The NightRider network was launched in May 1993 with nine routes all originating on
Swanston Street. They were the first night routes in
Melbourne after the
Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board withdrew its services in the 1960s. In November 2008, the NightRider network was overhauled. The logo and branding were replaced, and operators of several routes changed. New routes commenced to
Doncaster,
Healesville and
Cranbourne. Frequencies were increased from 60 to 30 minutes. Due to
Metro Trains Melbourne now running until 01:00, the first services were revised to depart at 01:30 instead of 00:30 on most services. Route numbers were issued by
Metlink for the first time (previously some operators did display them on buses) and are all in the 900 series, with the numbers corresponding to the predominant route number allocations at the outer termini. For example, many buses in the Dandenong area were in the 800s, hence the number 980 and 981 was allocated to them. Originally fares were set at a flat $5 regardless of distance travelled. Buses were labelled with a large NightRider logo, and text saying "NightRider – The after midnight bus service". ==Routes==