By Casey Neill
A new bus service could cut unemployment and boost business in Dandenong South.
Dandenong MP Gabrielle Williams announced the route 890 would run between Lynbrook Railway Station and Dandenong Railway Station and take in Abbotts Road in Dandenong South.
She said it would start on Sunday 13 November and “help get people to where the jobs are and also helps businesses to secure the skilled workforce they need”.
“Lack of public transport connections can be a major obstacle to employment,” she said.
“This is all about jobs and creating opportunities.”
Every day MatchWorks business development manager Maria Ferreira-Correia works with job-seekers who don’t have cars.
“Dandenong has one of the highest unemployment rates,” she said.
“Seventy to 80 per cent of our candidates don’t have transport.
“When you become unemployed, that’s one of the first things to go as they’re quite expensive to run.”
Ms Ferreira Correia said the new bus route would help employers to “benefit from some really good candidates”.
“What’s stopping them from getting a job is they don’t have a car,” she said.
“There are jobs out there.
“The route that the new bus is going to go through, there’s heaps of places there that we could potentially tap into for our candidates.
“I think it will be really beneficial for the south-east and especially for the unemployed in this area.
“We need another one now, for the Greens Road side.”
South East Local Learning and Employment Network (SELLEN) CEO Andrew Simmons said the route was great news.
“The initiative will assist in opening up the Dandenong South employment corridor more, particularly to young people without a licence and secondary school students seeking work placement opportunities as part of their studies,” he said.
Committee for Dandenong chairman Gary Castricum said it was about time.
“It runs right through the centre of where there’s a lot of industry,” he said.
“I think it’s desperately needed.
“It’s going to open up more opportunities for him to employ people.
“It is such a major employment and industrial area that provides such a significant benefit to everywhere.”
Mr Castricum said reaching the precinct without a car would previously mean an eight kilometre walk.
“A lot of people need unskilled and semi-skilled work, and this is where a lot of that work is,” he said.
“A lot of these workers don’t have a car.”
The new service forms part of the State Government’s Better Bus Networks program, which includes four new routes and 13 realignments to Cranbourne’s bus network.
Timetables for the new network will be available on ptv.vic.gov.au from Monday 17 October.
