Australasian Bus & Coach – May 2019

(^10) ABCMay 2019 busnews.com.au
seekingtoworkwiththenew
DepartmentofTransporttogetpriorities
likethe 788 busrouteupgraded.
“Wewillbeseekingtounderstand
whyouradvocacyhasnotbeen
successfulandwhyimprovements
toinadequatebusservicesonthe
Peninsulahavenotbeenapriorityfor
thestategovernment.”
Asoutlinedbylocalmediareports,
lastOctoberthenmayorCrBryanPayne
saidthePeninsulahadthesecond
lowestprovisionofpublictransport
perpersoninmetropolitanMelbourne,
andthattwooutofthreeofthe
Peninsula’smajoractivitycentreswere
notservicedbytrainandhadtorelyon
buses–makingitthe“onlymetropolitan
municipalityinthestateinthissituation”.
“PublictransportonthePeninsula
issufferinggreatlyfromalegacyof
underinvestment,”CrPaynesaid.
“Route 788 buses–Portseato
Frankston–carryoverhalfamillion
passengersannuallywith45–100minute
frequencies–yetthePeninsulahasmore
than50,000residentsover 60 withmany
facingchallengesoversocialisolation.”
CrPaynehadpreviouslysaidthe 788
servicewas“overcrowdedduringpeak
timesandsometimesbeingforcedto
leavesomepassengersbehind”.
DESPITELOCALCOUNCILeffortsseeking
rate-payersupportinitsquesttogarner
stategovernmentfundstoimproveits
busservices,MorningtonPeninsulaShire
councillorshaveconcededthey’reyetto
achieve“anysignificantupgrades”.
AccordingtoTheMPNewsandSouthern
PeninsulaNewsmediaoutlets,mayor
CrDavidGillsaysdespitesevenmonths
oflobbyingthestategovernmentand
workingcloselywithbuscompanyVentura,
therehavebeennoimprovements.
“Ouradvocacyeffortsandthoseof
thecommunityhavenotresultedinany
significantupgradestobusserviceson
thePeninsula,”CrGillsaid,confirming
that 82 percentofthePeninsulahad
nopublictransport.
“For$20millionayearwecouldfixthe
busservicesonthePeninsula.It’sapublic
servicethat’snotbeingprovided.
“Wehavegottoincreasethenumber
ofbusesandtheirfrequenciessothat
peopleknowtheycanrelyonthem.
“People–potentialbususers–arenot
goingtogiveuptheircarsforabusservice
thatcomeseveryfourhours.”
788 UPGRADE?
CrGillsaidthecouncilwas“actively
MORNINGTON PENINSULA
BUS SERVICE ROW
AUCKLAND PUBLIC TRANSPORT USE HIKE
AUCKLAND PUBLIC TRANSPORT
has reached a new high with a
record number of passengers
leaving their cars at home in
favour of public transport to get
into the north New Zealand city’s
centre each morning, according
to Auckland Transport (AT).
Auckland Transport’s group
manager of Metro Services Stacey
Van Der Putten says 48 per cent
of people used buses, trains and
ferries to get into the city between
7am and 9am in March.
“This is a new high, up two per
cent on February and a six per
cent increase on January.”
Last month, 767 fewer vehicles
drove into the city in the morning,
despite 4,000 more people
making the trip, AT states.
“It’s great that Aucklanders are
getting the message that there
are options other than driving.
In fact, total public transport
patronage for March was just over
10 million trips, another record,”
explained Van Der Putten.
NEW BUS NETWORKS
Last year new bus networks were
rolled out in the central suburbs
and on the North Shore, so now
more than 500,000 Aucklanders
live within 500 metres of a
frequent service, which runs at
least every 15 minutes, all day
every day, according to AT.
Each weekday morning 620
buses bring Aucklanders into
the city, many of them using
dedicated bus or transit lanes.
Van Der Putten said, “More
bus lanes, electric trains,
double-decker buses and
improved facilities mean more
people prefer public transport as
a quick and comfortable option.”
Above:
Each weekday
morning 620
buses bring
Aucklanders into
the city, many
of them using
dedicated bus
or transit lanes,
says AT.
NEWS IN FOCUS