EVENT Saturday 9th March 11am corner of Watton St and Station Pl in Werribee
Members of the public are gathering this Saturday March 9th at 11am to mark 1000 days since Victoria’s Bus Plan was released by the Victorian government, claiming they still aren’t seeing any evidence of improved bus services.
The community members from across the west will meet at the corner of Watton St and Station Pl in Werribee to hear speeches and speak to members of the Wyndham community about their experience with public transport in the area.
In 2021 Victoria’s Labor Government committed to a bus plan that promised to create a bus network that met Victoria’s public transport needs and demands, including route reforms and improved accessibility and safety.
But 1000 days since Victoria’s Bus Plan was released, little has been done to ensure Melbourne’s west has a fast, frequent and reliable bus service.
The lack of frequent and direct bus routes has been particularly difficult for communities such as those in Wyndham in Melbourne’s west. In Hoppers Crossing, for example, the average bus trip takes four times longer than the same journey by car.
According to the government's bus plan, 2023 was supposed to see the implementation of reforms to transform Victoria's bus network to align it with growing demand. The west is the fastest growing area in all of Australia, and Wyndham is the fastest-growing local government area of Greater Melbourne, but they have still not seen proportionate service improvements.
“Victoria’s Bus Plan has no solid timeline, and no solid funding commitments. They’ve been sitting on this plan for 1000 days, but the people of Melbourne’s West are still stuck waiting for better buses, and taking hours to get to uni, work or the shops. In a cost of living crisis, families in the west are spending hundreds of dollars more on petrol just to get where they need to go” said Sustainable Cities spokesperson Elyse Cunningham.
“We are calling on the Victorian Government to swing into action by piloting a faster, frequent and more direct bus network in the Wyndham area,” said western suburbs resident Simon Tran.
They can’t leave the bus plan on the shelf any longer. We need Victorian Labor and local member Tim Pallas to seriously invest in bus route reform in this year’s state budget. Buses are the cheap and fast way to get people moving in Melbourne’s West” said Mr Tran.
Visuals for video/photography: Wyndham locals and public transport activists gathered in Wyndham with colourful banners and signs to mark 1000 days waiting for bus reform. Photo opportunities of crowd walking to infrequent bus stops, people waiting at the bus stop, local community members speaking out. Spokespeople including students, shift workers, transport advocates, local MPs.
Contact details:
For more comment contact:
Elyse Cunningham
Sustainable Cities Community Campaigner
+ 61421559343
elyse.cunningham@foe.org.au