Residents in the City of Wyndham are demanding better bus networks amid the population growth rates in the region.
Many people think there is resistance because the West has a lot of safe seats for the federal government.
"They’re a little less inclined to invest," said David Robertson, secretary for the Sustainable Cities collective.
Together with the Public Transport Users Association, the collective launched their ‘Better Buses in the West’ campaign where they highlight buses as another mode of transport.
"One man just stood up and said we’ll never get anywhere because we’re all safe seats," Robertson said about their latest forum.
Robertson has been involved in this campaign from the beginning. Photo: Afia Khan
"In the West, the politics is much harder," he said.
The state government released its Bus Plan 1035 days ago, highlighting the key reforms to improve bus services across Victoria.
Public transport is a state government responsibility.
Wyndham has held safe Labor seats in the Gellibrand electorate since 1948. Previously held by former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, the electorate of Lalor has been a safe Labor seat since 1948, except for 1966 when the Liberals took over.
Robertson has noted the challenges in reaching out to both the Department of Transport and the state government.
"I think there are some good people in the department that want to do things, but there also are some people in the department who sort of aren't so interested," he said.
At their last forum, the collective raised their concerns to current members of parliament including Victorian Greens Leader Samantha Ratnam, Greens MP Councillor Bernadette Thomas, and Labor member for Melton Steve McGhie.
"We’re not getting any pushback from anyone in the West, from community, or from council," Robertson said.
Through her role, Councillor Bernadette Thomas aims to bring focus to issues like this by collecting stories from individuals who are impacted by not having a good bus network and take them to government.
"If government's not hearing those stories, then it can just become a conceptual thing for them rather than something which is a live thing for you and me, people who use buses," she said.
"People in Point Cook, they've got a bus system but they're waiting 30 or 40 minutes for a bus in between."
On weekdays, bus route 496 from Point Cook estate Sanctuary Lakes to Laverton station runs every 40 minutes between 5:30am to 9:47am, following a bus every hour.
Bus operator CDC Victoria currently runs all 29 routes across Wyndham. Photo: Afia Khan.
Thomas said this is definitely politics.
She believes that certain political parties and the current government take the Western suburbs for granted.
"It doesn’t compel them to invest because there’s nothing in it politically."
However, she believes this campaign has been driving community engagement and is putting more pressure on the government to change.
"It's an issue that the community cares about. It just needs political will," she said, "they’ve [the government] got their own bus plan, they've got even Infrastructure Victoria, there's a lot of information around."
In 2022, the University of Melbourne published their ‘Better Buses for Melbourne’s West’ briefing paper. It was written by researchers Dr John Stone and Iain Lawrie.
Stone, a Senior Lecturer in Transport Planning at the university, said that the report was initially done to show Wyndham residents that a different public transport system was possible.
"Buses are never given the political priority that trains and trams are given."
He believes that the only way change will happen is if it becomes a political issue.
"We don’t know what we will get," he said, "but we know that the budget is going to be tight."
Earlier this week, the government delivered the State’s budget for 2024-25, with no mentions of investments toward improving bus routes in Wyndham.
The report proposed the following:
‘If commitments were made by late 2022, the ‘first stage’ of fast, frequent, and connected bus network for the western suburbs, based on our 25km/hr ‘clean-slate’ concept, could be in operation by early 2024.’
"I’m disappointed but I am not surprised," said Stone, "I fear that until they lose some seats, they’re not going to take it seriously."
The current Labor government has been in power since 2014. Photo: Afia Khan.
