Calls for better bus service go on

– Ed Merrison
FARE decreases for some outer suburb transport services will do little to improve the lot of local commuters, a transport advocacy group has said.
Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) spokesman Alex Makin said the major barrier to greater public transport usage was not price but rather the poor quality of services.
“The major issue for residents in zone 3 is that they have the highest fares and the lowest quality of services,” he said.
His remarks came in response to an announcement by Transport Minister Peter Batchelor on Friday, 9 December that outer suburbs would benefit from a 3.3 per cent fall in the price of several public transport fares in 2006.
Most fares will rise by 3.1 per cent on Sunday, 1 January, but decreases will apply to adult zone 1 + 2 + 3 weekly tickets, zone 1 + 2 + 3 10 x two-hour tickets, and zone 1 + 2 + 3 5 x daily tickets.
Sunday Saver fares will remain at their current price of $2.50.
“We are keeping the costs of these tickets down to encourage more people to make the switch to public transport, especially for commuter trips to the city,” Mr Batchelor said.
But Mr Makin said the quality of train and bus services was a very poor incentive for using public transport in zone 3.
“The Government needs to particularly improve bus services and rail services beyond Ringwood,” he said.
Mr Makin said the frequency and operational span of bus services were the biggest problems faced by public transport users.
“The further you travel out of Melbourne, the greater the distance between rail lines.
“The bus is the only public transport option to get to the train network and the bus network is the forgotten coven of the Melbourne transport network,” he said.
Mr Makin said no matter what happened to fares, it could not be claimed that the outer suburbs were getting a better deal until services improved.
“The Government has talked endlessly about improving services, and the results haven’t materialised, particularly in the Belgrave and Ferntree Gully area.
“We’re getting all the right language, we’re just not getting the action,” he said.