Keysborough Ward councillor Roz Blades (left) and PTUA south east branch convenor June Whitton are tired of waiting for the State Government to act on Greater Dandenong’s public transport problems.By Shaun Inguanzo
A NEW public transport lobby group for Melbourne’s south eastern suburbs suffered an ironic twist at its first meeting.
While 18 people attended the first meeting of the Public Transport Users’ Association’s south east branch, many more couldn’t make it due to a lack of public transport services.
So says the branch’s first convenor, June Whitton, who will lead the group’s fight for increased bus and train services in Greater Dandenong and surrounding cities by lobbying local and State Government representatives.
“We had people who wanted to come but couldn’t get there,” she said.
“And one lady came from up near Waverley Gardens, she got there on her own feet but couldn’t get home because there was no transport.”
Ms Whitton said the group had formed out of such challenges faced by residents, who were at risk of becoming isolated from the community. “What scares me is getting from A to B, and if you have to go to work and depend on a train or bus you have got to really map your day out,” she said.
“A couple of times I have been without a car when I’ve had it serviced – and I had it stolen once – and life was just so bad.
“People with cars don’t understand what these people (using public transport) go through.”
Ms Whitton said this being a state election year would see the group apply pressure on local State Government representatives to fund the council’s Weekend Bus Service, and fund new and more frequent services around Greater Dandenong with the aim of preventing social isolation for those dependent on the services.
Ms Whitton said the group’s next meeting would be held at 6.30pm on 4 April at the Springvale council offices, and new members were always welcome to attend.
