Road Management Amendment (Bus Stop Delivery Powers) Bill 2016

Second reading

Ms DUNN (Eastern Metropolitan) — I rise to speak on the Road Management Amendment (Bus Stop Delivery Powers) Bill 2016. This bill is an obvious necessity to patch up a regulatory loophole created with the establishment of Public Transport Victoria (PTV) in 2012. It is somewhat embarrassing for the government and its predecessor that it is coming four years after PTV assumed responsibility for bus stops and related functions, but let us put that to one side for one moment.

I speak as a member for Eastern Metropolitan Region. Considering the east has been waiting for over a century for Doncaster rail to be built, buses are the main form of public transport in that region. In fact buses play an enormous role in the metropolitan region, in the outer suburbs, in the interface regions of our city and in rural Victoria. When it comes to bus stop infrastructure there is a higher order problem in that bus routes do not meet community needs, leading to low uptake and little realised benefit from the public investment on many routes.

I am now going to speak from a very localised perspective in relation to bus services in the Dandenong Ranges, an area where the installation of bus stops comes with huge challenges given the nature of the topography of the area. The services in the Dandenong Ranges are particularly poorly designed — large diesel buses ply their trade on routes that make no sense when it comes to the needs of the local community and hence have little patronage. There is a focus on radial services from Melbourne in place of services that connect neighbouring communities. Schoolchildren in the region are ferried to school by private services because the public system does not adequately service school areas. Senior citizens and people with a disability are particularly disadvantaged with this dearth of good bus services.

Some community groups have been calling for a revamp of the public transport system in Yarra Ranges and with that, bus services, and of course bus stops that support those services. One example is the Efficient Public Transport for the Dandenongs and Outer East community group. This group has been seeking input from the community on improved bus routes and higher frequency services between town centres, connecting with train lines where possible. They have done an enormous amount of work, and I do want to commend both Elissa Sutherland and David Francis for the work they have put into this particular group. They have, off their own bat, consulted with the community about what is important in relation to public transport in the Dandenongs and in the outer east. In the broadest terms, the feedback they have got is that there are a number of key elements that would actually make the bus network usable and that commuters and drivers say need fixing.

The first is the frequency of bus services. They are calling for 10 to 15minute bus frequency on primary routes during peak hours, reflecting the needs of commuters at different times of day. They are calling for buses that connect to train services. For many years I was a local government councillor and I have to say that in my nine years in local government a constant message I received from the community was that buses do not connect with trains. And here we are, 11 years on, dealing with community members and still we do not have buses that connect with train services.

This group are calling for buses that run seven days a week and higher frequencies to accommodate the needs outlined to the local community, as well as buses that run later into the night to support community connection and local economies. Additional bus services need to be added to routes that are experiencing overcrowding. There are several routes in the outer east where buses are routinely unable to pick up commuters because they cannot actually get on the buses in the first place, let alone stand at the bus stops and be accommodated by those bus stops. Buses should aim to connect suburbs and villages near each other in a network fashion and not create situations where commuters who want to travel to a suburb nearby are forced to travel long, circuitous routes to get to that nearby destination. In new growth areas new bus routes need to develop and of course, with that, bus stops need to be installed to support that system.

In the Dandenong Ranges, of course, there is an element of tourism, and tourists need to be accommodated in a renewed bus system. There needs to be better bus services to major employment and retail precincts, such as the major shopping centres in the region, and that requires a major rethink. Public bus services need to improve significantly to recapture the patronage of school students and older Australians, and by doing that it will in fact benefit the entire community. More energyefficient bus services that utilise electric solar technologies, used for over a decade in buses in many other countries, should be utilised here. It would be a good longterm investment in public transport. And of course there is a need for greater attention to the surrounding pragmatic issues. That goes to bus shelters on busy routes and of course footpaths — decent footpaths — to allow people to actually get to the bus stop.

It is very fortunate that the Efficient Public Transport for the Dandenongs and Outer East community group have been working with the public advocacy group, Public Transport Not Traffic (PTNT), which also put as one of their key focuses buses, particularly better crosstown buses — frequent, direct and electric. PTNT note that poor bus services across Melbourne are forcing people into their cars, clogging roads with congestion and placing household budgets under strain as residents deal with the cost of maintaining two or more vehicles. They note that buses should be the glue in our public transport network, connecting people to trains and trams as well as other key destinations, not meandering through our suburbs once an hour.

Public Transport Not Traffic are calling for better crosstown buses that are frequent, direct and electric, running seven days a week to connect people to places that matter. It will get people out of their cars onto sustainable transport, meaning less traffic, less pollution and more liveable communities.

Buses are an extraordinarily important part of our public transport network and with that the bus shelters that support that network. When we look at buses, the reality is that the infrastructure to run buses is already there and we certainly have no shortage of roads in metropolitan Melbourne in order to run buses so that is not an issue. Public Transport Not Traffic are calling for electric buses similar to those that have been deployed overseas, which proves that the technology is ready to go and they could be easily built here in Victoria, and in fact are built in Victoria, but I will talk to that later. It gives us an opportunity to lead the way in cleaning up our transport system and creating jobs in our economy.

I want to talk a little bit about buses and the Eastern Transport Coalition (ETC), which is a group of seven municipalities in the east of Melbourne. Their reason for being is to advocate for better public transport for their municipalities. They have some detailed information in relation to bus services and the needs of the east. They note that for many residents in Melbourne’s east and southeast buses are the only public transport available within a reasonable distance to their homes. Unfortunately a lack of coordination between services, inadequate frequency, insufficient coverage and already congested roads mean the existing network is often uncompetitive and unattractive when compared to car travel.

The coalition notes that the metropolitan bus service review was established in 2010 to address these issues. They also note that less than 10 per cent of those recommendations have been implemented. I recall the bus service review; it was extensive and it was expansive. In fact it had a lot of good recommendations in terms of improving our bus service network and with that of course the infrastructure to support those bus services. It is very unfortunate that so few of those recommendations have been implemented to date.

The Eastern Transport Coalition is calling for more frequent bus services, particularly in the mornings, evenings and on weekends; additional feeder services to railway stations during peak times; express bus services running along major routes; and a review of all bus routes and stops to provide minimum service levels to all metropolitan residents. The tragedy is that at the moment all of metropolitan Melbourne cannot access buses that provide minimum service levels, so sometimes I do question how Melbourne does get its title of most livable city when there are such needs out there, particularly in relation to public transport, and buses which of course underpin that.

The Eastern Transport Coalition called for improved accessibility to bus stops, including hardstand waiting areas, footpaths and crossing facilities, especially where stops are located on highways and arterial roads. I can think of a situation in the City of Monash where, although a bus shelter does exist — and I cannot confirm or deny whether it was created by PTV at a time when it had the authority to do so or not — the tragedy is that residents wanting to access this particular bus shelter — —

Mr Ondarchie — Acting President, this is a very important bit of legislation, and I draw your attention to the state of the house.

Quorum formed.

The ACTING PRESIDENT (Mr Ramsay) — Order! Just before Ms Dunn continues, can I get a clarification: she is speaking on the Road Management Amendment (Bus Stop Delivery Powers) Bill 2016, is she not, in relation to powers for the PTV to build bus stops, rather than bus services?

Ms DUNN — Yes, I am. I do confirm that I am speaking on the Road Management Amendment (Bus Stop Delivery Powers) Bill 2016, which of course goes to giving power to the Public Transport Development Authority to lawfully install and maintain bus stop infrastructure and bus stopping points and lawfully conduct related activities. Of course bus stop infrastructure and bus stopping points underpin the bus services system, so if we do not have stopping points and we do not have bus shelters, then we do not have — —

Honourable members interjecting.

The ACTING PRESIDENT (Mr Ramsay) — Order! Could I have a bit of quiet in the chamber, please? I am finding it hard to hear Ms Dunn’s contribution.

Ms DUNN — Thank you, Acting President. Of course if we do not have that infrastructure underpinning a service, we do not have a service at all.

Going back to the Eastern Transport Coalition, and through you, Acting President, I am pleased to see that the importance of this bill has been recognised by other members in the house. The ETC has called for buses equipped to carry bicycles on board and improvements to the process of amending bus routes, particularly regarding community engagement, to ensure appropriate and transparent consultation.

Looking at the shortterm actions that could be undertaken, I am pleased to see that if this bill actually does get carriage, and I am certain it will get carriage, I can probably say fairly confidently that it will enable the Public Transport Development Authority to look at the issues of ensuring bus stops are safe, accessible and offer a suitable level of comfort and shelter; providing supporting infrastructure, such as pedestrian crossings on highways and major arterial roads, to allow safe access to and from bus stops; accelerating a program for upgrading bus stops to be compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, particularly to allow easy wheelchair access to shelters as well as entry to buses; installing seats at stops where there is inadequate space for a shelter; and providing a detailed plan on how bus services across Melbourne will be expanded or altered to meet minimum service levels, improve coordination with trains, trams and SmartBuses and improve public transport coverage.

Do not ever deny the fact that bus stops are important parts of infrastructure to communities. I just want to draw the house’s attention to a bus stop that was dearly loved by its community. It was so loved that its community kept a 24hour vigil sleepout at it just to ensure it did not face destruction. That is the bus stop in Emerald that is actually placed outside the Emerald Community House. What is extraordinary about that bus stop is that it was actually a project that came out of the bushfire recovery program. There was a public arts project. Interestingly in the case of that bus stop, it did not seem to have a home: PTV did not seem to think it was an asset of theirs, and the local government did not seem to think it was an asset of theirs. They actually sorted that out.

The bus stop was looking at its demise, it would seem, triggered by the posting of signage; the bus stop was used as a way to distribute community information. That is what made this bus stop extraordinary. It was more than a bus stop. It was a beautiful public art installation and a way for the community to disseminate information. However, that all seemed to become very controversial when the #LetThemStay hashtag appeared on that bus stop; that is when things went pearshaped for that shelter. What was extraordinary was the love and affection attached to that bus stop by the local community. We should never underestimate how incredibly important bus shelters are to their communities. I am sure, should this bill pass, that the community will be pleased to know that in fact the Public Transport Development Authority can now actually lawfully install and maintain bus stop infrastructure.

I do wonder, in relation to buses generally, about the $100 million bus package and how much of that will be applied in a meaningful way to bus shelters and how many bus shelters we will see installed, improved and maintained, because I have to say there are a lot of bus shelters in need of a bit of tender loving care. It would be nice to see that package applied in a meaningful way not only to existing bus shelters but to new bus routes, because we certainly need new bus routes across the metropolitan region. I will talk to that a little bit, because I think what is important in this is that not only does it give authority to Public Transport Victoria but it is actually important that they apply their newfound authority in relation to bus stops to new bus routes that would actually service communities not only across metropolitan Melbourne but also across the state.

I just want to draw the attention of the house to a particular region of metropolitan Melbourne that is crying out for some new bus shelters, whether that be on existing bus routes or new bus routes, and that is the interface councils region of the state. It is a group of councils that form the transition between the urban regions of Melbourne and the rural areas of Victoria. Some of them are our highest growth areas; others are some of the green wedge areas and some of the most attractive areas on the fringe of metropolitan Melbourne.

The interface councils in their budget submission last year talked about the need for funds to implement the highpriority bus route improvements that they had identified through the Public Transport Victoria interface engagement program. They highlighted that there is a pronounced underprovision of public transport services in interface areas. The provision of bus services falls largely below what is considered a minimum service level. Each interface council has identified areas of residential land, including established areas, that are not served by a bus route. I recall that in the suburb of Rowville, an estate that has actually existed for over 30 years, there is no access to bus services, let alone Rowville rail, of course, which was promised in 1969.

In relation to the interface councils, the facts are as follows: the interface council residents have access to 1.5 public transport routes per 10 000 population — half the rate for Melbourne metropolitan residents, who have access to 3 public transport routes per 10 000 population. One hundred thousand residential interface council households do not have a bus route within 400 metres; 150 000 residential interface council households are not serviced by a bus route that operates at minimum service levels. Over half the subdivisions completed in the past five years have no bus service. Based on the current service levels, by 2026, 63 per cent of residential interface council households will not have a bus route within 400 metres of their property.

This is really critical legislation that is before us because we want to ensure that with all that growth that is going on there is access not only to bus service routes but to the infrastructure that supports those routes, because the reality is we need to ensure that there are shelters there so people have the opportunity to have a positive experience in relation to public transport. The shelters are really important in relation to providing shelter from weather, a seat for weary legs and somewhere to wait for your bus as it comes by. I have to say at the moment the wait is too long on some routes.

The interface councils highlight that the AuditorGeneral’s report Developing Transport Infrastructure and Services for Population Growth Areas, which was tabled in the Victorian Parliament in 2013, reaffirmed the inadequacy of transport services in interface areas and called for urgent investment. The report states:

… the state has failed to deliver the transport infrastructure and services needed to support rapidly growing communities.

The interface councils strongly support the need for a wholeofgovernment approach to the coordination and delivery of bus services, and the Greens certainly support their call. As such, the interface councils have been working extensively with local bus operators and Public Transport Victoria to identify short and longterm priority bus route improvements and to improve bus service levels within each municipality. They have come up with a range of proposed improvements. They have an incredibly useful document called the PTV interface engagement program report. There are of course summaries available of that. I am not of course going to go to the extent of reading out every single improvement, but, members, it is worth a read to understand the significant needs in the interface areas.

What is important is some of those easily implemented adjustments that improve access to important services or facilities at very low or no cost through to significant new or upgraded services to meet the growing needs of newly developed estates, which in some instances would be partly funded through efficiency gains. Interface councils also acknowledge the $100 million budget allocation to bus services and ask that a portion of this fund is invested into their proposed improvements to significantly increase the level of access interface residents have to bus services to generate a substantial return on investment in the immediate future.

Given the car dependence of people in those regions it is an extraordinary priority. If we are to encourage people to get out of their cars and get onto buses, it is very important that we look to providing the services before people get so wedded to their cars they do not think of other options like public transport. The benefits will include reduced road congestion, improved public transport use and frequency and less reliance on additional cars as the primary mode of transport, which most people cannot afford. An investment in the identified bus route improvements will also strongly support and strengthen Victoria’s bus networks.

Back to buses generally, I want to highlight that essentially what we have on our roads at the moment are the noisy, loud, smelly diesel beasts that currently ply their trade energyinefficiently and create air pollution, including dangerous particulates. It is time that Victoria’s public buses went electric. Electric buses are quiet and clean, do not shudder with gear changes and avoid the noise and air pollution of the old diesel buses of the existing network. Electric buses would be a massive boon not only to local communities but to tourism across our poorly connected regions.

The good news story in all of this is that Victoria builds electric buses. There is a plant being established in Lara by the company Avass to build 9metre and 12metre electric buses. Being electric, these buses can be recharged using renewable energy purchased from gridconnected wind or solar farms and through dedicated recharging stations with solar panels. Imagine that — not only solarpowered bus stops but solarpowered buses. What an amazing way forward for public transport in Melbourne. We could lead on that happening right here in Victoria. Certainly, along with ensuring there is capability for the provision of bus stops, we should see bike racks on all buses, because if we are about really encouraging multimodal transport, we need to make sure that people can take their bikes with them. Not only that, we need to make sure that bicycle Parkiteers are installed at all bus interchanges across Melbourne.

When we look at a solarcharged electric bus network we see it would be a winwin for Victoria’s manufacturing industry, the health of the community and the growing tourism sector, and certainly a win for the environment. In terms of the bill, it looks not only to retrospectively apply the authority and powers in relation to the installation of bus stop infrastructure or the designation of bus stopping points but also to give authority for the removal, relocation or modification of bus stop infrastructure or the removal or relocation of bus stopping points. The bill seeks to amend the Road Management Act 2004 to enable the Public Transport Development Authority to exercise certain powers and perform certain functions and duties in relation to those bus stop infrastructure matters I just referred to, and it certainly validates the exercise of those powers and the performance of those functions and duties by the Public Transport Development Authority.

The Greens will be supporting this bill. We would call on the state government to expedite the proposal not only to just give authority but to revamp Victoria’s bus network and to support the desperate call of communities across Victoria for improved bus services and, with that, improved bus stops and stopping points as well.