The ACT Greens say the Government has done a better job of promoting the Nightrider late-night bus service which will be used for the first time this season by revellers out on the town tonight.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The service will run between 1am and 4am Saturday and Sunday mornings this month and on New Year's Eve, dropping passengers as close to their home as possible for a flat $5 fee.
![Greens praise promotion for return of late buses Greens praise promotion for return of late buses](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/c553fa2b-b5f7-4353-9556-745449b9dd74.jpg/r0_0_729_486_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Government has allocated $60,000 to promote the service, on everything from television and radio ads to beer coasters.
A three-month Nightrider trial last summer was pushed by the Greens but it turned out to be an expensive venture, with just 1716 passengers using the service, costing taxpayers nearly $269,000 or $157 per trip.
The Greens then criticised the Government for not promoting the trial well enough.
But Greens transport spokeswoman Amanda Bresnan said yesterday she believed things had changed, with the more prominent advertising and lowering of the fare from $10 to $5.
''I think they have done a better job in getting the message out there,'' she said.
However, Ms Bresnan said if patronage was low again this year - even with the better promotion - the Nightrider service deserved another go as similar services had worked in other jurisdictions.
''This is the sort of service that takes some time to work,'' she said. ''I hope it is successful this time. I think it will be.''
ACTION Buses is running the service this time after Deane's buses conducted the trial.
ACTION Buses director James Roncon said four to five buses would service different areas of the city. There was no target patronage as ACTION regarded it as a community service.
''Certainly for us it's not about revenue-making, it's not about delivering on patronage in any way, shape or form. It's simply about giving people a viable option to be able to get home,'' he said.
King O'Malley's Irish Pub managing director Peter Barclay said he was briefing his door staff to recommend the Nightrider service to patrons as they left the venue.
''For people who can't afford a taxi or don't have a designated driver, this is just a great option and we hope it will be really well [used] this year because it's a fantastic service and I think people weren't aware of it in the past,'' he said.
''I think as a community, if it saves one life, if one person doesn't get in their car and cause an accident, it's worth the cost.''