Melbourne bus route 241

Route 241
Kinetic Melbourne Volgren CR228L bodied Volvo B7RLE route 202 at the University of Melbourne in December 2025
Overview
OperatorTransit Systems Victoria
Began service
  • Route 401: 3 March 2008
  • Route 202: 20 September 2021
  • Route 241: 1 February 2026
Former operatorsRoute 202:
Route
StartNorth Melbourne station
Via
EndYarra Bend Park
Length7.2 kilometres
Service
LevelDaily
Frequency
  • 10 minutes (weekday daytime)
  • 15-20 minutes (weekday morning and evening)
  • 30 minutes (weekends)
Journey timeAround 35 minutes
Operates6:00 am – 10:08 pm
ZoneMyki Zone 1
Timetable[1]

Melbourne bus route 241 is a limited-stop bus route operated by Transit Systems Victoria between North Melbourne railway station and Yarra Bend Park in Melbourne, Australia. Introduced on 1 February 2026, the route replaced and absorbed the former route 202 and route 401 as part of the Metro Tunnel timetable changes, providing a high-frequency cross-city connection linking the Parkville precinct with Melbourne’s inner north and north-east.[1]

History

Historical route 202

There existed bus routes also numbered 202 in the past that were unrelated to the current route. One was allocated in 1971 to the short workings of then routes 201 and 203, and operated between Russell Street in the city and Port Melbourne via City Road. However, by the 1980s there were already no timetabled services for this route.[2]

Another route operated between Kew East and Box Hill Central via Belmore Road from the 1990s until 2014. It was terminated and absorbed into route 302 as a part of Transdev Greenfields Changes Stage 1 in July 2014. Created in March 1999, route 205 ran between Doncaster Shoppingtown and the University of Melbourne's Parkville campus via Bulleen Road and Kew Junction until it also ceased in July 2014.[3][4]

Route 202

Kinetic Melbourne Volgren bodied Volvo B7RLE on route 202 in June 2023

A shuttle bus route between Parkville and Victoria Park station in Abbotsford was first suggested by Infrastructure Victoria in a research paper named Five-year focus: Immediate actions to tackle congestion in 2018. It aims to provide more efficient access to the Parkville National Employment and Innovation Cluster (NEIC) and help manage the growth of trips into the Parkville NEIC and the CBD in the morning peak, following the success of other university shuttle routes such as routes 401 and 601.[5] The route is then brought up as part of Action 3 in Victoria's Bus Plan released in June 2021, formally addressing the adaptation of the recommendation by Infrastructure Victoria.[6]

In August 2021, Minister for Public Transport Ben Carroll announced the route would be introduced. The route commenced on 20 September 2021, running at a 10-minute frequency. The shuttle service provides a more efficient and comfortable way for people to reach the Parkville precinct, and eliminates the need for people commuting from the northern and north-eastern suburbs to travel via CBD to reach the precinct.[7]

The bus route mostly operated at a 10-minute frequency, with very slight variations throughout the day. The route only operates on Weekdays, with no services on Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays, except on Easter Monday, Labour Day, Melbourne Cup Day and King's Birthday. The service hours of the route were from 06:40 to 19:21.[8]

Route 241

The bus route was merged with route 401 and renumbered to 241 on 1 February 2026 as part of Metro Tunnel big switch timetable changes. The western terminus was extended North Melbourne station via Arden and Parkville stations. Service hours were extended to operate seven days a week.[1][9]

Route

Route 241 operates from North Melbourne railway station to Yarra Bend Park via Dryburgh Street, Queensberry Street, Laurens Street and Arden Street in North Melbourne, before continuing through the Parkville precinct via Wreckyn Street and Grattan Street. The route then proceeds via Elgin and Johnston Streets, then along Studley Park Road over the Johnston Street Bridge to Yarra Bend Park.[10]

Although the route overlaps with routes 200 and 207 in its eastern section, it operates as a limited-stop service and only stops at around half of the bus stops along Johnston and Elgin Streets.[11]

Connections

As a shuttle route, Route 241 allows passengers to transfer to different transport modes, including:[12]

North Melbourne Station/Dryburgh Street:

Arden Station/Laurens Street:

Melbourne University/Grattan Street:

Nicholson Street/Elgin Street:

Brunswick Street/Johnston Street:

Smith Street/Johnston Street:

Hoddle Street/Johnston Street:

  • Johnston Street/Hoddle Street (12 bus routes)
    •  246 : Elsternwick station – Clifton Hill[16]
    •  302 : Melbourne CBD (Lonsdale Street) – Box Hill station[17]
    •  303 : Melbourne CBD (Queen Street) – Ringwood North[18]
    •  304 : Melbourne CBD (Lonsdale Street) – Westfield Doncaster[19]
    •  305 : Melbourne CBD (Lonsdale Street) – The Pines Shopping Centre (peak-hour only)[20]
    •  309 : Melbourne CBD (Queen Street) – The Pines Shopping Centre (peak-hour only)[21]
    •  318 : Melbourne CBD (Lonsdale Street) – Deep Creek Reserve (Doncaster East)[22]
    •  350 : Melbourne CBD (Queen Street) – La Trobe University Bundoora Campus[23]
    • SmartBus  905 : Melbourne CBD (Lonsdale Street) – The Pines Shopping Centre[24]
    • SmartBus  906 : Melbourne CBD (Lonsdale Street) – Warrandyte[25]
    • SmartBus  907 : Melbourne CBD (Lonsdale Street) – Mitcham station[26]
    • SmartBus  908 : Melbourne CBD (Lonsdale Street) – The Pines Shopping Centre (peak-hour only)[27]

Victoria Park Station/270 Johnston Street and Lulie Street/Johnston Street:

References

  1. ^ a b "Further timetable changes". Transport Victoria. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  2. ^ "Melbourne Government Bus Routes 1971 to 1993: 200 – 377 & 600 – 602 – BCSV". Bus & Coach Society of Victoria. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  3. ^ "2014-07-27: Transdev Greenfields Changes Stage 1". Bus & Coach Society of Victoria. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Bus 205". Metlink. Archived from the original on 21 February 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  5. ^ "FIVE-YEAR FOCUS Immediate actions to tackle congestion" (PDF). Infrastructure Victoria. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Victoria's Bus Plan" (PDF). Department of Transport and Planning. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  7. ^ Carroll, Ben. "New And Upgraded Bus Services Across Melbourne". Premier of Victoria. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  8. ^ "Route 202 timetable". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  9. ^ "241 North Melbourne Station - Yarra Bend Park (From 1 Feb 2026)". Transport Victoria. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  10. ^ "New bus connect Parkville to Melbourne's north-east". Mirage News. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  11. ^ "New bus service for Uni Melb and Parkville Precinct and changes to Route 546". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  12. ^ "New Melbourne Bus Services, Timetable Upgraded Announced". Australasian Bus & Coach. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  13. ^ "96 East Brunswick - St Kilda Beach". Public Transport Victoria.
  14. ^ "11 West Preston - Victoria Harbour Docklands". Public Transport Victoria.
  15. ^ "86 Bundoora RMIT - Waterfront City Docklands". Public Transport Victoria.
  16. ^ "246 Elsternwick - Clifton Hill via St Kilda". Public Transport Victoria.
  17. ^ "302 City - Box Hill via Belmore Rd and Eastern Fwy". Public Transport Victoria.
  18. ^ "303 City - Ringwood North via Park Rd". Public Transport Victoria.
  19. ^ "304 City - Doncaster SC via Belmore Rd and Eastern Fwy". Public Transport Victoria.
  20. ^ "305 City - The Pines SC via Eastern Fwy". Public Transport Victoria.
  21. ^ "309 City - Donvale via Reynolds Rd". Public Transport Victoria.
  22. ^ "318 City - Deep Creek". Public Transport Victoria.
  23. ^ "350 City - La Trobe University via Eastern Fwy". Public Transport Victoria.
  24. ^ "905 City - The Pines SC via Eastern Fwy & Templestowe (SMARTBUS Service)". Public Transport Victoria.
  25. ^ "906 City - Warrandyte via The Pines SC (SMARTBUS service)". Public Transport Victoria.
  26. ^ "907 City - Mitcham via Doncaster Rd (SMARTBUS service)". Public Transport Victoria.
  27. ^ "908 City - The Pines SC via Eastern Fwy (SMARTBUS Service)". Public Transport Victoria.
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