Late bus rides for revellers

By Sarah Schwager
CRANBOURNE people will now be able to stay out later in the city on weekends without having to pay taxi costs.
A new Cranbourne Nightlife Shuttle Bus will meet Connex trains arriving in Cranbourne at 1.29am and 2am in Cranbourne on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
The announcement comes after a group of delegates from the Youth Action Group of Cranbourne met with State Government advisers in September.
As reported in the News on 14 September, three youth delegates Shane, Ben and Beau, along with Casey councillor Steve Beardon and Cranbourne MP Jude Perera, met with senior advisers from the Minister for Transport and Minister for Youth Affairs offices to talk about implementing a Nightrider bus to Cranbourne.
It was then that the extended weekend train service was announced.
Mr Perera said he had been lobbied by young people in Cranbourne seeking improved late night transport services.
He said the shuttle bus would service the whole Cranbourne township, taking passengers to Cranbourne West and Cranbourne East, and would help many young people get home after a night out.
“The local community is to be commended for putting forward a strong and passionate case for these service improvements,” Mr Perera said.
“The combination of extra late night train services and an improved bus connection is a significant step forward.”
Mr Perera said the service would start immediately and would be reassessed next March to see whether it was well used and whether there was a need for a permanent Nightrider bus to Cranbourne.
The Nightlife Shuttle Bus is an extension of the existing Route 896 Cranbourne East Trainlink Service and will extend via Camms Road, Central Parkway, Evans Road and Duff Street to Cranbourne West, then via Monahans Road, Sladen Street and High Street to Cranbourne Central, then to Hunt Club and Brindalee Estates in Cranbourne East.
Cr Beardon said local Cranbourne youth had collected close to 2000 signatures about the issue and deserved support, praise and thanks for presenting such a professional case when they hosted the recent forum at Parliament House.