'Amazing' and 'buses' don't normally belong in the same sentence if we're talking about Melbourne transport, especially at night.
But that's what we'll be getting on New Years Eve, even if the Department of Transport and Planning seems not to want people to know about it.
As at 6am on 30 December 2025 (just one day before New Years Eve), the Transport Victoria website New Year's Eve item merely said that "Over 50 bus routes are operating after midnight around Greater Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula and Geelong".
Just 2 of the 26 bus routes that will get special New Years Eve extra trips are listed. And only 2 out of the 4 that will have diversions have links to explanatory items. It would also appear that 7 Night Network routes will not run on New Years Eve but no mention is made of those.
That's a pretty poor showing given that (a) this area has around 400 regular bus routes and (b) public expectations for buses are pretty low. On a weekend (when Night Network operates)
metropolitan area overnight bus service is typically provided by extended hours on 21 regular routes plus 13 special Night Network only routes.
New Year's eve is different so it would be reasonable to provide extra information. Because not only are there are heap of non-Night Network routes operating but also some Night Network routes will not operate.
Transport Victoria keeps telling people to consult its website but that is not good when website information is missing or incomplete.
As it is in this case where there is not even (as of the morning of 30/12/2025) a list of routes that are and are not running. Instead people need to play mind-reader, guessing with hit-or-miss journey plans. Not ideal when people may plan their New Year's social activities a week or two in advance.
The date for New Year's is both fixed and known in advance. Thus it can be prepared for. It is inexcusable that the 4500 people strong DTP that spends about $700m of taxpayer funds on its own administration (without running a single train, tram or bus itself) could have dropped the ball on this. "What do they do all year?" is a legitimate question to ask.
The only (official) way one can find out what's running is to laboriously plan trips through the journey planner. That gives results that indicate that more (and in some cases different) bus routes are operating on this coming New Year's Eve than on a weekend.
In marketing terms this is akin to letting people know that an item is available only if they ask for it. As I said five years ago PTV marketing of its services is like a 1920s era general store (and no more successful).
As opposed to more superior supermarket-style merchandising which displays items so they can be bought by people who (in some cases) did not know what to ask for, if they needed it or even if it existed. No prizes for guessing which approach nets the biggest sales.
This arises from DTP/TV being an old-style bureaucracy whose internally-focused leadership has only occasionally demonstrated significant sales initiative or community engagement ability, at least for buses. They also lack a growth mindset and a hunger to make their service useful to more people such as can be measured by patronage. (In contrast Big Build project agencies such as for Metro Tunnel tend to be more modern and not uncoincidentally can generate political goodwill in ways that the unwieldy DTP is weaker at.)
Other capitals have their New Year's bus information act together. Examples include
Sydney,
Brisbane,
Perth and
Adelaide. Their transport agencies appear to have practical organisational capability that DTP evidently lacks.
Transport Victoria 0
Bus & Coach Society of Victoria 1
If DTP/TV doesn't have what it takes, who does? Enter the Bus and Coach Society.
Via a long Facebook item posted on Sunday they got to the bottom of what is and is not running on New Year's so that the rest of us do not need to.
How they found everything out is a fascinating read in itself.
But if you just want lists of what is and isn't running, they are reproduced below.
MELBOURNE BUS SERVICES OVER NEW YEAR'S 2025/26Existing Night Network regular routes operating (21)
* 150 Williams Landing Station - Tarneit Station
* 180 Tarneit Station - Werribee Station via Tarneit Rd
* 190 Werribee Station - Wyndham Vale Station
* 207 City (Queen St) - Doncaster SC
* 250 City (Queen St) - La Trobe University
* 357 Thomastown Station - Wollert West
* 386 Bundoora RMIT - Mernda Station
* 406 Footscray - Keilor East
* 410 Footscray - Sunshine Station via Ballarat Rd
* 420 Sunshine Station - Watergardens Station
* 630 Elwood - Monash University
* 670 Lilydale - Ringwood
* 693 Oakleigh - Belgrave
* 703 Middle Brighton - Blackburn
* 788 Frankston - Sorrento
* 833 Frankston - Carrum Downs
* 900 Oakleigh - Stud Park SC (Rowville)
* 901 Melbourne Airport - Frankston (selected sections)
* 905 City (King/Lonsdale Sts) - The Pines SC
* 907 City (King/Lonsdale Sts) - Mitcham
* 908 City (King/Lonsdale Sts) - The Pines SC
Existing Night Network special routes operating (6)
* 941 Sunshine - Watergardens via Sunshine Av
* 947 Footscray - Newport via Altona North
* 949 Williams Landing - Point Cook - Altona Meadows Loop
* 959 City (Queen St) - Broadmeadows via Airport West
* 981 Dandenong - Cranbourne via Berwick
* 982 Dandenong - Cranbourne via Hampton Park
Non Night Network regular routes operating NYE (26)
* 170 Tarneit Station - Werribee Station via Derrimut Rd
* 182 Tarneit Station - Werribee Station via Davis Rd
* 246 Clifton Hill - Elsternwick
* 251 City (Queen St) - Northland SC (only before midnight)
* 388 Mernda-Doreen loop (anti-clockwise)
* 390 Craigieburn Station - Mernda Station
* 402 East Melbourne - Footscray
* 404 Moonee Ponds - Footscray Station
* 428 Sunshine Station - Sunshine West
* 444 Rockbank - Aintree
* 454 Melton Station - Cobblebank Station
* 457 Melton Station - Melton CBD
* 458 Melton Station - Kurunjang
* 459 Melton Station - Arnolds Creek
* 460 Watergardens Station - Caroline Springs Station
* 471 Sunshine Station - Williamstown
* 472 Williamstown - Moonee Ponds
* 570 Bundoora RMIT - Thomastown
* 604 Anzac Station - Elsternwick via Orrong Rd
* 605 Anzac Station - Gardenvale via Kooyong Rd
* 733 Clayton - Box Hill
* 737 Croydon - Glen Waverley
* 781 Frankston - Dromana via Mornington & Rosebud
* 782 Frankston - Crib Point via Hastings
* 902 Airport West - Chelsea (selected sections)
* 903 Altona - Mordialloc (selected sections)
Some regular routes in Geelong are also operating
Night Network routes NOT operating (based on available GTFS data)
* 943 Watergardens - Melton via Caroline Springs
* 951 Brunswick - Glenroy via West Coburg
* 953 Broadmeadows - Craigieburn
* 965 Lilydale - Healesville Loop
* 967 Glen Waverley - Croydon Loop
* 978 Clayton - Dandenong via Dandenong North
* 979 Clayton - Dandenong via Keysborough
in some cases regular routes will run instead - listed above
More details of the service offered is provided on a spreadsheet that you can
download here.
The selection of non-Night Network routes is particularly interesting. Some areas get more than others. Long neglected Melton areas get a good go as does much of Wyndham north of the railway and the Mornington Peninsula (including Hastings). But some other growth areas like Point Cook, Craigieburn, Pakenham, Clyde and Cranbourne get less.
Route 404 is noteworthy being one that will operate despite its limited operating hours including no Sunday service. Other inner area routes that will run include 246, 251, 402, 472, 603, 604 and 605.
Some major east-west routes across the north (390 and 570) will operate as will important routes in the east including part of 733, 737, 902 and 903.
All up it's a total of 53 metropolitan bus routes operating. More than previous years. Large parts of suburban Melbourne will be getting public transport on New Year's Eve that is better than it is at other times.
This is a huge credit to the drivers and other bus operator staff who have given up their New Years celebrations so they may enable others to enjoy theirs. Also to the minister and the state government for stepping up to fund these upgrades to make buses useful during the year's busiest night.
But no credit is due to DTP/TV communications from whom more alertness and activity must be expected and demanded to keep passengers informed in 2026.
4 comments:
Come the next NYE the DTP can state it provided extensive bus services for the 2025 night, and it was barely used. "No need to fund it again, Minister."
A word of caution...the Transport Victoria online PDF timetables and online timetables/PDF timetables are using incorrect data
(Journey planner, Google Maps or other 3rd party apps are correct)
Look up 406 for instance, and it shows an hourly timetable all night, when buses are every 42 mins only until 2am
This is an issue for 14 routes. For the other 39 routes there is simply no timetable data displayed
7 out of the 13 Night Buses are not running at all - 943, 951, 953, 965, 967, 978 & 979 - but for a couple last year's timetable data is displayed
In short:
- news article doesn't show lists operating as at 1pm the day before
- data is incorrect for 14 routes if you use the online timetables
- 9 routes in Geelong are also running, plus a 1am Geelong - Tarneit coach via V/Line stations
- Online timetable Geelong - Torquay 53 is showing Friday night trips that aren't running according to McHarry's website
- Journey planner, Google Maps or other 3rd party apps are correct
- online data is missing for 39 routes
- most routes will wind up before 3am, there is not an all night service like Friday or Saturday nights
- Most weekend Night Bus routes are running a different frequency than usual
- Some routes running like 605, 733, 901, 902, 903 & 959 only selected sections are running
What a cock up! 👿
Funding was provided for extra buses and plenty of planning has gone into the overnight services, only not to tell anyone!! No list online, no online timetables and no social media posts from Transport Victoria, bus operators or Gabrielle Williams MP or Jacinta Allan
We assume few are around this week to pull off any eleventh hour miracles to fix this mess but they could at least add a list of routes running to the event article and City of Melbourne NYE transport page and make some social media posts
Thanks for sharing!!
Interesting that the 906 to Warrandyte always seems to miss some sort of service upgrade or special service provision, must be sleepy up that way.
Anyway there will be more than 100 bus routes/services that will be adjusted/recalibrated as part of the big switch in Feb to coincide with Metro Tunnel going full service.
I'd say it's a pretty low priority. 905, 907 & 908 are getting extra trips and 906 doesn't have much unique catchment, population density or demographics to justify it. Especially when compared to routes serving densely populated areas like 495 (Point Cook) and 529 (Craigieburn) that also didn't make the cut.
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