Major improvements need to be made to Wyndham’s public transport network to improve residents’ access to work and education.
A damning report by the state’s auditor-general has revealed that only one-fifth of the trains arriving at Werribee and Hoppers Crossing stations were met by a waiting bus service.
The find is the result of a survey conducted in May. At Hoppers Crossing, only 41 per cent of buses arrived at the station to connect with a train. At Werribee, 47 per cent of buses connected with a train.
In comparison, 80 per cent of bus services to Footscray station connected with a train.
Auditor-General John Doyle also found that Wyndham had the most indirect bus routes in Melbourne. He said growth areas, such as Wyndham, were facing a backlog of public transport infrastructure.
“These areas had fewer, less frequent and less direct public transport services compared to the rest of Melbourne,” Mr Doyle said. “For some people, particularly those living in growth areas without a car, this lack of connecting services can reduce the number of accessible work, education and other opportunities.”
Wyndham council is seeking funding in the 2015-16 state budget to improve the city’s bus network and fund services to the new Regional Rail Link stations at Wyndham Vale and Tarneit, which are due to open next year.
It is not known how much funding will be required to improve connectivity in the city.
Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder said the government had worked to improve public transport in Wyndham.
“In April 2013 when Williams Landing station opened, PTV made sure that 1221 extra weekly bus trips commenced in …Wyndham. Patronage of local bus routes in the municipality has since doubled,” he said.
Opposition public transport spokeswoman and Altona MP Jill Hennessy said the report confirmed that Melbourne’s public transport network didn’t work.
