Bus upgrades wait on funds

By Lia Bichel
THE State Government says it will consider improving bus services in Greater Dandenong when funding becomes available.
Public Transport Minister Martin Pakula said local bus upgrades for the area would be “developed in consultation with local council as funding becomes available”.
His comments came after the council and local residents said Greater Dandenong was in desperate need of improved services.
Many backed a monster petition by the Eastern Transport Coalition (ETC)’s, which had more than 13,000 signatures from the City of Greater Dandenong and surrounding councils, and demanded better transport services in Melbourne’s south-east.
Cr Roz Blades, the City of Greater Dandenong’s representative on the ETC, said she was hoping for change.
“We would hope that we would receive improvement,” Cr Blades said.
“Given the special situation in Greater Dandenong – where we sometimes have crossing gates down for 35 minutes every hour – it’s hard to negotiate bus routes when they can’t get though (the crossing).”
Mr Pakula said the government had been working to improve public transport services in Greater Dandenong over the past four years.
“Since 2006, we have improved 12 local bus routes in Greater Dandenong with longer operating hours and more frequent services,” he said.