New bus routes will be created and times adjusted on existing routes when the Mernda rail extension opens later this year.
New loop services on routes 388 and 380 will provide residents in Doreen with direct bus connections to Mernda train station, Laurimar Town Centre, Hazel Glen College and Mernda Village Shopping Centre for the first time.
A new bus interchange at Mernda station will allow passengers to easily transfer between trains and buses.
Existing bus services along Plenty Road will be changed to avoid having them duplicate train services to and from the new stations at Mernda, Middle Gorge and Hawkstowe. Those bus services will also be adjusted to align with school and train times.
Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said the changes would ensure effective use of the new stations.
“We’re making it simpler for people to get where they need to go by public transport and to get home sooner at the end of the day,” she said.
Yan Yean MP Danielle Green said the new bus services would open up transport access to the Plenty Valley area like never before.
The state government recently announced that the rail extension was six months ahead of schedule, with test trains expected to be running by the end of September.
