Surf Coaster bus starts rolling

THE Surf Coast Shire’s free Torquay/Jan Juc summer shuttle bus service is now up and running.

The 24-seater “Surf Coaster” bus began services on Boxing Day and aims to connect people with beaches, cafes, restaurants, shopping precincts and more.

The service will run between 10am and 6pm daily, every 30 minutes, until January 26, 2021.

It includes 13 designated stops:

• Spring Creek Reserve (park and ride)
• Surf City
• Fisherman’s Beach
• Gilbert Street
• Torquay Front Beach
• Bell Street
• Torquay Back Beach
• Jan Juc Beach
• Jan Juc Village
• Sunset Strip
• Duffields Road, and
• Ocean View Crescent.

Surf Coast deputy mayor Liz Pattison urged locals and visitors to take advantage of the free service.

“Council made the decision to introduce the free shuttle bus service as one of many our COVID-19 recovery initiatives, and in response to local demand for a convenient, safe and effective transport loop during this year’s peak summer period,” she said.

“We’re expecting a busier than usual summer on the coast, so the shuttle bus service will help ease congestion and make it easier for locals and visitors to get to the beach, and to get out and support our local shops and restaurants.

“We want to make the service as convenient as possible for everyone. By scanning the QR code on the bus stops, you’ll be able to see how far away the bus is. The bus will also have a trailer on the back so you can bring your surfboard or pram with you.”

The $55,000 Surf Coaster initiative is funded from its $1 million COVID-19 Support Allocation and was set up following a council resolution at their December 8 meeting.

The report to councillors noted there was “insufficient time to seek interest from businesses to co-contribute and this would be against the COVID-19 recovery intention of the initiative”, but several comments posted by people on the Surf Coast Shire’s official Facebook page criticised the appointment of McHarry’s Buslines to run the Surf Coaster buses instead of a local operator such as Wave Rider.

For more information, and for a live map tracking the bus’s location, head to surfcoast.vic.gov.au/SurfCoaster.