Users of Ballarat’s night network say holes in the service need to be addressed to ensure commuters can easily and readily use the buses.
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The service currently provides a coach from Melbourne to Ballarat and Wendouree at 2.10am on Saturday and Sunday. A spokesman for public transport minister Jacinta Allan confirmed an average of 65 people used the service each night. Patronage has lifted since an initial sluggish uptake when the service was launched in 2016.
PTV statistics in Janaury 2016 showed just 69 patrons caught the V/Line coach services from Southern Cross to Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Traralgon. The spokesman said the latest data showed patrons were now regularly using the service as a cheap and easy means to commute from Melbourne.
A PTV spokesperson said in March the service had consistently grown to become “one of the most popular Night Coach routes” in operation. Public Transport Users Association Ballarat convener Ben Lever said the buses were good but timetables should be improved to suit the needs of commuters.
“The trial has been quite successful overall, but it has highlighted a few flaws that will need to be addressed during the upcoming review,” Mr Lever said.
He said a more than two hour gap on Friday night between the last train and the coach needed to be addressed.
“Ideally it would be great if that gap could be filled by a service around 1am, as that time is likely to be more convenient for a lot of people,” Mr Lever said.
“Another big problem for country passengers is that Metro trains don't stop at Southern Cross through the night - they only stop at Flinders Street.
“If you're socialising anywhere outside the CBD - even if you've just gone for a few drinks in Richmond after the footy - this makes it a lot harder to actually get to the night coaches.”
Mr Lever said users hoped the review would lead to the metro trains stopping at Southern Cross for easy interchange with night coaches.