In addition, the letter N will be added to the route numbers of trunk buses operating at night. For instance, trunk bus 600 will operate as route 600N approximately between 11pm and 5am, during which time the same travel practices will apply as on regular blue buses.
The trial will run until the end of the year. Based on the experiences and feedback gathered during the trial, we will decide whether to make the practice permanent.
The primary goal of the trial is to improve passengers’ perceived safety. A similar trial conducted last summer on bus route 600 showed that passengers felt safer at night when everyone boarded the bus through the front door. Previous surveys have also indicated that passengers feel safer when they encounter a staff member during their journey. We also aim to reduce fare evasion, which has been more common on trunk route buses compared to other routes.
The trial will be conducted on trunk bus routes 20, 30, 40, 200, 300, 400, 500, 510, 520, 530, 560, 570 and 600.