Opinion: Ballarat's bus network needs to be fixed

To get to appointments takes so long, often I need to leave home two hours before I need to be somewhere.

Changing buses in the city wastes so much time, it can also be scary with the anti-social behaviour that goes on.

I shouldn't have to go into the city and wait up to an hour to change buses to get somewhere that if I could drive would take 15 minutes."

Sadly, this Alfredton resident's experience is not unusual for many locals who rely on buses to get to work, school, appointments, go shopping or to socialise.

We've received more than 420 submissions over the past few weeks to a City of Ballarat survey about the Ballarat bus network.

We've heard from older residents, students, parents, people with disability and those without cars, all telling us variations of the same story: Ballarat's bus network needs to be fixed. Now.

The survey has given bus users the chance to share their experiences. In turn we've shared their stories with local Members of Parliament and with the Minister for Public Transport Ben Carroll hoping they will listen - and understand - how urgent the need for a review of Ballarat's bus network is.

Let's be clear - council doesn't run the buses; they're operated by Public Transport Victoria.

Which is why City of Ballarat has been calling for a review of our public buses for the past five years.

However, we're confident that with a few tweaks the state government's considerable investment in Ballarat's bus services will deliver the best possible outcomes for our community.

This week the state government put out a media release reminding us that it had 'invested $109 million in the Victorian Budget 2022/23 to improve local bus services in growth areas, implement bus reform, improve accessibility and customer outcomes'.

We have the same problems, so where's the money and the commitment to fix Ballarat's bus network?

The best result for our community is that a review will be announced on May 23 as part of the 23/24 Victorian Budget.

So, what has the survey found so far?

More than three quarters of residents want more direct cross-city bus routes, almost as many want more frequent services and half of respondents want faster services.

There was overwhelming support for a review of the bus network.

Residents in our growth areas wrote of their frustration at the lack of services in suburbs such as Lucas, Winter Valley and the newer parts of Brown Hill.

Others highlighted problems at the Little Bridge Street Bus Interchange where the timetable sees multiple buses arrive at once, leading to overcrowding, anti-social behaviour and a mad scramble to catch the right bus.

Many complained about how long it takes to get across Ballarat.

One person described how a 12-hour shift at their Wendouree workplace is bookended by two hours of bus travel to and from their Sebastopol home.

Complex routes and changes between buses draw out the time it takes to get from one side of the city to the other. Cross-town trips which take minutes by car can take hours by bus.

My own experience last month catching a bus from Winter Valley to Stockland Wendouree reflected the same problem.

The journey, which we shared on council's social media and shown on the map on this page, took almost an hour and five minutes to travel a distance that would take 11 minutes by car.

A north-south bus route between Delacombe and Wendouree might have taken 25 minutes.

It doesn't need to be that way.

We have the bones of a good system, and we don't need extra buses to fix it.

Council's Ballarat Integrated Transport Strategy includes a proposal developed by the Public Transport Users Association for how that can be achieved.

For example, it proposes joining existing routes together to create cross-city services, removing the need to change buses in central Ballarat.

I don't have all the answers, but this at least provides a starting point.

A reliable, efficient, and fast service will make it easier for people to get to work, school and medical appointments all over Ballarat. It will reduce social isolation for older residents by enabling them to get to social gatherings without having to pay for taxi fares.

Even if you don't catch the bus or intend to do so, a better bus service means less cars on our roads, especially at peak times and more parking options in key shopping and business hubs.

It means fewer carbon emissions.

While the Commonwealth Games may provide the impetus for improvements to our buses, the Ballarat community cannot afford to wait another three years.

The survey remains open via the City of Ballarat website.

If you haven't already I encourage you to share your story with us.

Visit ballarat.vic.gov.au/busnetwork

Cr Des Hudson is mayor of the City of Ballarat.