Push for ‘forgotten’ transport

PLANS to lower fares for Zone 2 travellers and “forgotten” bus services were hot topics at a forum in Springvale last week.
About 60 people attended the Eastern Transport Coalition’s (ETC) Commuters Count Transport Summit last Wednesday, 9 April, at Springvale Reserve.
The State Government – regardless of the election result in November – will cap maximum daily fares at the Zone 1 rate across Melbourne’s public transport network from 1 January.
ETC chairman and Knox councillor Peter Lockwood said the move would increase patronage but cut revenue by $100 million.
“I’d rather see better services than cheaper services,” he said.
Urban planner Professor Roz Hansen said she would “much rather see that money going into public transport”.
She also scoffed at last week’s announcement that V/Line passengers would receive free wi-fi, and said she was worried about government priorities.
“This isn’t going to solve some pretty fundamental problems,” Ms Hansen said.
She suggested offering bus services in three levels – local, rail link and longer journeys – would improve usability and patronage, as would giving buses priority on arterial roads.
Ms Hansen said the Public Transport Victoria website did not even show a bus network map.
“I think that reflects how we treat buses in our system,” she said.
Cr Lockwood said one reason people didn’t take buses was they didn’t “want to go on tour, just from one suburb to the next”.
But he said Myki had stopped buses being delayed by people buying tickets.
“It makes the buses more efficient,” he said.
Cr Lockwood said politicians would do what was popular, and urged people to keep pushing the public transport message.
RACV public policy general manager Brian Negus said buses were the forgotten transport mode and needed more attention.
His colleague, RACV roads and traffic manager Dave Jones, said interim solutions like express buses could help during the wait for rail improvements.
City of Greater Dandenong Cr Roz Blades suggested a change in funding model to encourage bus providers to entice passengers aboard by running services during peak demand.
– CASEY NEILL