The Labor government has released its Regional Public Transport Consultation Report, which provides a snapshot of feedback from recent Regional Network Development Plan consultation sessions across Victoria.
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Members of the Regional Transport Advisory Group, which has driven community engagement throughout the consultation process, presented the report to Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan at Parliament last week.
Findings from the Grampians Region consultation sessions, which were heavily influenced by Ballarat residents, established a clear set of problems with local train lines.
Nearly 300 people attended the workshops in the region, with 34 per cent of contributors from the Ballarat area.
Local Ballarat stakeholders, including residents, councillors, public transport operators and businesses, unsurprisingly highlighted a lack of rail services and carriages between Ballarat and Melbourne as a major flaw.
The Bacchus Marsh consultation yielded similar results, however, participants also outlined concerns with coverage of bus routes and the need to improve bus stops.
Meanwhile, easier access to and from the township dominated the Maryborough community session.
Common themes in the consultation report include: the need for more frequent bus and train services, targeted services to get people where they need to go, better use of assets like school buses, services that start earlier and finish later and options for making public transport more comfortable, productive and accessible
The Regional Public Transport Plan will include short, medium and long-term initiatives to improve rail, bus and coach sectors and will be put into a draft Regional Network Development Plan for the government’s consideration by the end of the year.
Ballarat’s Judy Verlin served on the Transport Advisory Group and the RNDP will be a big step forward to addressing concerns in regional areas.
“I thought it (consultation) was a really good process,” Ms Verlin said.
“There is a very clear message to government about what regional Victoria is requesting.”
“Each and every piece of improvement has to fit in with the ultimate plan of duplication (between Ballarat and Melbourne).”
The RNDP is set to be released in coming weeks.