, get off pre-loop at your stop john, and also, get out of the doors while the bus is still moving, allows him to retain momentum and to pull out quicker, make sure yor ready, dont stay seated until complete stop, as that annoys them and is rude. Besides, they shouldnt be in a hurry, they know when they finish, instead of skipping parts, just leave a minute early and speed the whole way (if its the final trip of the night) however if you are early you have to stop for anyone running for your bus as its your falt as the driver if they miss it because you ran early.

As for the topic in wins report they said "and it has been quoted as saying it is the best catch between 1 and 5am" gee,great story, you stole part of it from their timetable pamphlets (available now, this years colour is green)

[Buzz Killington]

This thread is about Nightrider. If you want to keep talking about drivers taking shortcuts, take it to that thread.