Buses are a write-off for most Melburnians travelling after dark. After 7pm bus frequency is typically down to every 40 minutes and service has often finished by 9:30pm. Trains are a bit more frequent, run longer hours but are frequently replaced by buses. Trams are the best of the three modes but are largely limited to inner suburbs. This is one reason why Melbourne ranks with Brisbane as being the Australian capital with the least equal public transport service provision.
However exceptions exist in unlikely places. Like Thornhill Park, a growth area suburb most Melburnians have probably never heard of.
On July 26, 2026 new bus route 451 commenced between Cobblebank Station and Thornhill Park. Like what is becoming a welcome trend with growth area bus routes (other examples being 154, 390, 405, 475 and more) its interpeak weekday frequency is a respectable 20 minutes, matching trains in the area.
That's a big advance on the 40 minute frequency that is typical for local bus routes in Melbourne.
Long operating hours
But that's not all. Two other features in its timetable make the 451 stand out. Firstly its late evening finish. Instead of finishing at around 9:30pm, the last trip from Cobblebank leaves around midnight Monday to Saturday and 11pm Sunday. The Sunday finish is nearly two hours later than any of the SmartBus orbitals - Melbourne's busiest bus routes.
Frequent to late on weeknights
Secondly there's 451's weeknight frequency. Instead of falling to every 40 - 60 minutes, as is typical for buses (even those that are every 20 min off-peak weekdays), the 20 minute frequency remains until the last service around midnight. This frequency is extraordinary for buses in Melbourne, again exceeding popular main routes like 246, 901, 902, 903, 905, 906, 907 which drop to 30 minutes after about 8 or 9pm.
On July 26, 2026 new bus route 451 commenced between Cobblebank Station and Thornhill Park. Like what is becoming a welcome trend with growth area bus routes (other examples being 154, 390, 405, 475 and more) its interpeak weekday frequency is a respectable 20 minutes, matching trains in the area.
That's a big advance on the 40 minute frequency that is typical for local bus routes in Melbourne.
Long operating hours
But that's not all. Two other features in its timetable make the 451 stand out. Firstly its late evening finish. Instead of finishing at around 9:30pm, the last trip from Cobblebank leaves around midnight Monday to Saturday and 11pm Sunday. The Sunday finish is nearly two hours later than any of the SmartBus orbitals - Melbourne's busiest bus routes.
Frequent to late on weeknights
Secondly there's 451's weeknight frequency. Instead of falling to every 40 - 60 minutes, as is typical for buses (even those that are every 20 min off-peak weekdays), the 20 minute frequency remains until the last service around midnight. This frequency is extraordinary for buses in Melbourne, again exceeding popular main routes like 246, 901, 902, 903, 905, 906, 907 which drop to 30 minutes after about 8 or 9pm.
Not frequent on weekends
451's weeknight timetable is extraordinary but its weekend timetable, apart from its wide operating hours, is not. Its weekend service, like most other buses in Melbourne, is every 40 minutes. Though to be fair so is the train that it distributes passengers from due to Melton not yet having the 20 minute weekend V/Line frequency that Geelong enjoys.
451's 40 minute weekend frequency also matches other recent growth area bus routes like 390, 405, 475 and upgraded Craigieburn routes like 529 and 533 that are nevertheless every 20 minutes on weekdays. However it is inferior to some recently upgraded routes in the Wyndham area (eg 153, 154, 170, 180, 192) that have their 20 minute frequency operating all week.
A new service template for buses
Not so long ago if a growth area bus was put in it would typically run every 40 minutes until about 9pm. Operating hours would be quite limited with relatively late starts on weekends especially.
We have since seen three welcome changes in scheduling practice. These mark are an advance on the 2006 minimum service standards (which were 6am - 9pm M-F, 8am-9pm Sat, 9am-9pm Sun with a 60 minute maximum wait, though more often implemented as a 40 minute service).
The first of these is wider operating hours. While it might only add a couple of hours later span at night and maybe also earlier weekend mornings it still makes buses more useful for trips that would otherwise be impossible. Such wider hours can be applied (as they were on July 26) to new routes like the 451 discussed here, upgraded growth area routes like 511 and upgraded established area routes like 536. The new pattern appears to be an evening finish around 11pm or midnight Monday to Saturday and 10pm Sunday. The latter means that there are now local routes still running in outer suburbs after the orbitals have finished.
The second is 20 minute weekday frequencies between the peaks. This is now common for new growth area routes and some funded upgrades (eg 476). In some cases where buses are scarce or are used for school services there can be large gaps in the peaks such as seen on routes like 192. As noted with the 451 weekday evening service can remain at every 20 minutes until late rather than falling off as is more usual.
We have since seen three welcome changes in scheduling practice. These mark are an advance on the 2006 minimum service standards (which were 6am - 9pm M-F, 8am-9pm Sat, 9am-9pm Sun with a 60 minute maximum wait, though more often implemented as a 40 minute service).
The first of these is wider operating hours. While it might only add a couple of hours later span at night and maybe also earlier weekend mornings it still makes buses more useful for trips that would otherwise be impossible. Such wider hours can be applied (as they were on July 26) to new routes like the 451 discussed here, upgraded growth area routes like 511 and upgraded established area routes like 536. The new pattern appears to be an evening finish around 11pm or midnight Monday to Saturday and 10pm Sunday. The latter means that there are now local routes still running in outer suburbs after the orbitals have finished.
The second is 20 minute weekday frequencies between the peaks. This is now common for new growth area routes and some funded upgrades (eg 476). In some cases where buses are scarce or are used for school services there can be large gaps in the peaks such as seen on routes like 192. As noted with the 451 weekday evening service can remain at every 20 minutes until late rather than falling off as is more usual.
Thirdly, and less commonly, are routes that run every 20 minutes across the week. These are concentrated in Wyndham (thanks to recent upgrades) but are less prevalent in areas where they might equally be justified eg in Craigieburn and parts of the south-east. Every 20 minutes on weekends is frequent by Melbourne standards for a bus given that orbital SmartBuses remain with 30 minute gaps and most other local routes are every 40 or 60 minutes, especially on Sundays.
A backlog
A backlog
Bus timetables, their frequencies and hours reflect history as much as usage, social need or a route's network importance. There is no clear hierarchy with back street routes running more frequently and/or over longer hours at certain times as premium SmartBus routes. 451 is an example on weeknights but there are many others like the high frequency of 582 at Eltham on weekend mornings.
Similar applies for routes that have a strong justification to run more frequently on weekends but do not. Ditto for those without Sunday service or which finish early at night. Backlogs can go back decades.
Most notable is almost the entire bus network in the City of Knox with routes like 757 and 758 to Knox City operating to the same limited weekday only timetables they ran when they started in 1982. Some routes like 536 and 800 that were cut in the early 1990s have only recently had Sunday service restored. Even more commonly are high usage potential routes that got 'minimum standards' upgrades about 15-20 years ago that justify a 20 minute weekend service but remain with 40 to 60 minute gaps such as Route 828.
To sum up the wider operating hours and higher frequencies of some recently introduced routes are good but now need to be applied to popular established routes to make the bus network simpler and more useful.
Similar applies for routes that have a strong justification to run more frequently on weekends but do not. Ditto for those without Sunday service or which finish early at night. Backlogs can go back decades.
Most notable is almost the entire bus network in the City of Knox with routes like 757 and 758 to Knox City operating to the same limited weekday only timetables they ran when they started in 1982. Some routes like 536 and 800 that were cut in the early 1990s have only recently had Sunday service restored. Even more commonly are high usage potential routes that got 'minimum standards' upgrades about 15-20 years ago that justify a 20 minute weekend service but remain with 40 to 60 minute gaps such as Route 828.
To sum up the wider operating hours and higher frequencies of some recently introduced routes are good but now need to be applied to popular established routes to make the bus network simpler and more useful.
