Advocacy group responds to minister labelling buses PT’s “poor cousin”

After Victoria’s public transport minister called buses the “poor cousin” in Victoria’s public transport network at a PTAANZ symposium last week, advocacy group Sustainable Cities have come forward in support of her comments.

In her speech, public transport minister Gabrielle Williams says “people don’t feel like bus services meet their needs”, labelling various ways the state can improve its bus network to make it more appealing to passengers.

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Sustainable Cities has long been advocating for improvement to bus services in Melbourne’s western suburbs, saying “it is comforting to know that the community’s demands and concerns are being heard”.

“We’re glad that Williams has publicly acknowledged the tragedy of the bus network. The next step is for the government to step up and allocate funds for reforming the bus network in the upcoming state budget,” Sustainable Cities spokesperson Elyse Cunningham says.

“The residents of the west cannot be left behind any longer, they also deserve the range of transport options that residents in other areas of Melbourne have.”

In August last year, the advocacy group started a parliamentary petition calling on the Victorian government to commit at least $100 million additional annual operational funding in the next budget cycle. It also requested a capital investment of at least $100 million to reform the bus network across the Western metropolitan area into a fast, frequent and connected grid, serviced by clean, electric buses.

“Our petition, which was tabled in parliament in November last year, gathered over 3,000 signatures in support of better buses in the West. The people have told the government what they want, and they will as Williams stated, “vote with their feet,” Cunningham says.

“The government needs to demonstrate that it is serious about bus reform in the west and that there is substance behind Minister Williams’ recent comments.

“It cannot continue with business as usual by only adding or upgrading individual routes. The next state budget must show a clear commitment to reforming the whole network.”