Commuters in Melbourne’s outer west are being urged to make their transport priorities known ahead of next year’s state election.
The Metropolitan Transport Forum (MTF), comprising 23 councils from across Melbourne, is asking residents to complete its “state of public transport” survey before December 20.
Survey results, to be presented to the Labor and Liberal parties and their candidates, will inform MTF campaigns in the lead-up to the election.
MTF executive member and Wyndham councillor Glenn Goodfellow said it was important that residents in the outer west made their voices heard.
In August, Auditor-General John Doyle found that public transport in growth areas, including Wyndham and Melton, had been inadequately funded by
successive state governments, and that $10 billion was needed to address the infrastructure backlog.
“We have seen some improvements in local transport in the last three years but we need to take a holistic approach to the transport problem,” Cr Goodfellow said.
“We need to look at improving bus routes. At the moment, if I don’t have a car, how do I get from Wyndham
to Melton?”
The survey follows a recent MTF public transport forum highlighting the transport shortfalls in growth areas.
MTF chairman Cr Tom Melican said the state government needed to invest in road and rail infrastructure to change the way people moved around Melbourne.
“It’s not a road versus trains issue,’’ he said. “A lot of growth has occurred and there is no choice in growth areas.
‘‘We build suburbs then argue about transport options, often too late and too expensive.”
