Re: Airport rail link

["Alex Pout" <alpout@optusnet.com.au>]

Michael <usenet.spam@gunzel.net> wrote in message
8FE6A07DBgunzelT333@139.130.239.94">news:8FE6A07DBgunzelT333@139.130.239.94...
> Alex Pout <alpout@optusnet.com.au> wrote in article
> <3a08ea38$0$19404$7f31c96c@news01.syd.optusnet.com.au>:
>
> >But is there some psychological problem there with running 24 hours?  I
> >remember both reading about the massive taxi shortages on weekend
> >mornings, when everyone is heading home, and having to wait for 2 hours
> >for a taxi at 3am.  Even if the trains and trams had only run 24 hours
> >on Friday and Saturday nights, it would have been a major help for a lot
> >of people.  Or maybe the taxi industry enjoyed the monopoly on after
> >hours transport???
>
> Seems so. Our hypocrites in Parliment on one hand tell people to not drink
> and drive, while on the other hand, don't provide any reasonable
> alternative. The government still seem to have a car mentality as far as
> getting home at night goes. The Nightrider bus idea is great, but why not
> make it a train instead? There would certainly be enough passengers for a
> 45 minutely train service through Saturday and Sunday morning. Nightrider
> buses, with a standard Met fare structure, and running along normal
railway
> routes would be fine Monday morning through Friday morning.
>
> And despite our "public transport activists" beliefs, security guards ARE
> needed on night services. Armed preferably.
>

Possibly explains why I was only ever stopped at one RBT in Victoria,
whereas I get them here at least every couple of months.  As for the busses,
well, they weren't quite as convenient as a train, if only because it's easy
to remember the station to get off at, but a bit harder to recognise a
street corner.  In Newcastle I know, from experience, that the late night
weekend trains are just about packed, probably at least 85% full.  There's
got to be money in that, not to mention the goodwill that it would create.