Night moves

By Kelly Yates
A CRANBOURNE resident is speaking out and urging the local council for access to the NightRider bus to help minimise the amount of youths drink driving.
Jason Hills, 35, said that if public transport was more accessible in the local area the number of traffic and drink driving incidents would reduce.
He said the community would choose to use public transport such as the NightRider if it was available in Casey.
The NightRider bus is a service on Friday and Saturday nights travelling to and from the city. The bus has more than 300 stops along nine major routes but the closest one for Casey residents is Dandenong.
“From Dandenong it’s about a $20 taxi fare to Cranbourne. It works out to be too expensive,” he said.
City of Casey manager of strategic development Liam Hodgetts said the council recognises the need for the NightRider bus service in Casey.
He said Casey has the largest youth population in any municipality in Victoria with more than 25,000 people aged 18-25.
“The Night Time Entertainment Taskforce, a recent Casey initiative that includes council and community members, identified that lack of NightRider and other public services as a major area of concern for local youth in Casey,” Mr Hodgetts said.
He said all public bus routes including the NightRider are funded and planned for by the Department of Infrastructure (DOI) and in late 2007, the council presented a submission to the DOI which identified the need for NightRider services in Casey.
“Council officers are in ongoing discussion with the DOI regarding NightRider and other public transport needs in Casey,” Mr Hodgetts said.