Linking a City

A Proposal for the Extension of the 901 SmartBus Service from Melbourne Airport to Sunbury.

by Stephen Coughlan

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Background Information The orbital SmartBus service commenced in 2009, after successful trials in Melbourne’s Eastern Suburbs. The concept connected a series of existing, stand alone bus routes, bringing them together in one cohesive bus route, removing the need to interchange between the bus routes. The scheme also dramatically increased the frequency of the services to a 15 minute frequency from 6am until 9pm, and 30 minute frequency outside these hours. The first buses commence at approximately 4:45am, and the last service runs until approximately 12:45am. Saturday frequency is 30 minutely from 5:30am until midnight, and Sunday gives a 30 minute service from 6:30am until 9pm.1 Currently, the three Orbital SmartBus Routes are: 901 – Melbourne Airport to Frankston via Broadmeadows, Greensborough, Ringwood and Dandenong. 902 - Airport West to Chelsea via Broadmeadows, Greensborough and Doncaster 903 - Altona to Mordialloc via Sunshine, Essendon, Preston and Doncaster Patronage Statistics When the 901 SmartBus service commenced its trial period in March 2008, the route connected a number of existing bus routes stretching from Frankston to Ringwood. PTV figures show that the quarterly patronage of this route grew from approximately 500 000 to 750 000 trips in the two years from Q3 2008 to Q3 20102. In September 2010, the 901 SmartBus route was extended from Ringwood to Melbourne Airport (fig. 1). Patronage on this route boomed over the next twelve months to Q4 2011 growing from a respectable 750 000 trips per quarter to 1.25 million trips per quarter, representing an increase in patronage of well in excess of 60%2. Proposal The proposal is that the 901 SmartBus route be extended from Melbourne Airport to Sunbury, via Bulla (fig. 2). This service extension would benefit the people of Sunbury and Bulla on many fronts, allowing for greater Public Transport capacity to handle the growing population of the area, greater access to Educational opportunities, better access to Employment in the Melbourne Airport precinct, opportunities for local businesses, better access to Melbourne Airport for holiday and business purposes and a vital link between the Eastern and Western parts of the Hume City.

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Benefits to the Community Employment As Greater Melbourne grows, and employment opportunities decentralise from the Central Business District under the Victorian Governments Planning Strategy3, a greater emphasis on living within close proximity to places of employment and Activity Centres will be forefront in the future planning of our City. There currently exists a lack of transport options linking Sunbury to Activity Centres, with the rail link to the CBD being the only feasible option available. The extension of the 901 SmartBus to Bulla and Sunbury would greatly increase the ability of residents to link with Centres such as Melbourne Airport, Broadmeadows, Craigieburn and South Morang, opening up many new opportunities amongst those in our community without adequate transport to new employment opportunities. Education Families in Bulla have recently been informed by Public Transport Victoria are looking to discontinue their School Bus service to Sunbury4. Whilst from a cost perspective this would not be a direct replacement, it would replace the service at a cost of as little as $1.34 per day5. Tertiary students would also greatly benefit from this service. Tertiary education in Sunbury has been decimated by Victoria Universities decision to close its Sunbury Campus, leaving the only option for students being travelling to Footscray (VU), or the City (Melbourne University or RMIT). This proposal would open up the opportunities available at RMIT Bundoora Campus via a connection at South Morang Station. Without access to a car, Vocational Training for Sunbury residents is practically non existent. The 901 SmartBus would open opportunities to travel to Broadmeadows in a reasonable timeframe to access TAFE training through Kangan TAFE. Access to Melbourne Airport There are currently three options for travel from the Melbourne CBD to Melbourne Airport, Taxi, Sky Bus and Public Transport. Travelling by Taxi is quick, but the fare from the CBD is approximately $606. The Sky Bus service, offers a frequent service, which provides a comparable service, costs $177, but requires customers to travel to Southern Cross Station to commence the journey. The third option is the Public Transport system, catching a train to Broadmeadows Station, then change to the 901 SmartBus for the journey to Melbourne Airport. This option is fully covered under the Myki ticketing system, and costs $5.545 for a Full Fare. Unfortunately, coming from Bulla and Sunbury, Taxi is the only option, costing approximately $356. The fare aboard the 901 SmartBus would be $2.265, with a travel time comparable to that of the Taxi. This close proximity to the Airport, and the relatively short travel time could be leveraged to the advantage of Sunbury and its Business Community. With this service connecting with the current V/Line services, Sunbury would be advertised in

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Central Victoria as “The Gateway to Melbourne Airport” providing local businesses with a potential increase in patronage. Linking Hume City The extension of the 901 SmartBus to Bulla and Sunbury would increase the number of services between Sunbury and Broadmeadows from 14 per day8 to in excess of 140 services per day1, provide better Public Transport links between the Sunbury area and the Eastern part of the municipality. This would provide a vital link, helping to foster a “whole community” feel throughout Hume City. The service will also assist with movement within Hume for those not using the service, as it has the potential to take cars off our increasingly congested roadways. Summary The SmartBus project has shown that once the service is in place, even where there was no service before, people do use these services, and as public awareness grows, so too does the patronage. With a growing population, the Sunbury area requires a feasible Public Transport link to the Eastern section of the City of Hume, to enable growth in Employment, Educational and Recreational opportunities, as well as to foster a “whole community” feeling throughout the whole municipality.

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Fig. 1

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Fig. 2

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References                                                                                                                1  http://ptv.vic.gov.au/route/view/5774  2  http://corp.ptv.vic.gov.au/assets/PTV/PTV%20docs/Research-and-statistics/Bus-patronage-growth-December-

2011.pdf  3 http://planmelbourne.vic.gov.au/resources/consider 4  http://www.macedonrangesweekly.com.au/story/282044/sunbury-school-bus-service-threatened/ 5  http://ptv.vic.gov.au/fares-tickets/fares/#1  6  http://www.silvertop.com.au/fare-estimator  7  http://www.skybus.com.au/fares/  8  http://ptv.vic.gov.au/route/view/840