Wyndham mayor Susan McIntyre is calling on the state government to expand its FlexiRide operations across the municipality following the success of the Tarneit North service.
The on-demand bus service has no fixed route and only operates when booked by passengers, who can use the app to book a trip from their nearest physical or virtual bus stop and travel to or from a number of designated options in Tarneit, including Tarneit Station, Tarneit Central Shopping Centre, and four schools.
Councillor McIntyre said she strongly encourages the state government to continue the trial, and rollout additional services.
“As mayor, residents raise with me the need for improved access to public transport regularly,” Cr McIntyre said.
“According to the statistics available to council, since the service commenced in October 2022, on average between 210-220 rides are occurring each day, or a total of over 1200 per week.”
Transport service CDC Victoria, who provides the service, recently announced on Facebook that of the eight FlexiRide services in the state, Tarneit North was the most successful.
“We have been operating five FlexiRide buses in Tarneit North since October last year. Our buses have carried over 17,000 passengers in the first 90 days of operation with 90% of passengers giving our service a five-star rating,” CDC Victoria wrote in the post.
Cr McIntyre said in recent meetings with Tarneit MP Dylan Wight and Laverton MP Sarah Connolly, she congratulated them on the service and sought support to have the service branched out to reach other residents.
A victorian government spokesperson said the state government is looking at ways to improve the public transport network across the state, including in the south western suburbs.
“We are currently looking at the FlexiRide service model to determine what parts of the network it provides the best customer experience, is viable and helps people get where they need to go at the times they need to travel,” the spokesperson said.
