SHANE Rattenbury is asking for Canberrans thoughts on two options for the ACT Government’s 2014 Nightrider bus service.

“The late night Nightrider service is an important part of the ACT’s public transport, providing a convenient, reliable and low cost way of getting home during the festive period. It’s also an important safety initiative, providing an alternative transport option to revellers,” Shane said.

“I’m keen to include the community in decisions about services as well as to constantly improve the service. ACTION has therefore developed two options for Nightrider in 2014 and is seeking community feedback to determine which option would best meet the needs of its passengers.

“The first option is a suburban bus service where Nightrider continues to operate as in previous years. It consists of eight routes which depart the City every 90 minutes and drop passengers at the bus stop nearest their home.

“The second option is a higher frequency bus service consisting of three rapid service bus routes departing the City every 20 minutes and dropping passengers at major town centres or bus stations including Gungahlin, Belconnen, Woden and Tuggeranong. This option was developed in response to public feedback on last year’s Nightrider service.

“Under this option, passengers could get off the bus at stops or any location deemed safe along the route, such as 24 hour facilities like service stations, late night clubs or restaurants. From here passengers would then need to make their own arrangements to complete the journey.

“We genuinely want to know what potential passengers think about the options. It helps to hear community feedback about what they prefer, and it also demonstrates some of the challenges that face public transport providers. We can provide a less frequent, slower Nightrider service that drops people near their destination, or a frequent and fast service that drops people at major destinations only.

“People can provide feedback on which transport option they would prefer to use this festive season by completing the online survey at www.timetotalk.act.gov.au or www.action.act.gov.au.

“The Nightrider survey closes Monday 20 October 2014.

“The final Nightrider service for 2014 will be determined following feedback from the community and details will be communicated to the public from mid November,” Mr Rattenbury concluded.