By Brendan Rees
A $500 million bus network that will see a huge investment in bus links in the south-east would be in place by the end of 2019 – if the Greens win the State Election in November.
The plan, announced on Tuesday 25 September, included upgrading some of the south-east’s busiest bus routes to SmartBus which will increase some priority routes to 10 minutes frequencies, longer hours of operation, real-time information at bus stops, with direct routes and electric buses.
The Greens will also instigate a metropolitan wide bus review to provide more frequent and direct services and expand coverage to public transport dead zones.
Victorian Greens MP for the South-Eastern Metropolitan region, Nina Springle said “big promises” had been made by the Andrews Government recently that will “take 20 or more years to take effect.”
“It is absolutely imperative that we properly invest in a decent and reliable bus network so that cars are not the one and only option for getting around,” she said.
“Estimates suggest SmartBus services remove several thousand vehicles from Melbourne’s roads every day; as they are a fast and frequent alternative to car use.”
The priority routes in South-Eastern Metropolitan are:
• Route 708: Carrum to Hampton via Southland Shopping Centre.
• Route 788: Frankston to Portsea via Dromana, Rosebud, Sorrento.
• Combine routes 791 and 841: Frankston, Cranbourne, Narre Warren.
• Route 824: Moorabbin to Keysborough via Clayton, Westall.
• Route 828: Hampton to Berwick Station via Southland Shopping Centre, Dandenong.
Victorian Greens MP and public transport spokesman Sam Hibbins said: “For too long Labor and Liberal have neglected Melbourne’s buses, despite so many people relying on them.”
Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan said the Greens announcement was “just more hot air from the do nothing Greens political party – you can’t trust them to deliver anything.”
“We’ve added new bus routes, improved connections and updated timetables on almost 70 services across the south east,” she said.
Ms Allan said the State Government had invested more than $200 million to improve Victoria’s bus network and continued to work with local communities to deliver better routes and more travel options.
Opposition public transport spokesman David Davis said as Labor had been in power for 15 of the last 19 years it was “their failure to invest in buses is largely their fault.”
“They are a tired Government; they’ve run out of ideas.”
He added the member for Narre Warren North, Luke Donnellan lived in Fitzroy “so will never have to catch a local bus.”
Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said the Greens’ aim of more direct, frequent Smartbus services will “get more people using public transport, which brings huge benefits to our suburbs.”
