New Year’s Eve is a time for gathering together in large crowds for fireworks, parties and general merriment. The best way to manage that is undoubtedly public transport. We’ve gathered up your options for getting there and back for major Australian cities.
Picture by jo3hug
As a general rule of thumb, services tend to operate on weekend timetables around New Year’s Eve, which means fewer services. It’d be very wise indeed to plan ahead so that you know what to expect, and, as with all things public transport, be ready to improvise if a service gets inexplicably cancelled.
Melbourne has for many years now offered free public transport on New Year’s Eve, and 2013 is no exception. If you’re travelling after 6pm, services are totally free on Metropolitan trains, trams, buses and regional town buses. More information can be found here.
Brisbane gets the same kind of free deal on bus, rail and ferry services, albeit at slightly different times. The freebies kick off from 9pm on New Year’s Even and conclude at 5:30am on New Year’s Day, after which you’ll have to pay to stagger home. More information can be found here.
Adelaide offers free public transport across bus, train and tram, but you’ll have to wait until the stroke of midnight to take advantage of them, and there’s also a specially modified timetable to go with it. One nice touch here is that a special drop-off service is offered on buses; if you ask your bus driver (nicely!) they’ll apparently drop you off “at any safe point along your route.” More details here.
There’s no free travel to be had in Sydney, but instead you can buy either an unlimited travel ticket for regular Sydney Buses between 3pm on the 31st and midday on the 1st for $6/$3 (Adult/Concession). The same deal for light rail costs $5/$3. On the train side of matters, return tickets purchased any time on the 31st are valid up until midday on the 1st. More details are here.
Perth likewise doesn’t appear to offer free travel, but there is the promise of extra late-night services on New Year’s Eve itself. More details here.
Hobart residents can catch Nightrider buses for a flat $2 fare from 7pm on the 31st up until approximately 2:30am on the 1st. Details can be found here.
Canberra residents can take advantage of free Nightrider buses on New Year’s Eve to eight suburban destinations. More details here.
Darwin residents can catch buses for free from 7pm on New Year’s Eve until 6:30am on the 1st, albeit to a reduced public holiday service timetable. More details can be found here.
Know of a choice we’ve missed? Tell us in the comments. Happy New Year!
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