It's hard not to agree with Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin's suggestion that late-night bus service out of downtown should continue over the summer.

A trial saw the transit commission running buses Friday and Saturday nights until 1:30 a.m. on three routes: The No. 4 and the No. 14, which serve the University of Victoria, and the No. 6, which runs from Esquimalt to Royal Oak.

Normally, the last buses leave downtown around midnight.

Although the target ridership for the service was students, who will be leaving town over the summer, Fortin says it has also proven popular with downtown workers heading home after a late shift.

Even more important, however, it provides one more way for many bar patrons to get home safely without getting behind the wheel.

The fly in the ointment, as is so often the case, is funding. Transit commission chairman Christopher Causton points out that the commission only budgeted for a three-month test run, and that it's expensive to keep the depot open an extra hour and a half.

We would suggest Fortin explore a co-funding arrangement between the city and B.C. Transit to offset the costs. Both sides benefit: The city gets late-night staff and revellers home safely, Transit gets the riders. And ridership can only increase when the students return in the fall.