Wednesday, 10 September 2025

Werribee electorate bus services

John LISTER (Werribee) (19:16): (1317) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Public and Active Transport, and the action I seek is an update on the start of services for the new bus service to Harpley. The communities around Harpley, Cornerstone and Manor Lakes North estates are brilliant and diverse and want to use active and public transport. As someone who grew up travelling on our buses in Wyndham to get around, I understand this desire. It means we can leave our car at home and do not have to rely on putting petrol into the car every week with that expense, and it is just a good way to get around our growing community. I want to thank the constituents who have come to me at my constituent cafes or writing to me, expressing how this new route will assist them, and to recognise them here tonight. Mahtab, Amy, Reece, Jo-Ann, Angela, Dennis, Eldhose, Hari, Maria, Suvrat, Chris and Ranjith, thank you for being in touch with me, and I look forward to working with you on this next step in rolling this bus route out.

Last week I was pleased to share with the community the draft route for the new 194 bus route through Harpley. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and our community is ready to hop on the new service. In reflecting on that new draft route with the constituents I met with last week, it runs frequent services along main roads to make sure that we can meet those train services at Wyndham Vale and get people to where they want to go sooner. I am proud to work in a government to help deliver new and upgraded bus routes for my community.

In addition to the work being done on the 194, I was proud to see this year’s budget include funding for an extension of the 441 to Kings Leigh estate and an uplift to services on the routes 170, 180, 190 and 192, one of my favourite bus services. The uplift has come on line a few weeks ago, and we are already seeing the benefits of those more frequent services, particularly during peak time. We will also see further improvements for the route 153 in the coming months with the opening of our new Wyndham law courts and that more rapid service between Werribee station and the new law courts on Princes Highway. I understand the services on the 194 in Harpley were slated to start in the first half of 2026, and I would appreciate the minister’s update on that timeframe.