Cade Lucas
Bus services in the western suburbs are stuck in a ‘dark age’ a community forum was told on Thursday night.
The comment was made when a colour coded map of west’s bus network was displayed at the ‘Why is the West still waiting for Better Buses in 2024?’ forum in Williams Landing on March 14.
The map from University of Melbourne public transport expert, Dr John Stone, showed the western suburbs covered in black, the colour indicating poor performance.
Given the the name of the forum, neither the colour of the map or the ‘dark ages’ comment came as a shock to the audience or the speakers, including Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam, Melton Labor MP Stephen McGhie and Western Metro MLC’s Trung Luu (Liberal) and David Ettershank (Legalise Cannabis).
Organised by Sustainable Cities and the Point Cook Action Group, the forum followed on from a protest outside Werribee station on March 9, where activists demanded the state government finally release it’s plan for improved bus services first commissioned in 2021.
Greens leader Samathan Ratnam accused the government of having its priorities wrong.
“They are funnelling billions of dollars into huge projects when people can’t get a bus within half an hour of walking distance from their home,” she said.
“That should not be happening in a place like Victoria.”
Truung Lu said the problem in the western suburbs was that unlike the east, there were less public transport options.
“In the east they’ve got buses, trains and trams and trams cover 80 per cent.”
Melton MP Steve McGhie was the only government representative at the forum and said buses faced unlikely opposition from property developers who did not want them in new residential estates and small businesses who didn’t want their customers travelling to spend money elsewhere.
He said he would continue to advocate for better buses within government and encouraged those in attendance to do so too.
“Continue to harass people like myself, the minister and the government,” he said.
David Ettershank summed up the feeling of many when he told the audience: “West is the best that it get so much less and I think that sort of embodies
the problems we’re dealing with.”
