Various local councils and advocacy groups have hit back at the Victorian government’s pre-Budget ‘bus bonanza’ funding announced this week.
The state government unveiled almost $100 million in funding for the state’s bus network ahead of the upcoming state Budget, with various groups questioning why certain regions in need have been left out of the funding.
Better Buses says the ‘bus bonanza’ will result in extended operating hours and increased frequencies on “a few select routes” in Melbourne’s western suburbs, including the addition of two new routes in Melton South.
“We welcome this focus on buses, which are a vital but often-overlooked part of our public transport system. We look forward to a commitment to a date for these new services to begin,” Better Buses campaign coordinator Elyse Cunningham says.
Cunningham says the ‘bonanza’ is more of a “drip-feed” that “continues Labor’s slow and piecemeal approach” to bus network reform, citing that people in the west will be stuck without essential connections for another year.
On top of this, Cunningham says communities are still waiting for buses that Premier Jacinta Allan promised in last year’s budget as part of the new Route 140. Cunningham says this route would finally bring buses to the isolated Mt Atkinson estate, but it still has no delivery date.
Cunningham says a grid of fast, frequent, and connected buses is not a new idea – it’s the “practical fulfilment” of the ALP’s 2021 Bus Reform Plan. The Department of Transport recommended a similar grid for all of Greater Melbourne in 2023, but cabinet rejected the plan.
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“Labor isn’t even listening to their own policy advisors,” Cunningham says.
“The government has done well to commit $100 million to buses, but why not do it in a way that makes a difference? Transformational bus reform is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to improve life in the suburbs and increase public transport usage.”
Cunningham says Better Buses’ plan for fast, frequent and connected buses has an operational cost of $94m per year. By contrast, Cunningham says the government just spent $70m for a single month of free public transport.
In a regional sphere, Greater Shepparton City Council says the area has “missed out again” on bus funding as investment focuses on metro routes.
The council says the announcement highlights yet again “significant inequities” between metro and regional Victoria, with three improvements identified across regional areas and no commitment being provided to review outdated bus networks in growing regional cities.
Mayor Shane Sali says the outcome is “disappointing”.
“Greater Shepparton is a significantly large and fast‑growing regional city, and it is unacceptable that we continue to miss out on basic public transport planning,” he says.
“Around 25 per cent of Victorians live in regional areas, yet many residents simply can’t access reliable public transport. In some areas you can’t get a bus on a Sunday, and in others services are extremely limited.”
Sali says the issue isn’t about the cost of public transport, but availability.
“Half‑price transport only highlights the gaps when there’s no service to catch,” he says.
He says Greater Shepparton’s bus network hasn’t been comprehensively reviewed in around 20 years, despite significant population growth, intensive investment in new housing estates and expanding communities in Shepparton’s growth corridor in Toolamba and Tatura.
“For a city of our size and growth trajectory, this level of neglect is unacceptable,” Sali says.
Council has repeatedly raised the need for a review, but even once started, it can take 12 to 18 months to complete meaning any real improvement is still years away.
“Our community has a right to accessible, reliable public transport, and we need the state government to genuinely partner with us,” Sali says.
“Regional cities like Greater Shepparton want to grow and succeed but without accessible public transport, we’re being asked to do that with one hand tied behind our back.”
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