NEW bus services are being planned to link Williams Landing train station with Point Cook and surrounding suburbs.
Transport Minister Terry Mulder last week confirmed the state’s public transport authority had been working to “reorganise and extend” bus routes to coincide with the opening of the new station.
While the government had hoped the new station would be completed this month, the expected date has been extended to April 2013.
Public Transport Victoria spokesman Andrea Duckworth said detailed timetables would be announced closer to the station coming on line.
She said bus services in Point Cook had been reviewed as part of “network planning” for the new station.
Western Metropolitan Greens MP Colleen Hartland, who has been urging the government to properly plan new bus links since May, said the announcement came as good news for Point Cook residents who endured morning traffic congestion and inadequate parking at Laverton and Hoppers Crossing stations. But she said details on bus frequency, routes and provisions to cater for a surging population were unclear.
Ms Hartland said the new train station and bus links had the potential to alleviate the pressure “only if done properly”.
“There’s a big difference between just a bus service and a bus service that is fast, efficient and direct – one that people will want to use,” she said.
“This bus service has the potential to take thousands of cars off Point Cook’s roads, but will only succeed if buses run every 10 minutes during peak and every 20 minutes in off-peak, and connect to the trains.”
Point Cook commuter Peter Knight feared the new station would do little to ease traffic snarls and improve the train system. He said commuters would continue to clog the roads by driving to Laverton station to avoid more expensive zone 2 fares, or to Werribee station so they could get a seat on the train.
