Tuesday, 14 November 2023

 Kim O’KEEFFE (Shepparton) (14:46): (412) My question is to the Minister for Public and Active Transport, and the information I seek is: when will the minister undertake an extensive bus service review for Shepparton? It has been 14 years since a review was last carried out, and it is well overdue. The current services do not meet the growth in public transport need for our region. I recently met with Greg Fitzsimmons and Roy Dyson from the Dyson bus group, a family owned and operated bus company operating since 1952. They expressed their frustration that this review has not yet happened. The region has grown significantly in the past 14 years since the last review, with increased population and new housing estates, including Kialla Central, Congupna and Shepparton East, yet they are not yet connected to bus routes. With the rising cost of living and people struggling to pay for fuel, parking and car registration, public transport should be a viable option. When the bus plan was released in 2021 the then minister said that this would include the regions and also stated that the Labor government was committed to a bus network that better meets public transport needs and demand.