Thursday, 4 May 2023

Ballarat bus network

Joe McCRACKEN (Western Victoria) (22:30): (196) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Public Transport, and it relates to the bus network in Ballarat. The action that I seek is a review of the bus network run by Public Transport Victoria so better community outcomes can be achieved. I need to acknowledge Dr Mansfield in this as well, and I do announce a new partnership between the Greens and the Liberal Party, working together to make public transport in this state much better, particularly for regional communities.

A member interjected.

Joe McCRACKEN: Yes, I know. To give some context, the Ballarat bus network is run off a hub-and-spokes model. The central hub is located at the troubled Bridge Mall bus interchange, which is plagued by antisocial behaviour and threats of violence. It then spreads out along different lines across Ballarat. The problem is that as the city has grown, particularly in the last eight years, public transport and connectivity have not kept pace with the changing needs of the community. There are entire suburbs that do not have access to public transport stops, timetables do not match up to school times in particular and the network does not allow anybody to travel across the city – they have to come into the city centre to the troubled interchange and then go out to where they need to go.

I know that Ballarat City Council have been lobbying very hard on this, and I tend to agree with them. Some simple adjustments to the timetable to better align with school times would be a low-cost solution to this issue and would probably ensure that the service was better frequented. The service is currently frequented by older people who find driving difficult, younger people who are not old enough to drive and those who are disadvantaged and in challenging circumstances. Apart from the practical aspects of having an efficient and reliable public transport system in Ballarat, there is also a moral imperative to ensure that those who are from vulnerable backgrounds in our community and need a timely and efficient public transport service get the support that they need.

I encourage the minister to come to Ballarat. Dr Mansfield and I will probably go on the bus with them if they like. We might even need a GPS, who knows, because this demonstrates the need for a review, which would hopefully result in a real change and better outcomes for our community.