Hannah Hammoud
Western suburbs advocacy alliance LeadWest has joined in the chorus of calls urging the state government to conduct a major overhaul of Victoria’s bus network.
LeadWest is pressing the state government to prioritise Melbourne’s west with improvements needed to address the ‘chronic undersupply’ of public transport in existing growth areas.
LeadWest is an advocacy alliance comprising of Brimbank, Hobsons Bay, Maribyrnong, Melton and Wyndham.
LeadWest said buses play a crucial role in offering fast, frequent, and direct services, particularly in outer suburbs and growth areas currently underserved by existing public transport infrastructure.
The demand for bus reform stems from a recent report released by Infrastructure Victoria titled, ‘Fast, frequent, fair: how buses can better connect Melbourne’, which details how reforms to Melbourne’s bus network would significantly improve access to jobs and recreation for thousands of people.
The report lists 10 recommendations for improvements, including increasing the frequency of bus services, beginning with outer and growth area suburbs as well as optimising the bus network through fast and direct routes.
Infrastructure Victoria acting chief executive Dr Allison Stewart said for those who don’t live in areas near train and tram corridors, most Melburnians must rely on a ‘slow and patchy’ bus network.
LeadWest said it supports each of the 10 recommendations from the report and said benefits from transforming Melbourne’s bus network are comparable to any one of Victoria’s big road and rail projects – and at much less cost.
LeadWest is urging the state government to prioritise the delivery of new bus rapid transit services identified in the report that would serve Melbourne’s west including the Tarneit-Maribyrnong, Melton-Broadmeadows and Point Cook-Watergardens routes.
LeadWest chair and Melton councillor Sophie Ramsey said rapid growth in Melbourne’s west has left communities without adequate bus services.
“Where there are bus services, peak frequency is about 30 minutes and travel time can often take close to twice as long as travelling by car,” she said.
“Some new suburbs in Brimbank, Melton and Wyndham have no bus services including Eynesbury, Brookfield and Mount Atkinson. This will get much worse as more people make these suburbs home.
Cr Ramsey said buses need to run more often and later at night to match passenger demands, saying that in some areas including parts of Maribyrnong, bus services finish as early as 8pm.
“Lack of access to effective public transport increases financial hardship, impairs health and wellbeing outcomes, and reduces people’s access to services, community, jobs, education and opportunity,” she said.
LeadWest is also calling for a timely provision of bus services for future communities through a long-term growth funding program for Melbourne’s buses.
A state government spokesperson said the state government ‘welcomes’ the research conducted by Infrastructure Victoria.
“We know buses play a significant role in our public transport network – particularly across the suburbs, which is why we’re focused on reforming the bus network across the state,” the spokesperson said.
“Through a range of initiatives including improving existing routes, adding new bus routes and supporting a transition to zero-emissions buses, we are making sure buses play a stronger role in a transport network critical to growing a more liveable and more connected Victoria.“
