Melburnians call on government to make bus travel cheaper and more efficient

ABC NEWS (Australia)

How often do you catch the bus? A new report from infrastructure Victoria has found for many Melburnians the answer is, not at all. It's calling on the government to change that by making buses quicker, more frequent and cheaper.

Transcript

00:00 Even on a quiet morning, there are plenty of buses at Monash University in Melbourne's

00:07 south east.

00:08 It's quite convenient for me, so it'll take me directly to the station and can go directly

00:11 to the city centre.

00:12 So right now I want to go to Chadston, so if it is a 742 bus or the 900 I'll be at Chadston.

00:18 I'm catching three buses every day.

00:20 And you like it?

00:21 Yes, I like it.

00:24 About 30 kilometres further south east, in Clyde North, the car is king.

00:30 Driving is more convenient.

00:31 Maybe occasionally we would take the train into the city, but not the bus.

00:36 Do you ever catch the bus?

00:38 No.

00:39 In fact, a report from Infrastructure Victoria found more than a third of Melbournians have

00:45 never caught the bus.

00:47 Melbourne's bus network is currently not as frequent, not as quick and not connected to

00:51 the right places for Melbournians to get to where they need to get to.

00:55 The report recommends straightening bus routes along main roads and giving buses priority

01:01 lanes to keep them moving.

01:03 It calls for extending bus hours and increasing frequency, so people aren't waiting at the

01:09 bus stop too long.

01:11 Here in Clyde North, the roads and the car parks are full, but the bus stop is empty.

01:16 And part of the reason, this bus only comes once an hour.

01:21 The report found new communities in outer suburbs are waiting an average of three years

01:27 for a bus service.

01:28 We want early buses in the growth areas because they allow us to make sure that people can

01:33 use buses when they need to, right from when they move into their new areas.

01:38 It's also calling for lower fares.

01:40 We know this is important because Victorians have told us that it is and we've got quite

01:44 a significant reform agenda ahead on the back of our bus plan.

01:48 Putting the bus in the fast lane.

01:50 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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