I think once Cross River Rail is activated we should introduce a Night Train service. Basically on Friday and Saturday Nights, as well as public holidays, except for during trackwork, there would be services all night on the Rail network as well as on the Gold Coast Light Rail. Additionally I would also like to see Brisbane City Council up their game and do the same for both Metro, Ferries and select Bus Routes, particularly those serving areas like the city and the valley. During the Olympics however for those two weeks it would be all night every night due to events.
Expand on the NightLink Services essentially and beefen it up is what I’m hearing.
Can they afford to pay the drivers, guards, security, station staff needed though?
Brisbane City Council’s Transport for Brisbane division (and other bus operators like Redland’s Transdev) already provides Nightlink services, including 24/7 weekend services for routes M1 & M2.
However, I must stress that the current Nightlink network still feels something out of the 2010s. You’ve got routes such as N413 St Lucia and N385 The Gap operating in both directions, whereas other Nightlink routes only operate in an outbound fashion. Its this discrepancy in service (and limited network coverage to the suburbs) that limits its usefulness.
Not all of them run frequently. Most of the Nightlinks’ run hourly, whereas some run more frequently (15-30 minute headways) such as M1, M2, 60, 61, N199.
Here’s the Nightlink network map from 2014 (as seen below):
If you compare it to today’s (a decade later), you’ll find that very little has changed: N464 Forest Lake has been truncated to N449 Riverhills West, M2 has been added, and N111 has evolved into route M1. N555 also now services Rochedale busway station.
even that fine. I didnt know we had night buses
hiring blitz
Sydney operates buses on weeknights as a night network, replacing the train network.
This is for all weeknights, not just Friday and Saturday. Toronto, Canada has something similar.
Sydney NightRide Buses Network (click to enlarge)
Sydney
A number of bus routes operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
NightRide buses replace most train services between midnight and 4.30am, stopping at railways stations or on main roads near railway stations.
Some regular bus routes run later services after midnight on weekends only.
Some Intercity train services run after midnight.
The last service on some ferry routes depart between midnight and 1am.
Notes
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Toronto Blue Night Network
Blue Night Network
Overnight service operates on most major routes from approximately 1:30 a.m. to the start of subway service. Service is provided every 30 minutes or better, seven days a week. Blue Night Network routes have white and blue route lozenges and 300-series route numbers.
Notice how the service is not mode share, but a % access catchment metric and a frequency standard.
The overnight network is designed so 95% of the population and employment is within a 1,250 metre walk (15 minutes) of transit service. Consequently, overnight services may be provided on different routes than the base network in order to meet these requirements. Where possible, however, overnight routes will follow daytime routing and be identified in a manner consistent with the daytime route. The overnight network is an important part of the TTC’s commitment to maximizing the mobility of people in the City of Toronto and meeting all of their diverse travel needs.
Hours of service: 1:30am to 6:00am (8:00am Sunday)
% of population and employment served: 95%
Within walking distance: 1250 metres
Within walking time: 15 minutes
Minimum service frequency: 30 minutes
Headway performance: Service is considered to be on time if it is no more than 1 minute early and no more than 5 minutes late. TTC’s goal is to have 60% of all trips meet the on-time performance standard.
Notes
A Review of Blue Night Services May 2025 (Part I)
Wikipedia Blue Night Network
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Night Services for Brisbane, and SEQ Regions
- “World Class” cities generally have some form of 24/7 public transport
- Gold Coast has Route 700 which runs 24/7 and extends to cover the GC LRT when it is not operating
- Sunshine Coast could be a candidate (for investigation)
- Key Decision to Make - what would be a good approach?
- Separate network and market that (another brand, different routing)
- Just adding service to the existing network (and using a supplementary logo or identifier with the route, similar to Melbourne)
- Just extending the existing Nightlink network so that some services also run on weeknights
- Both Melbourne and Toronto use a moon symbol to supplement route numbers, identifying which routes form part of the night network.
Brisbane
Here’s how a night network could look for Brisbane, keen to hear your thoughts. All services would pick up and drop off in both directions.
Group 1: High Priority (Core Network)
- N1/N3 Eight Mile Plains - CBD - Chermside via INB (Single route showing N3 when travelling to Chermside, N1 when travelling to Eight Mile Plains)
- N20 Carindale - CBD
- N40 Centenary - Indooroopilly - CBD
Group 2: Priority
- Blue CityGlider West End to Newstead
- N10 Inala - CBD (would need extra security, as Route 100 has been in the media for safety incidents)
- N14 Browns Plains - CBD via SEB
- N17 Upper Mt Gravatt to CBD via Logan Road
- N19 West End - CBD - New Farm (just run more services)
- N30 DFO Brisbane Airport - Toombul - CBD via Kingsford Smith Drive (essentially Route 300 with an extension to DFO)
Group 3: Nice to Have
- Your thoughts
- Probably running some more BUZ services later into the night/early morning
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With the extension of the SEB to Springwood, I don’t support services terminating at 8MP. Send it to Springwood.
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