Tuesday, 10 September 2024

Tarneit public transport

Trung LUU (Western Metropolitan) (18:35): (1127) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Public and Active Transport. Residents of Tarneit and surrounding areas have voiced their concern about the limited public transport options. My constituents in the area highlight the lack of a reliable bus service in the Tarneit area, and established development is causing significant challenges for residents, impacting their daily lives and economic stability. So the action I seek is for the minister to commit to providing a more frequent and reliable transport service for the community of Tarneit. This issue is particularly common in the community of Tarneit North, where commuters are required to walk 30 minutes to reach the Tarneit train station. While a temporary FlexiRide service has been introduced to address the problem, the demand for public transport in the area is from a population of nearly 12,000 people, going way beyond what the FlexiRide service can handle. The current situation indicates that the Allan Labor government is out of touch with the community’s needs.

If Premier Allan believes that the FlexiRide service is sufficient to cater for the community of Tarneit North while spending $216 billion for the Suburban Rail Loop in the east, she is out of touch. Considering the population growth of the Wyndham Vale area, with nearly 110 to 130 babies being born every week, the transportation infrastructure gaps will only become more intensified. To address this, it is crucial that we increase the bus service and the train service as well as the frequency of services in Tarneit. A viable solution to these issues would be to review the bus route to cater for the growing and changing residential developments and provide residents with an adequate bus service and additionally to increase the frequency of train services, such as by having trains arrive in Tarneit every 10 minutes instead of every 20 minutes, which would better meet the demand. So I urge the minister to address the issue for my constituents in the west and commit to increasing the frequency of bus and train services in the Tarneit area. This will not only provide residents with a reliable public transport system but also contribute to making Tarneit a more livable place for all residents.