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The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has congratulated the RACV for supporting the PTUA’s call for more buses and recognising the importance of bus lanes on Stud Road.

“The State Government now needs to do its part of the deal by upgrading the 901 Smartbus to operate at least every 10 minutes, from 6am to midnight, seven days-a-week,” said Jeremy Lunn, the PTUA’s Outer East Convenor. “Upgrading the bus service would help to take traffic off the road by providing a more convenient service,” he said.
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The Alamein line which is used for over 1.8 million journeys a year is falling behind, according to the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA). Recent timetable upgrades for the metropolitan train network launched earlier in the month ignored Alamein line commuters.

“Alamein passengers are tired of being left behind by the government and Metro”, said Jeremy Lunn, the PTUA’s eastern spokesman, “so an upgrade is needed in order to bring Alamein trains in line with services on the Ringwood line”.

With the state election just around the corner, the PTUA believes there is a strong chance of seeing an upgrade to Alamein services.
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The issue of crowded buses and slow travel time on the 903 Smartbus, which runs from Mordialloc to Altona, has been raised recently in parliament on two separate occasions. Liberal MP Andrea Coote and Greens MP Susan Pennicuik have both criticised the unsatisfactory situation first brought to the public’s attention by the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA).

“It’s good to see some of our parliamentarians giving publicity to this issue,” said Jeremy Lunn, the PTUA’s Outer East Convenor, “but what we need is prompt action from the government to fix up the problems.”
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PTUA comments on the Transport and Tourism Forum report on public transport funding:

We shouldn’t fall for the trap of believing that public transport should make a profit. It doesn’t recoup its costs any more than the public health system, the education system, law enforcement or for that matter the road system – these are all subsidised by taxpayers for the good of everyone. Even those who never use public transport recognise that if it wasn’t there, there would be chaos on our roads.

Melbourne’s public transport fares are already some of the highest in Australia, and for suburban trips, fares are often more expensive than just getting in the car. The danger of increasing fares further is that it will lead to a decline in patronage, requiring an even bigger taxpayer subsidy, and adding to the traffic on the roads.
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Passengers on the Lilydale and Belgrave lines beyond Ringwood are receiving train services that are below urban standards according to the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA). In the off-peak, services beyond Ringwood operate half-hourly, compared with every 15 minutes between the city and Ringwood.

Peak hour services also finish very early at just after 8am in Belgrave, potentially inconveniencing commuters who work irregular hours or outside the CBD (in places such as Ringwood or Box Hill).

“There is absolutely no reason to believe that people living beyond Ringwood deserve poorer public transport services,” said Jeremy Lunn, the PTUA’s Outer East Convenor. “Both these lines are supported by a good urban population and residents deserve much better than what they are currently receiving.”
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Analysis of 2009 crime statistics by the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has shown that 45% of assaults on railway stations occur at just ten locations. The figures also showed about half the assaults occurred in the daytime.

PTUA President Daniel Bowen said that the figures reinforced the association’s call for all stations to be staffed from first to last train, and with a permanent police presence at the top ten hotspot stations.

The PTUA also wants a review of communications and emergency response times to ensure that station staff can quickly get police or ambulance assistance when required. Police deployment should include a mechanism for radio contact between patrolling police officers and station booking office staff, and be regularly reviewed to ensure chosen locations remain appropriate, with possible expansion if required.

“While people are most concerned about safety on the train system at night, the reality is that about half the assaults happened in broad daylight”, said Mr Bowen.

“And just ten stations accounted for 45% of the incidents reported.

“All together 85 stations had recorded incidents of assault, but 116 had none.”
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Upgrade call from Heidelberg to Mordialloc

Passengers on the route 903 Smartbus are still being forced to stand on slow, infrequent and overcrowded buses serving the busy Chadstone Shopping Centre.

Despite previous concerns over crowded buses expressed by the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA), the State Government has made no commitment towards fixing the problem. The PTUA has found no shortage of crowded buses as evidenced by further photographs. It is calling for an immediate upgrade of weekend services to run every 15 minutes, followed by an upgrade to run every 10 minutes, seven days-a-week within the next two years.
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