By Laura Michell
Wollert residents will have better access to public transport if Labor wins the state election on November 24.
Thomastown MP Bronwyn Halfpenny and Yan Yean MP Danielle Green last week pledged a new bus service from Mernda station to Craigieburn station, via Wollert, to improve access to train services, work and study.
The pledge is part of a $10 million plan to create new bus services in growth suburbs and regions. It is not yet known what route the new service will travel on.
Ms Halfpenny said the new route would better connect Wollert families with public transport.
“For families living in Wollert, this will make a real difference, making it faster and easier to get where they’re going,” she said.
Aurora Community Association’s transport working group member Tony Francis said the new route had potential but warned it was not a suitable alternative to extending the train line to Wollert.
“The proposed bus route from Mernda train station to Craigieburn train station will have a few challenges. Much of the route will involve parts of Bridge Inn Road, Epping Road and Craigieburn Road East which the Whittlesea council is advocating to be duplicated but which the state government has not included in its recent plans,” he said.
The announcement follows the state government’s decision to create a new route along Donnybrook Road. The new bus service will connect Mickleham and Kalkallo residents with key destinations around Craigieburn, including the station and shopping precinct.
Yuroke MP Ros Spence said planning for the $8.9 million bus route was under way, with services to begin in 2019.
