Mr Pallas  (Tarneit) —  The matter  I  wish to raise is  for the Minister for Public  Transport,  and it  relates  to  bus transport  services  in  the  local government area  of Wyndham.  In the Wyndham Weekly of 6 March the Department of Transport  stated  that  bus services to Tarneit were under review but  that  no information had as yet  been  provided  on  how  the  inadequate  supply  of bus services will be addressed. The action I am therefore seeking is advice from the minister on how he will address the bus service crisis in Wyndham by  optimising bus  service routes in Wyndham, thus reducing directness ratios as outlined in a Public Transport Users Association’s report.

This report  revealed that on  average  Wyndham bus services  covered  more than twice the  distance of  a direct  path between  the  point  of  origin  and  the destination of their trip.

The association recommends that bus routes  should not exceed a ratio of 1 to 3, which  is calculated  by dividing  the distance covered  by a  bus route  by the direct distance between the point of origin and destination. Wyndham encompasses the areas of Tarneit, Point Cook,  Wyndham Vale and Hoppers Crossing, and 83 per cent of all bus services were of a ratio of 1 to 3 and above, and Wyndham had an overall average ratio of directness of 2 to 1. This result places Wyndham at the highest average ratio among all metropolitan local government areas surveyed and exceeds Melbourne’s overall average directness  ratio for bus routes, which is 1 to 3.  According to the report, if directness ratios were reduced in places such as Wyndham, more services could be provided for the same cost.  This is  because as diversions are created  within  an  optimum  route  more  buses are needed to provide the same number of services, thus operating costs increase accordingly.

The concern  over  bus  services  extends to the recent decision by the Baillieu government to cut school bus subsidies  in  Tarneit,  one  of  the  10 postcodes within the  city’s expanded urban growth  corridors where it was determined that sufficient bus  transport exists so that the area no longer qualifies for school bus subsidies, saving  around $21.6 million. Currently  no bus stop exists  near Tarneit Senior College —  the suburb’s only state  school — requiring students to  seek alternative means to  attend the school, including  walking down Leakes Road, some parts of which do not contain a footpath. Public  Transport  Victoria has been approached by the  college and has denied its request for a route  stop at the front of the college.

There are two  major  bus  services  in Tarneit that run at 40-minute intervals. This  long time interval has left many Tarneit residents frustrated when seeking to use their local public bus transport.

The  Wyndham Youth Task  Force, in coordination with  Wyndham City Council,  has created a report titled Wyndham’s Bus Network  and  Young  People to examine bus services in Wyndham,  including the areas  of Tarneit, Wyndham Vale,  Point Cook and  Truganina.  This  report  was created by youth members of the community who were concerned about the lack  of  transport  available  to  them in their local area.  The report  recommended  that the state  government  invest in  a  public transport extension and increased frequency of bus routes in the Wyndham area.

See Tim’s speech in Hansard here.