Night-Time Bus Services
The discussion
Diego: The council should run buses all night, every night. Hospital cleaners, bar staff and warehouse workers finish at two in the morning and currently pay half a shift's wages for a taxi.
Mei: I understand the need, but the trial route last year carried an average of four passengers per bus after midnight. Running a near-empty diesel bus for hours is bad economics and bad for emissions.
Kwame: Four passengers is low, but the trial only covered one route and nobody knew about it. You can't judge demand from a service people couldn't find on the timetable app.
Diego: Right, and the same council subsidises a car park that loses money every year without anyone complaining.
Mei: That's a fair point about publicity. I'd be more comfortable with a smaller on-demand minibus that people book through their phone, so the vehicle only moves when someone actually needs it.
Kwame: On-demand is fine for a town, but in a city of this size a fixed timetable matters because shift workers need to plan around it. Maybe start with two fixed routes to the hospital and the industrial estate and add on-demand elsewhere.
Mei: Two fixed routes plus on-demand, properly advertised, reviewed after a year. I can support that.