It's mid-morning in East Malvern, and another route three tram lumbers into the terminus at the small shopping strip at the intersection of Waverley and Darling roads, just as they have for the past 99 years. One passenger alights and three get on board.

Just a kilometre further up the road is East Malvern station on the Glen Waverley railway line, transporting thousands of passengers in and out of the city each day, and two kilometres beyond that is Chadstone, Australia's biggest shopping centre.

The failure of the route three tram to connect to the nearby train line and retail hub - instead fizzling out at a quiet intersection - is a wasted opportunity to open up the range of journeys tram passengers could take, the Public Transport Users Association argues.

In its recent budget submission to the Baillieu government, the volunteer lobby group called for 15 ''modest'' extensions to Melbourne's tram network that would connect routes with nearby trains, buses and activity centres.