New estates are filling fast in Melbourne’s northern corridor – but the buses aren’t following.
A push from Hume councillor Ally Watson is calling for urgent action on the region’s under-serviced public transport, with families, students, and elderly residents left walking up to 40 minutes to reach the nearest stop.
At the May 26 council meeting, Cr Watson raised a notice of motion to shine a spotlight on the growing public transport gaps in Kalkallo and Mickleham, as demand far outpaces current services.
“We also have a lot of people who don’t drive, they may be relatively new to the area, new to the country, they may be mums with prams, or parents with prams, some of our elderly residents and they really rely on the public bus service,” Cr Watson said.
While some routes do exist, Cr Watson said they fall short, especially during peak school travel times.
“The public bus service in and around Kalkallo and Mickleham, there is some there I’m not going to say there’s not, but it’s not quite meeting the needs of our growing community now, let alone into the future,“ she said.
“For our folk living up in Kalkallo North, for some of the people who are living right at the top of that estate at the moment it’s about a 40-minute walk to the closest bus stop.”
Her motion seeks answers from state authorities, a review of current services, and a timeline for the long-awaited 525 route extension.
Northern Metropolitan Liberal MP Evan Mulholland is also calling on the government to get on board with better buses for Kalkallo and Mickleham.
“I am contacted constantly by local residents, families and parents of school kids who are fed up with living in a public transport wasteland,“ he said.
Mr Mulholland also wants the 535 route extended, service frequencies increased and for bus shelters to be built.
“As we head in to winter, I call on Labor to stop leaving Mickleham and Kalkallo out in the cold and to boost services and build shelters,“ he said.
The state government was contacted for comment.
