Tag: rail network

Maroondah Leader: Going backwards

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The Melbourne Transport Forum (MTF), is a grouping of local Councils and community organisations, involved in advocating for public transport improvements.

The MTF has launched a series of online polls through its pt4me2 campaign, which aims to highlight public transport issues across Metropolitan Melbourne. The first of these surveys, aims to gauge community views on rail stations, with respondents choosing the worst stations in Melbourne.

With 4000 respondents to the survey, Ringwood has been rated as the second worst rail station within Metropolitan Melbourne, second only to Richmond, which serves as a busy junction for Melbourne’s eastern and south-eastern rail network.

The Maroondah Leader has reported on the results of the survey and the implications for Ringwood Station:

Maroondah Mayor Alex Makin said the station’s low ranking was not a surprise.

“It is well known that the station is not disability discrimination act compliant,” Cr Makin said. “What is surprising is how poorly regarded it is to all of Melbourne.”

Many respondents stated that Ringwood Station is difficult to access and perceived to be unsafe.  The steepness of the ramps at Ringwood Station means that it fails disability compliance standards.  Furthermore the Station fails to function as an integrated transport interchange, through difficult pedestrian, bus and bicycle access.

“When you compare how many people must pass through Richmond compared to Ringwood it shows just how severe issues at the Station are.”

While the State Government has committed to redevelop the bus interchange there has been no funding announcement towards the essential redevelopment of the Station itself.  Ringwood, as a Central Activities District, and junction to the Belgrave and Lilydale rail lines, needs a transit interchange that is safe, accessible and integrated with pedestrian, bicycle, rail and bus facilities.

Maroondah Leader: Transport Coalition aims for changes

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The State Government is undertaking review of bus services across Metropolitan Melbourne with the latest series exploring routes within Maroondah, Knox and the Yarra Ranges.

The Maroondah Leader has reported on the upcoming reviews, including the public workshop which will be held this Thursday.

Coalition Deputy Chair and Maroondah councillor Alex Makin called for a two-tier service with frequent, direct services on main roads and a second tier of local bus routes to connect passengers to the main services.

A two-tiered bus network would significantly reduce travel times and ensure that Maroondah’s main roads are are provided with frequent and direct bus services.

“The average bus route in Maroondah tends to go down a lot of different side streets and that adds a lot of time to the journey,” Cr Makin said.

The success of the Ringwood to Frankston SmartBus demonstrates that people will use public transport when it is frequent, direct and readily available.

Cr Makin said residents raised several complaints about bus services at a public forum on January 29.

“People brought up issues about the frequency of the bus routes, the fact that the average bus finishes at 8pm or 9pm on a weekday and that buses are failing to make connections with other buses and with the train network,” Cr Makin said.

Given that the majority of Maroondah’s residents live beyond walking distance to the rail network, it is critical that the municipality is provided with a comprehensive bus network that enhances the mobility of our community.

“Unfortunately it’s all too common an occurance when the bus pulls up at a station, only for people to find that the train has already left.”

The feedback from council’s workshop will be used to assist council’s submission to the State Government. In addition community members should attend one of the State Government’s workshops to provide a further opportunity for input.

Improvements to bus services will help ensure an accessible municipality and reduce Maroondah’s greenhouse emissions.

Eastern Transport Coalition Presentation on Train and Tram Refranchising

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As the Deputy Chair of the Eastern Transport Coalition I was invited to present the ETC’s views on the re-franchising arrangements for the rail and tram network. The presentation provided an opportunity to highlight the needs of Melbourne’s outer suburban residents and opportunities that can be pursued through the new franchise arrangements for more a frequent, reliable and accessible public transport system.

The Eastern Transport Coalition (ETC) as a regional body representing one million residents within its seven outer eastern councils is well positioned to understand the requirements of its communities and to demonstrate the need for efficient public transport operations.

The survey data compiled by the Australian Research Group for the ETC clearly demonstrates that residents of Melbourne’s outer east would be more than willing to use public transport if services are frequent, readily available and easy to understand.

In particular the ETC believes that there is considerable scope to improve off-peak and interpeak services, as a way of shifting travel demand and mitigate worsening overcrowding during peak times. Frequency of service is a key driver to attracting passengers onto public transport at times other than peak periods. Likewise there should also be the opportunity for express services outside the traditional peak periods.

More frequent services will also assist in delivering a more reliable system since it will assist in more evenly distributing demand across the network. Likewise all rail lines should operate at a consistent service frequency and operating span to provide consistency across the network.

While bus services are outside the scope of the train and tram re-franchising proposals there is a need to improve coordination across the entire public transport system, as such the new franchising arrangements must trigger a review of connecting bus services whenever there is a modification of rail and tram timetables. Bus services generally require at least a three month lead-time to implement changes and ample time is provided so that all modes can operate in a coordinated manner.

Accessibility is also a critical factor with the State Government failing to meet targets for disability compliance on the rail network. There would be a considerable opportunity to provide the franchisee with the scope to redevelop nominated stations in exchange for commercial rights. This would provide the operator with an incentive to modernise Melbourne’s rail stations through the creation of mixed use transit hubs and also ensure higher cleanliness and safety standards.

Likewise it is also critical that the new franchise arrangements include scope to extend the rail network, such as the much needed rail extensions to Rowville and Doncaster and the tram extensions that are required to Knox and Doncaster Hill.

Local Government both individually and collectively as a region would welcome the opportunity to engage the new rail and tram operators so that services meet the needs of our community. As an example, we have actively engaged Connex through the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee, which has led to the reduction of vandalism along Maroondah’s rail network. Public transport is critical to the mobility of our communities and local government should be actively engaged over initiatives and timetable changes.

The new franchise arrangements for the train and tram network will begin on the 1st of December of this year. It is imperative that the new agreements assist in delivering a service that meets the needs of our community.

Sustainable Melbourne Transport Forum

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As the Deputy Chair and Maroondah delegate of the Eastern Transport Coalition I was invited to present to a transport forum organised by the Australasian Centre for the Governance and Management of Urban Transport (GAMUT).

The forum was organised in response to the Government’s Victorian Transport Plan to identify common areas of agreement and discuss any particular aspects of concern. Each speaker discussed the need for further investment in public transport, particularly in regard to further suburban rail extensions and bus improvements.

On behalf of the Eastern Transport Coalition I discussed the need for planning around rail improvements in the eastern suburbs, namely the Rowville and Doncaster rail lines.

I also discussed the need for certainty around the infrastructure investments in the Central Activity Districts, particularly in regard to the public transport improvements that are required for Box Hill and Ringwood.

In addition I raised concerns over a reduction in the commitments made to the SmartBus network, despite the overwhelming response it has received through significant increases in patronage.

The SmartBus network was a key feature of the State Government’s 2006 transport plan, Meeting Our Transport Challenges. While Meeting Our Transport Challenges had its faults, the SmartBus network, which provides more frequent and longer operating bus services was positively received and record patronage increases have confirmed this.

In addition there has been a lack of further commitment towards upgrading bus frequencies and service spans. While investment and expansion of the rail network is important and definitely required it must be recognised that two thirds of Melbourne, including large parts of the outer eastern suburbs resides, beyond the rail network.

Lastly, I spoke about the Dandenong rail corridor and the lack of further commitment towards triplication of the Dandenong rail line. While debate exists about capacity constraints on the rail network, this project was seen as imperative just two years ago. If this situation has changed it is important that the government outlines how the Government has resolved these constraints and whether short-term improvements are possible.

While there are some positive steps in the State Government’s Victorian Transport Plan there is certainly a need for further commitments towards sustainability and public transport.

Eastern Transport Coalition – Strengthening our aims and objectives

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With the success of the Eastern Transport Coalition’s recent public transport summit and State Government announcing that it will release a new transport plan in November of this year, it was timely to review the group’s mission statement and objectives to reflect the growing need for public transport improvements.

The ETC’s mission statement has been revised to reflect the importance of accessibility, as well as the need for an integrated public transport system that will improve the liveability of Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. The mission now reads as follows:

The Eastern Transport Coalition will advocate for integrated and accessible sustainable transport in the Eastern region of Melbourne to improve liveability and reduce car dependency.

This mission statement will ensure that that the ETC will remain a strong advocate for public transport improvements within its member councils.

Tonight’s meeting also included a presentation from the Bus Association of Victoria to provide some input into the impending bus service reviews for Maroondah, Knox and the Yarra Ranges. It is unsurprising that bus routes that have received improvements, such as frequent services and longer operating spans, have seen patronage increases, especially the Ringwood to Frankston SmartBus which has seen almost a 60% increase in patronage.

The success of the Ringwood to Frankston SmartBus, as well as other SmartBus routes demonstrates that people will use bus services when they are fast, frequent, direct and readily available. The State Government must therefore respond by accelerating its implementation of the SmartBus program so that the orbital network is completed by the end of 2010, rather than the original completion date of 2015. This would assist in providing transport choice for residents that live beyond the reaches of the rail network.

Likewise local routes need further improvements with the the State Government’s minimum service standard of hourly frequencies being inadequate. These routes should be provided with a half-hourly frequency, which would enable better connections with the rail network and other bus services.

The bus network across Melbourne’s eastern suburbs requires substantial improvements and the State Government must use the bus service review process to deliver bus services that provide transport choice for Melbourne’s outer east.

I have stressed to my council colleagues the importance of engaging the community over the bus service reviews. Council will be hosting its own forum to discuss bus improvements once the State Government releases its timeframe for the service reviews. This will ensure that council is providing feedback that is consistent with the views of our community.

We must continue making a difference to secure public transport improvements within Maroondah and Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

Maroondah Journal: Boost trains, users urge

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Amid the recently held Eastern Transport Coalition Public Transport Summit, the Maroondah Journal has continued to explore public transport issues, particularly, in regard to the need for service improvements along Melbourne’s rail network.

Eastern Transport Coalition spokesman Cr Alex Makin said evening services would be an easy fix. “There’s nothing stopping the Government from saying tomorrow it will provide additional inter peak services. It would be instant relief for families struggling with increasing fuel prices.”

Inter peak services (services that are between the morning and evening peaks) beyond Ringwood currently operate at a half hourly frequency, severely limiting the opportunity to use public transport outside of peak hours to travel to and from the Ringwood Transit City.

Likewise evening services after 8pm operate at a half-hourly frequency limiting choices available for people that work late.

He said more frequent evening and inter peak services were critical for people to get to and from activity centres, such as the Ringwood Transit City.

The fact that weekend services operate at a 20 minute interval demonstrates that more frequent inter peak weekdays services are possible. For example, it is absurd that people wishing to travel between Croydon and Ringwood at 10am on a weekday are required to wait up to half an hour for train, when on a Saturday or Sunday they would be waiting for 20 minutes.

The government has stated that it will be revising the train timetable next year, hopefully they rectify these anomalies within our train timetables and help reinforce the importance of public transport within the Ringwood Transit City and the outer east.

Transport Infrastructure for Victoria: The Challenges

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This afternoon I attended a CEDA lunch featuring a presentation from Howard Ronaldson, the Secretary of the Department of Infrastructure (DOI). The Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) is an independent think tank, which aims to promote the economic development of Australia in a sustainable and socially balanced way.

As part of its series of topics critical to the success of Victoria, CEDA organised the lunch presentation as an opportunity to explore the infrastructure issues facing Melbourne and Victoria. As Secretary of the DOI, Howard Ronaldson, has responsibility for ports, as well as the road and rail network.

Howard’s presentation largely included content from the State Government’s Meeting Our Transport Challenges, but did discuss the need for further integration between transport and planning particularly given the goals of Melbourne 2030 in encouraging public transport usage and the development of activity centres.

After the presentation I discussed the needs of Ringwood and Maroondah directly with Howard as an opportunity to reiterate the need for State Government action over Ringwood Station, particularly given that major projects, such as the new town centre, are likely to be delayed until a commitment to the redevelopment is made.

I also discussed the need for more frequent services beyond Ringwood, given Ringwood’s status as transit city and the high proportion of trips taken between Ringwood and Croydon, as well as from further east. The Belgrave and Lilydale lines currently have just a half-hourly service beyond Ringwood from 10am to 4pm during weekdays, despite the fact that services operate on a 20 minute frequency on weekends.

Given the desire to help shift peak hour travel demand to other times of the day and that more frequent services are clearly possible, it seems absurd that the State Government has not acted to provide at least a 20 minute frequency along the Belgrave / Lilydale line during weekdays.

Hopefully, progress will be made on these issues now that they have been raised directly with the Secretary of the Department of Infrastructure.

Presentation on urban sustainability and transport

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This afternoon I was invited to deliver a presentation exploring the linkages between urban sustainability and public transport to the 41st Annual Geography Conference organised by the Geography Teachers Association of Victoria (GTAV).

The hour-long presentation provided a synopsis on the economic, social and environmental benefits of public transport, investigated current urban policies and examined Ringwood as a case study to demonstrate the interdependence between urban sustainability and public transport.

While the State Government appears to have neglected its goal of increasing public transport modal share to 20% by the year 2020, this target is required to mitigate rising congestion. With an annual cost of $4 billion annually, congestion is currently outpacing Melbourne’s population growth. Likewise the provision of public transport will provide transport choice to the many outer suburban households that are struggling due to rising petrol prices and the fact that private transport consumes up to 20% of budgets within these households.

The lack of public transport in Melbourne’s outer suburbs can also place non-car households at a significant disadvantage and limit the ability to participate in employment, educational, community and recreational opportunities. Similarly, obesity and health issues such as diabetes, can be symptomatic of car dependent suburbs where the potential to exercise is diminished.

In regard to environmental sustainability, transport accounts for 17% of Australia’s national greenhouse emissions and is the fastest growing sector of emissions. The figures are even more stark for individual households, where due to car dependence, transport is responsible for up to 49% of greenhouse emissions and is the largest contributing source of emissions within households.

These and other costs mean that car dependence is not sustainable and that urban sustainability cannot be achieved under current practices. While it may be claimed that excessive car usage contributes to the economy, when equating the economic, social and environmental impacts of car dependence there is an annual deficit of $16.3 billion.

Melbourne 2030, the State Government’s urban planning strategy was supposed to achieve a more sustainable future for Melbourne. While the plan identified numerous activity centres, each of which are earmarked for urban development, the public transport network that was supposed to cater to these urban centres remains underdeveloped.

This is even more apparent in the purpose-built activity centres that were initially designed to showcase the integration that was to result between transport and planning. Activity centres such as South Morang, Cranbourne East and Wyndham Vale have been denied much needed rail extensions despite their location within the rapidly developing growth corridors.

The problems experienced with Melbourne’s public transport system, such as unreliable train services, infrequent and poorly connected bus services and trams that terminate short of logical destinations can be resolved, but it requires Government will. Within Australia, Perth has proven to be an example of the improvements that can result from an integration between transport and planning and a commitment to urban sustainability. As an example, Perth recently doubled the size of its rail network, including the construction of a new 70km rail line (twice the distance of the CBD to Dandenong) and new stations are built simultaneously with urban development.

The integration that has borne results in Perth needs to be implemented in Melbourne, particularly for designated transit cities such as Ringwood. The suburb of Ringwood, located 27km east of Melbourne’s CBD, has been designated an area of higher density development but the State Government has been lacklustre in its commitment to improving public transport.

Ringwood currently suffers due to a disjointed retail precinct and transport hub which requires pedestrians to cross a six lane highway. Despite the goals of creating a sustainable community, the State Government and VicRoads have currently refused requests to make it easier to cross Maroondah Highway. Coupled with poor public transport, which includes making public transport users wait up to half an hour to travel between Ringwood and Croydon, the current culture of car dependence is exacerbated and potentially jeopardises the ability to create green open space and a new heart for Ringwood. Furthermore the lack of commitment over the redevelopment of Ringwood Station has created uncertainty for major developers resulting in unnecessary delays.

Each of these issues are interrelated, since due to poor public transport there is less open space which creates a pedestrian hostile environment and investment delays as developers wait for these issues to be rectified. While 40% of land in Melbourne used for roads and carparks, a staggering 62% of land within Ringwood is used for these purposes, leaving less land available for residential, commercial and community purposes.

While new developments, such as three storey residential buildings, are occurring the investment in public transport and hence the investor confidence in larger commercial developments is not. In particular, while residents within these new developments are encouraged to use public transport, walking and cycling as a form of travel this will not be sustainable if public transport is not improved.

Poor public transport connectivity and a lack of frequent bus services along main roads, such as Maroondah Highway, Canterbury and Wonga Roads, means that public transport usage will remain limited due to the fact that these poor levels of service fail to provide a real transport choice. The State Government must deliver significant public transport improvements to demonstrate that it is committed to creating a sustainable community within Ringwood.

The provision of sustainable transport is a key component of creating a sustainable community and increasing economic, social and environmental pressures means that action is required.

Media Release: East-West? the answer is rail

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The Eastern Transport Coalition has made a submission to the East-West needs Review calling on the State Government to fix Melbourne’s capacity and congestion issues by expanding the public transport network.Councillor Alex Makin represents Maroondah City Council on the Eastern Transport Coalition and says the Coalition is calling on the State Government to fix Melbourne’s capacity and congestion issues by expanding the public transport network.

“The Eastern Transport Coalition’s submission points out the weaknesses in the current public transport network and urges the State Government to improve public transport by extending the rail network into the Eastern suburbs,” said Cr Makin.

Chairperson, Cr Mick Van De Vreede said that by expanding the rail network cars would be removed from the roads and greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced.

“The State Government are rightly concerned about the capacity of our roads to handle freight into the future, however the answer is not more roads, the answer is more public transport.

“The million residents of the outer east that our seven member councils represent do not have the access to public transport that other Melbournians do and as a result they often have no option other than private vehicles.

“The large improvement in buses that is planned will make a difference but a bus doubles the key commute time to the CBD. Train is the only answer.

“Our submission points out that the big weakness in the current network is fivefold;

  • No fixed rail to Rowville
  • No fixed rail to Doncaster
  • No plans for third rail on Belgrave/Lilydale line
  • Lack of dedicated lanes for Smart Buses.
  • Lack of up to date Public transport interchanges

“If implemented with improved facilities for commuters, these five projects would free up a lot of road space on the Eastern and Monash Freeways, space which could be utilised by freight.

“As a first step Rod Eddington should recommend the development of full business cases for each. Proper business cases would allow the State to budget funding and even seek funding from the Federal Government.

“Even the State Government’s own Sustainability Commissioner, Mr Rod Mc Phail, has pointed to the lack of extensions to hard rail as a shortcoming for Melbourne.

“I urge Sir Rod and the State Government to get serious about improving Melbourne’s liveability, now and into the future by extending rail,” Cr Mick Van De Vreede concluded.

MX: Here's to 40 more

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Melbourne’s MX newspaper has reported on the announcement of 39 additional train services that will be introduced from October this year.

Public Transport Users Association president Alex Makin gave the news a cautious welcome.

“It’s an encouraging sign but we would rather see it sooner rather than later,” Makin said. “It is good that the Transport Minister has taken steps to finally rectify the chronic overcrowding.”

The introduction of these services will assist in alleviating overcrowding and improving the frequency of Melbourne’s rail network, but further improvements are required, including the introduction of shoulder-peak express services to further cater to the needs of public transport users.