Public and Active Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams today announced new contracts for Melbourne's bus operators, consolidating contracts and, the minister says, reducing emissions. These new contracts, dubbed 'Metropolitan Zero Emission Bus Franchises', will come into force in July 2025. But nothing is stopping the minister from enacting the transformational change that will really reduce emissions now - fixing the broken bus system.
Replacing diesel buses with electric ones is welcome news. But empty buses won't really lower emissions. Residents across Melbourne need transformational bus network reform to increase bus patronage, get cars off the road and get people where they need to go.
The announcement of new contracts comes at a time when residents, particularly in Melbourne's under-served West, are desperate for a transformation of the bus system that would give them access to school, work, university or essential services.
"We welcome the new fleet of zero emissions buses these contracts will deliver - but there is not much point having an electric bus on the road if it's empty. The reason people don't take the bus in Melbourne is that they are unreliable, infrequent and inefficient," said Better Buses campaigner Elyse Cunningham. "We need a fast, frequent and connected bus network that gets people where they need to go. We need the bus to be a better option than jumping in the car. That's how we will start to see real cuts in emissions to support Labor's ambitious climate targets"
"Now that the winning bidders have been announced, the Minister must begin discussing the timing for major network reform," said Ms Elyse Cunningham "We believe that the DTP bus planners have already mapped out the first steps for change. It only needs Tim Pallas and Jacinta Allan to commit to this in the 2025 Budget."
"In comparison to the billions being spent on tollways and rail tunnels, the cost of bus reform is tiny, but the benefits are huge.
For an estimated extra $325million Melbourne's West could have a fast, frequent and connected bus system, with buses every 10 minutes connecting residents to school, work, university and essential services.
With the rapid population growth of recent years, per capita funding for buses in the West is far below the Melbourne average. So funding is fully justified on equity grounds."
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