The state government has pulled the pin on a proposed shake-up of bus services in the northern suburbs.
Premier Daniel Andrews said last Tuesday the proposed network changes drawn up by operator Transdev last year, and due to come into effect this month, would not be implemented.
The network shake-up was designed to improve punctuality and connectivity. Under the plan, bus routes in the northern and western suburbs would have been sacrificed for more frequent buses in the eastern suburbs.
The plans included splitting into two trips the popular 901 Frankston-Melbourne Airport service, the 902 Chelsea-Airport West service and the 903 Altona-Mordialloc service.
These services currently run every 15 minutes between 6.30am and 9pm on weekdays and every 30 minutes at weekends.
According to the Transdev website, because of the length of the routes, these orbital services are often affected by unavoidable traffic delays which damage punctuality and reliability along entire routes. If the changes had gone ahead, the services operating in the northern suburbs would be the 911 Box Hill-Airport West, the 912 from Doncaster Shoppingtown to Melbourne Airport, and the 913 from Northland Shopping Centre to Essendon Station.
The frequency of the 911 and 912 services in peak times would blow out by five to 10 minutes.
Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan said the changes were inconsistent with the Andrews government’s focus on better bus services, which are based on community consultation. The state government has told Public Transport Victoria (PTV) and Transdev to go back to the drawing board and consult more widely with communities.
“Rather than cutting buses in one area to increase buses in another, the government will develop a more balanced bus network plan in consultation with the community,” Ms Allan said in a statement.
PTV spokeswoman Kerilyn Wyatt said the joint PTV and Transdev proposal would now be refined and taken back to the community
