It's the eternal conundrum of the festival-goer: how am I going to get to Rainbow Serpent/Falls/Meredith/Groovin' the Moo? Who's the designated driver going to be, and does that mean they can't go hard on the last night of the festival? And what if no one has a car?
Festival-heads, your saviour has arrived. Banana Bus is Melbourne's first dedicated festival shuttle service that stops off at suburban locations all over Melbourne. In the past, hiring a bus could mean having to round up a big group of people, and often lugging camping gear into the city to the pick-up destination.
Not any more. Banana Bus picks up from locations including Clifton Hill, Coburg, Doncaster, Footscray and St Kilda – and it's completely app-based, which makes it easy as hell to book. And because they're all about making your festival experience as easy as possible, they'll even throw in free festival survival kits, and recovery packs on the way home.
Owner and director Dougie Harvey sees Banana Bus as helping eliminate the dangers associated with driving to festivals. "There's no hiding that drugs and alcohol are a part of festival culture, and Banana Bus offers a safe, reliable and fucking rad way to get you there and back without the concern of putting anyone's life in danger on the roads."
The maiden voyage of Banana Bus will be to Rainbow Serpent; a psytrance and lifestyle festival kicking off on January 26. Your journey will set you back $75 (not bad when you consider the petrol costs alone), and can be booked through the app.