Bus lobby pitches to solve Melbourne's transport problems a 'hell of a lot sooner than rail'

Updated

Like a lot of Melburnians, Amanda Ralph hates getting the bus to and from work.

It's usually packed, and often late. Sometimes it doesn't even turn up at all.

"We call them ghost buses," Ms Ralph said.

"They just don't turn up. There's nothing on the PTV app. There's nothing on the Transdev [website] or Twitter account. So, you have no idea."

But like the two-thirds of Melburnians who don't live near a train or tram stop, Ms Ralph has few alternatives to get from her home in Balwyn North to her job in the city.

So she puts up with the bus — and the long, uncomfortable ride.

"I'm not really confident standing up the whole way," she said.

"It's tiring, and it's a long ride. I've fallen over before when the buses stop. It's not uncommon to suddenly be stranded on the freeway.

"It's pretty awful."

Commuters bypass the bus

As Melbourne's sprawl continues to grow, buses have arguably never been more important to the city's public transport network — servicing new suburbs, and spanning the gaps between the train and tram lines.

Yet this year, Infrastructure Victoria found that nearly half of Melbourne's bus network is underperforming.

"Forty per cent of the bus services that we operate aren't getting enough passengers to really justify their existence," said John Stone, a lecturer in transport planning at Melbourne University.

Melbourne buses compare poorly to Brisbane and Sydney networks.

A 2009 study found Sydney buses carry twice as many passengers per kilometre than Melbourne buses.

Matters of State Is the $50-billion rail plan worth it?

Melbourne may soon be the size of London. But while London has the Tube, Melbourne does not. So do tens of billions need to be spent to get everyone around? About



Melbourne may soon be the size of London. But while London has the Tube, Melbourne does not. So dobillions need to be spent to get everyone around?

Melbourne buses carry a fraction of the passengers who catch trains and trams, even though the bus network covers more of the city.

Yet Melbourne's bus system gets more government subsidies per capita than other forms of public transport.

"Fundamentally, we have a lot of tiny routes serving particular niches," said Dr Stone.

"We haven't been able to pour the billions of dollars we spend on buses every year into a service that people will use."

Apart from the confusing, meandering routes, the main complaint is how infrequently buses run, said Chris De Gruyter from RMIT University's Centre for Urban Research.

"Melbourne has over 300 bus routes. But the majority of these only run every 30 to 40 minutes, and some only run once an hour.

"We need higher frequency services that people will want to use, rather than have to use because it's their only option."

Yet for many people in Melbourne, buses are the only option for public transport — especially in the outer growth suburbs, where residents may be waiting decades for a train or tram link.

So it should hardly be surprising that many choose not to spend their time stuck in traffic while standing in the aisle of a bus, and decide to sit in their car instead — adding to congestion.

"Given our rising affluence, and the lack of services in outer Melbourne, we are more car dependent than ever before," said Chris Lowe from Bus Association Victoria — the professional association for the state's bus operators.

"We must change that if we want to address the population problem Melbourne has."

Learning from London

Bus Association Victoria argues it could fix the frequency problem for $300 million a year — providing services every 15 minutes from 5:30am to 10:30pm on weekdays.

To put that into perspective, it's the same amount Victorian Labor has promised to spend on preparing the business plan for its suburban rail loop idea.

"People these days don't want to travel when the timetable says they must," said Dr Lowe.

"They want to travel when it suits them. And if there's a bus every 15 minutes they don't need a timetable, they just know it's going to show up.

"It would be in place by 2023. A hell of a lot sooner than the orbital rail tunnel."

The bus industry points to improvements, like the three orbital Smart Bus routes, which get priority lanes on roads and freeways.

When they were introduced in the 2000s, they enjoyed a sharp uptake in patronage, and have steadily grown in popularity most years since.

It's something London does well, according to Graham Currie from Monash University's Public Transport Research Group.

"A lot of people don't know this, but besides having a fantastic Tube network, buses carry the majority of public transport passengers in London," Professor Currie said.

London has 8,000 buses, compared to Melbourne's 2,000.

Most importantly, London's buses have what Professor Currie calls "the most successful bus priority programs".

"These have really made buses the main mode of travel in London," he said.

But giving buses that kind of free run on the roads of Melbourne would be expensive.

"[The cost] would be in the hundreds of millions, indeed some would be billions," Dr Lowe said.

Bus Association Victoria concedes it would be difficult to convince the State Government to provide the bus network with such a massive financial boost — and that convincing motorists to give up some of their road space would also be a tough ask.

But Dr Stone said change is hard.

"If you're going to have a fast bus, you have to have priority lanes, signal priority — all of those things," he said.

"That takes political will.

"It's a real struggle for the bus providers and Public Transport Victoria to actually win the struggle against the road planners who have dominated the roads for 50 years."

Topics: population-and-demographics, community-and-society, states-and-territories, state-parliament, parliament, government-and-politics, elections, state-elections, melbourne-3000, vic

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