Better bus services push in shire’s review submission

GOLDEN Plains Shire council has officially called for the introduction of a high-frequency bus service between Bannockburn and Geelong.

It made the point in a submission to the state government’s Geelong, Bellarine Peninsula and Bannockburn Bus Network Review, which called for input in March and April and is scheduled to deliver a consultation summary report mid-year.

The review is aimed at improving public bus services in the Geelong region and adjoining peri-urban municipalities including Golden Plains.

Shire councillors unanimously endorsed the submission at their last meeting after mayor Cr Owen Sharkey led a publicity blitz in March to encourage residents to contribute.

The submission highlighted what it described as a growing mismatch between rapid population growth, strategic land use planning and the current availability of public transport throughout the municipality.

Its key issues were that Bannockburn is expected to accommodate most of the shire’s population growth but existing bus services to the town operated at very low frequency with limited operating hours and minimal weekend coverage.

It said other townships such as Teesdale and Inverleigh had little to no regular public transport services, with a resulting higher car ownership and dependence than other comparable regional centres.

A report to the council meeting said Department of Transport and Planning figures showed that 3,787 community survey responses were received – the highest ever for a bus consultation.

“Of those submissions, it was noted that 84 were from Teesdale, 39 from Inverleigh and 265 from Bannockburn – representing that over 10 per cent of the total responses to the survey came from Golden Plains Shire,” the report said.

Among the shire submission’s proposals for improvements were the high-frequency service between Bannockburn and Geelong with extended operating hours; development of an integrated bus network connecting Bannockburn with Teesdale, Inverleigh and Lethbridge; and a pilot of on-demand transport services to complement fixed routes in lower-density areas.

Before the submission was endorsed unanimously, Cr Sarah Hayden said: “I strongly support this submission. This is exactly the kind of advocacy that our community needs, focusing on the reality of how people in Golden Plains actually live and move.

“This submission clearly identifies the problem but importantly it also outlines some real solutions.

“This submission sends a really strong message to the state government that our region is growing, our needs are clear and our community expects better.”

Cr Gavin Gamble backed Cr Hayden’s comments, saying that the shire did need better public transport, particularly in outer townships like Teesdale and Inverleigh.

“Hopefully this will help get some results,” he said.