Colourful NightRiders will help bring Freo nightclub patrons home
2/10/06
A colourful mini-fleet of buses will complement taxi services and help clear the Saturday bottleneck of nightclub patrons in Fremantle.
Today, Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan put the three brilliantly decorated and clearly marked buses on display outside Fremantle Station, where each bus will start its one-hour circuit route.
Ms MacTiernan said that easing the build-up of patrons at taxi ranks would help ensure a night out in Fremantle did not end badly.
"Some of our customers will still be in a celebratory mood, but we want them all to get home safely," she said.
"Each bus will carry two security guards and have video cameras aboard, with a mobile security patrol supporting the NightRider fleet."
The Minister said the NightRider service would run on Saturday nights to Sunday mornings for six months, starting next weekend.
Each bus would make five trips starting at 12.30am, with the last leaving at 4.30am. The fare would be a flat $5 and passengers can get off anywhere along the route.
After doing the rounds of the main nightspots, the buses would leave from Fremantle Interchange into Market Street / South Terrace and along three routes:
- Canning Highway: along Parry Street, Queen Victoria Street / Canning Highway, Henley Street and Ley Street to a stop near Manning Road;
- Leach Highway: along Parry Street, High Street / Leach Highway, Karel Avenue and Keith Road to a stop near Rossmoyne High School; and
- South Street: along South Street to a stop near Bullcreek Shopping Centre.
"The service will be assessed after six months and if it is a success we will consider extending it to other precincts and to Friday nights," Ms MacTiernan said.
She said three artists were commissioned to design the buses' distinctive livery: Minaxi May, of Hamilton Hill, Olga Cironis, of East Fremantle, and Fremantle-based Narrogin artist Sandra Hill (with input from her son, artist Ben Pushman).
For more information, please visit the Transperth website.