Friends of the Earth’s Better Buses for the West community campaign wholeheartedly welcomes today’s ALP bus funding announcement.
This $400 million package will transform bus services across Melbourne’s West.
For more than 4 years, people of the West have told us their stories of the devastating costs of the current broken bus system that fails to meet their needs.
“This proposal is the first stage of a grid bus network running 6am to 10pm at frequencies never before seen in Melbourne. It is a game changer for buses in Melbourne and raises the bar for improvements across the city.
“It will offer relief to many who struggle every day with the impossible demands of getting kids to school, elderly parents to health care, and themselves to work due to unreliable, infrequent bus services”, said Friends of the Earth campaigner, Elyse Cunningham.
It is great to see the ALP putting high quality bus routes in the outer suburbs where they are most needed. Future phases would see the grid extended to the suburbs closer to the city for a fully connected West. The $2 million already committed to a review of buses in Melton will also help to shape the future grid.
University student Prisha Nadar from Werribee said, “I will be able to give more time to my studies if I do not have to put aside two hours for a journey that should take one”.
“People will use public transport when it’s fast, when it’s frequent, when it’s connected. More people using public transport means more women able to stay in the workforce”, said Jaksha Shah, an organiser with the Mt Atkinson Advocacy Forum.
“Our research earlier this year showed that cost-of-living and public transport were in the top three issues among undecided voters in the West. Better buses is one of the few things that the State Government has within its immediate powers to ease cost-of-living pressures. With this announcement, the ALP has shown its care for hard-working communities in the West”, Ms Cunningham said.
Already, the West Party, Legalise Cannabis Victoria, the Greens, and Victorian Socialists have put their weight behind the community Better Bus Plan which underpins today’s ALP announcement. The challenge now rests with the Opposition who have been quick to focus on the damage done to families caused by broken buses in the West but have not yet promised any solutions.
