THE HISTORY AND PRESENT OF NIGHT OPERATION IN GENERAL
Few people know that night operation in Liberec existed even under the former regime. Already in 1958 a night connection of Stráž nad Nisou with Liberec on weekdays was introduced. The very next year (8 May 1959) two circular lines were introduced for operation on nights before non-working days:
Circuit I: Gottwaldovo náměstí - Nádraží - Dolní Hanychov - České mládeže - Rochlice - Gottwaldovo náměstí (twice a night),
Circuit II: Gottwaldovo náměstí - Husova - Březová alej - Lidové Sady - Lázně - Nám. Bojovníků za mír (today nám. Dr. E. Beneše) - Horská - Ruprechtice náměstí - Vrchlického - Pavlovice Letná - Růžodol I - Gottwaldovo náměstí (once a night).
Both circuits can be found in the same form in the 1972 and 1975 timetables. Circuit I departed at 0:30 and 1:50, circuit II at 1:10. This operation ended on 12 January 1979.
In the new era Liberec long lagged far behind comparable and even smaller cities in terms of night operation. Its reintroduction came only in 2007. The development was as follows:
Until 2007 operation ended with a collective departure on the dispatcher's signal at 23:10 (originally 23:08 or 23:05).
Only on 1 December 2007 were night services introduced on a trial basis on lines 3, 11, 12, 22, 24, 25 and 29, which met at the Fügnerova terminal always at 23:50, 0:30 and, on non-working days, also at 1:10 and 2:00.
On 1 September 2010 a system of four circular lines numbered 90-93 was introduced, supplementing the night tram services. The departure times remained the same.
From September 2012 lines 92 and 93 were merged into one with the number 92, and the departure times changed to 0:20 and, on non-working days, 1:10 and 2:00. The change was connected with the shift of the last daytime departure to 23:20. Partial route changes affected the other lines too.
In October 2015 the departures were adjusted again: 0:20 daily and, on non-working days, also 1:20 and 2:20. The 1:20 departure was available all week for about a year.
26 March 2020: in connection with the state of emergency due to the spread of the new coronavirus, the night lines were temporarily discontinued. During the gradual restoration of operation, however, they were not restored, so the discontinuation proved permanent. Politicians cited the financial demands of operation. For almost two years Liberec was thus without night operation. During the changes, the mode of ending daytime operation was also permanently changed to a collective departure of most lines at 22:40 and a departure of selected lines at 23:10.
1 January 2022: a trial introduction of two long circular lines, 93 and 94, with a single all-week departure at 0:20.
2 January 2023: night operation was again expanded to 4 lines, 91-94, with departures daily at 0:20 and, on non-working days, also at 1:20. This time operation is provided purely by buses; the night tram services did not return to operation.
LINE 90 SPECIFICALLY
1 September 2010: the line was introduced on the route: Fügnerova - Zelené Údolí - Rochlice - Vesec - Doubí sídliště - Vesec - Rochlice - Fügnerova. It thus ran all the way to the Doubí sídliště loop and returned via Vesec along the route of line 24.
1 September 2012: the detour to Doubí sídliště ends and from the Mařanova stop it newly continues along Hodkovická street straight back to Fügnerova (along the route of line 20 without the detour via Doubská). It is worth mentioning that in the first years of operation it was regularly served by an articulated bus on nights before non-working days due to high interest. Interest in the night lines, however, declined steadily, and so in recent years this sight could be seen only exceptionally during one-off events such as the Benátská festival period.
26 March 2020: the line ceases to exist.
Unfortunately, no video recording of this line is known. If you have one, I would be glad if you got in touch.
Night lines do not have a local-geography article, because there is not much to see in the dark anyway :-). For the local geography of the areas concerned, use the daytime lines.