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The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has today called for the immediate introduction of full-time bus lanes in Hoddle Street to improve traffic flow and reduce travel times for bus commuters travelling along one of Melbourne’s busiest corridors.

PTUA President Daniel Bowen said that the current situation must be fixed. “More people can be moved along Hoddle Street, one of Melbourne’s busiest arterial roads, by simply allowing the frequent buses to operate in their own dedicated lane rather than being stuck in the heavy congestion. It’s not rocket science to realise a full bus with 70 people is going to move much faster than 70 single-occupant cars all heading in the same direction,” he said.
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The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has refreshed calls for an increase of services running on the Geelong rail line, calling for half-hourly services all day to Victoria’s largest regional city to better meet the needs of thousands of commuters and ease congestion on roads.
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The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has called for an increase to the Brumby Government “Minimum Service Standards” for bus services in Metropolitan Melbourne, and called for the same standard to be introduced into Victoria’s major regional cities.

The program, introduced in 2006, set a minimum benchmark of an hourly bus service until 9pm, and was a step forward in addressing a long-term problem with Melbourne’s inadequate, dysfunctional bus network, resulting in patronage growth across the network.
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The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has renewed calls for Melbourne’s level crossing elimination program to be reintroduced, highlighting the safety benefits for the community, and listed ten crossings on Melbourne’s tram and orbital SmartBus networks as the first priority. (Jump to map)

PTUA President Daniel Bowen said that “Sydney actively removed its level crossings over the years to the point they have only a handful left, but we stopped our plans here in Melbourne in the late 1960s and diverted much of the funding instead into freeway construction. The result is we still have 170-odd level crossings across metropolitan Melbourne that cause delays to the community, commuters and freight every day.”
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The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has welcomed new operators KDR (to trade as “Yarra Trams”) and MTM (“Metro”) to Melbourne, but warned that they with the government will have to work hard to improve public transport reliability.

PTUA President Daniel Bowen said the companies had their work cut out for them. “It’s great to hear them making the right noises, but the proof will be in the pudding. The train system had big problems over summer and suffers greatly from over-crowding. The trams are getting slower and slower on our roads due to a lack of traffic light priority, and are also crowded at many times of day.
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