VCOSS welcomes the Victorian Government’s continued investment in public transport, with budget allocations announced ensuring that many of the initiatives in the December 2008 Victorian Transport Plan will go ahead.
Bringing forward the South Morang rail project with building now starting in 2009 and the electrification of Sunbury rail line are positive steps in extending public transport into poorly serviced areas which improve transport options for the most disadvantaged.
Addressing peak hour congestion for metropolitan commuters is starting to be addressed with an allocation of $650 million for an additional 18 new X’trapolis trains which will provide 16,000 plus more seats. Commuters will have to wait until late 2009 for the first of these trains to be introduced.
The majority of the money allocated to public transport will not be spent until at least the 2010-11 financial year and as a consequence congestion on metropolitan rail services will continue to provide difficulties and barriers for many commuters.
Many regional areas that have no public transport are no better off in this budget, nor are the growing number of people reliant on financially stretched community transport services.
Investment in both the capacity and coverage of Melbourne’s rail network is crucial to providing high quality public transport services. Melbourne has seen a 40% increase in patronage of public transport in the past three years and V/line patronage has steadily increased as well.
The consequences of continued overcrowding on metropolitan trains have become a serious concern particularly during peak hour when people are travelling to work and other essential services. Many people are missing out on services and too many services are being delayed or cancelled. For people with additional mobility needs accessing services can be impossible during peak hour. This budget has allocated a significant amount of money to purchase 18 new trains but only two of these will be introduced by late 2009.
The acceleration of the South Morang rail extension through the commitment of $650m over five years will provide additional services to the expected 89,000 residents of this area by 2031. The Government expects the new train services to commence in 2010.
VCOSS will continue to advocate for the extension of rail services to Mernda and Epping North to provide for rapid population growth in these areas.
Electrification of the Sunbury line is also welcome news for residents of Melbourne’s west where patronage growth has been recorded as the highest on the Sydenham line. $204.7 million has been allocated and it is expected that services will commence in 2012.
This budget provides a significant boost to bus services with $85.9 million for stage 2 of the Yellow Orbital Smart Bus development which will see services extended 70km covering Blackburn, Greensborough, South Morang, Epping and Roxborough Park. Services are planned to commence in 2011.
The Doncaster Area Rapid Transit System (DART) has been allocated $112.1m to extend the eastern freeway express bus network. This service has also set minimum operating levels of ten minute intervals during peak hours which VCOSS supports as a positive step towards the ideal service model of half hourly services until midnight every day to better meet the needs of young people and people working non-standard hours.
It is disappointing to see that the Victorian Government is proceeding with the Peninsula Link road project in spite of not receiving federal infrastructure funds. The Victorian Government has committed an additional 50% on top of the $354.3 million original earmarked for the project to meet the $750 million total bill for the development in partnership with the private sector.
The 2009-10 Budget focuses on job creation during an economic downturn and many of the infrastructure projects that make up much of this budget promise to deliver thousands of new jobs.
However, the capacity to access employment and training services in outer suburban and growth areas is significantly impeded by not having access to reliable and affordable public transport. In areas beyond the reach of the rail network approximately 23% of low income households rely on finding the money to run two or more cars to meet their transport needs.[1]
Integrated transport and land use planning has been identified as a significant focus for the development of sustainable transport solutions by the state government. This budget has allocated $110 million for six designated Central Activities Districts to develop infrastructure and promote economic growth so that more people are able to live close to employment.
In terms of green initiatives, this budget provides $28 million over four years focusing on cycling infrastructure and a bicycle hire schemes as well as carpooling programs coordinated through local government. Addressing car emissions is only addressed by looking at strategies to support the take up of low emission vehicles.
Funding of $152.6 million to construct new train stations in growth areas was allocated for three areas – Caroline Springs, Lyndhurst and Williams Landing
However, no new resources were provided for community transport services or planning. VCOSS will continue to advocate for community transport to be included in transport planning at a state and regional level and not resourced ad hoc as an alternative to the public transport network.
VCOSS welcomes the budget allocation of $27.6 million to reopen the Maryborough line and station which will provide an additional 14 weekly train trips for residents from 2010.
Upgrades to coach and bus services in order to improve connectivity with rail services are part of the $8.8 million package for regional station upgrades. It is anticipated that any relevant upgrades will comply with the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport (DSAPT) and that regional bus stops will be included in order to improve connectivity for people travelling inter town to access train services.
Bus services in Geelong will also benefit from an injection of $22.9 million to increase service capacity and new transport infrastructure for people living in the region.
VCOSS has consistently called for funding sufficient to meet the DSAPT timelines as well as the upgrading of rural school buses to increase the number of accessible vehicles available for use in rural areas. This is especially important in areas where the lack of public transport services means access to space capacity on school buses is crucial to people needing to access essential services.
This budget does not provide additional funding for community transport services and VCOSS will continue to advocate for a special unit within the Department of Transport to administer community transport programs.
The 2009-10 Budget contains additional investment for public transport accessibility with improvements for trams, trains and buses.
The allocation of $5 million for up to 50 new low floor trams will improve Victoria’s DSAPT compliance record which has been failing to meet the regulated timelines.
It is unclear what the time frames for introducing the new trams are and exactly how many trams will be part of this package. VCOSS is also interested in further details relating to the capacity of this service to increase transport choices for people requiring disability access at multiple stops on the network.
Approximately one third of people with a disability in Victoria – around 300,000 people state wide - report difficulty in using public transport.[2] In addition, 18% of people over 60 report needing assistance with transport, rising to 33% for 80-84 year old and 43% of 85-89 year olds.[3]
$11.4 million has been allocated to upgrading metropolitan train stations and a further $152.6 million for three new train stations. The new stations at Caroline Springs, Lyndhurst and Williams Landing will be constructed by 2013 and again it is assumed they will be DSAPT compliant.
The expansion of the Yellow Smart Bus services will also provide additional options for people with additional mobility needs as the smart bus network are all DSAPT compliant.
Door to door transport is supported by the Victorian Government only through the Multipurpose Taxi Program (MPTP), which provides discounted taxi travel for people with permanent and severe disabilities. Up to 300 new wheelchair accessible taxi licences are due to be released later this year but this will not bring any relief for people who do meet the restrictive eligibility criteria of the MPTP. It is also restrictive for people in rural areas where the need to travel longer distances is not compensated for by the MPTP.
[1] G Currie and Z Senbergs, Exploring forced car ownership in metropolitan Melbourne, paper presented at the 30th Australasian Transport Research Forum, Melbourne, 25-27 September 2007.
[2] Department of Infrastructure (DOI), Accessible public transport in Victoria: action plan 2006 – 2012, DOI, Melbourne, September 2006, p. 6.
[3] Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Disability, Ageing and Carers 2003, ABS, Canberra, September 2004.