Night owl service stops

Gosford Council has decided to discontinue the Night Owl Bus Service, which operated routes on the Peninsula between clubs and other venues, after operating costs rose to $3090 a week.

The operating costs equate to a $100 per passenger trip.

The Ettalong Beach-Umina Beach-Woy Woy-Gosford and return route was operating with a single bus on a one-hour return timetable at a ticket price of $10 per person.

The Gosford-Erina-Terrigal-The Entrance and return route was reduced from two buses to one, operating on a two-hour timetable instead of an hourly service.

A council report stated that a review of passenger numbers as at June 18 showed weekly numbers had continued to drop on both the bus routes since the changes took place.

The reduction resulted in a substantial downturn of the projected ticket sales calculated for the period March 10 to July 1.

The weekly cost to operate the service was $3090, equating to a cost of $100 per passenger trip for the June 16 to 17 weekend.

Council resolved to discontinue The Night Owl Bus Service after its last scheduled service on Sunday, July 2.

Council has also resolved that its officers continue to pursue a proposal to have the service routes included in those routes to be serviced by bus companies, in conjunction with the State Government's bus reform program for the Central Coast.

Council agenda MM.4, June 27