Shire’s southern residents speak up in bus consultation

RESIDENTS are making their views heard on the state of public transport in the Golden Plains Shire, according to its council.

The municipality reported that 10 per cent of the 3787 submissions into a bus network review covering Bannockburn, Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula came from the local government area.

Nearly a third of that percentage in 123 submissions came from Teesdale and Inverleigh residents.

“It’s fantastic to see so many Golden Plains Shire residents stepping up and sharing their experiences with the bus network,” the shire’s mayor Cr Owen Sharkey said.

Meanwhile, in response to questions sent about the shire’s advocacy for rail between Geelong and Bannockburn, a state government spokesperson said: “We’re making it easier for people to catch public transport, offering more services, cheaper fares – along with free travel.

“We continue to review our public transport network and we’re currently reviewing feedback from the Geelong, Bellarine Peninsula and Bannockburn bus consultation.”

Following community consultation, the government is set to review the information and data to help inform future bus improvements, including potential changes to current services.

The state government aims to sequence future transport investments to minimise disruption and meet local communities’ needs.

Bannockburn is serviced each week by the Route 19 town bus service to Geelong, along with 42 V/Line coaches running mostly between Ballarat and Geelong.

The number of services, meanwhile, on the Ballarat and Geelong lines had more than doubled during the past decade.

On the Geelong line, there are 802 services each week compared to 335 more than a decade ago.

Along the Ballarat line, the number of services from more than a decade ago had risen from 264 to 550.