UN 243: Simpler buses for Airport West and Melbourne Airport

Executive Summary: Potential exists to make better use of our existing buses to better connect Melbourne Airport to surrounding suburbs. A cost-effective example with improved airport connectivity for Sunbury, Airport West, Essendon and Moonee Ponds is presented here. 

Last week I covered improved access to Melbourne Airport, with an emphasis on what can be done in the short term. This is important as airport rail is years away and even if we had it tomorrow it wouldn't much improve connectivity from suburbs north and east of the airport. Or for airport workers who need regular fare transit options. 

Surrounding Melbourne Airport are residential and light industrial suburbs, largely built between between the 1960s and 1990s. They were then outer suburbs but would today be regarded as middle-distance. 

They are far enough from rail to make most of their populations dependent on buses as their nearest public transport but they are not so new as to get growth area funding. Thus their bus networks can sit unreformed for years, if not decades as priorities are always elsewhere and their turn never comes (at least without community campaigning - think 527 bus in Coburg North or 536 in Glenroy). 

Northern suburbs of this type include Dallas, Campbellfield, Coburg North, Glenroy, Keilor East and, today's topic, Airport West and Niddrie. Significantly both are sufficiently close to Melbourne Airport to deliver connectivity gains for it and as far north as Sunbury if local bus networks were improved. 

Airport West bus network concept

This doesn't claim to fix everything. But it seeks to simplify existing bus routes to deliver: 

* Simpler connection from the 59 tram to Melbourne Airport with longer hours, higher frequency and just one route number to remember from Airport West with a new Route 480 to replace existing 478 and 479

* Ten times the weekend service from Sunbury to Melbourne Airport with many more trips on the 480 compared to the current twice-daily 479. Longer operating hours too to benefit airport workers    

* One seat ride to Melbourne Airport from Essendon and Moonee Ponds with new 480 to replace part of 469

* Seven day Moonee Ponds to Sunbury service over longer hours with new 480 replacing existing 483

* Simplified Route 469 with a potential Highpoint extension to deliver seven day service to all bus stops in Avondale Heights by merging with existing limited service 407

Simplifying bus routes can be a swings and roundabouts affair with some worse off and some better off. Though the above is likely better off overall for most. 

Least controversial is likely the splitting of the 469 at Airport West. No one would ride it end to end as it is so indirect. The above concept leaves the Keilor East/Airport West half as the 469 (terminating at Westfield) while the Strathmore/Moonee Ponds portion becomes part of the new 480 (effectively an extended/merged Route 478/479).

The remaining Airport West - Milleara part of the 469 could be merged with another route to improve scheduling efficiency and/or connect to a stronger terminus. The obvious route to join it to is the 407 - a local Avondale Heights route to Highpoint that currently runs limited hours Monday to Saturday only. An extended 469 could operate between Airport West and Highpoint, creating a 7 day neighbourhood style route with stronger termini. 

The new 480 (which would be more frequent and run longer hours than the current 478/479) would provide one-seat access from Moonee Ponds and Essendon Station to Melbourne Airport, restoring a connection that was (infrequently) possible before 2014. As well access between Sunbury and Melbourne Airport would be much improved, especially on weekends. 

Then there's the Moonee Ponds/Essendon to Sunbury connection. This is currently possible on the 483 Monday to Saturday. It doesn't get very strong usage, at least outside school times. The new 480 would perform this role, but at a higher frequency and seven days per week. While the 480 does not operate through Niddrie, the 476, which will soon get a large improvement from every 40 to every 20 minutes on weekdays, does. And further north in Sunbury the 483's unique catchment reduced when the 475, which already runs every 20 minutes on weekdays, commenced.  

This leaves the area with two simplified routes to replace the 407, 478, 479 and potentially 483. 

* 469 Airport West - Milleara SC - Highpoint (after merger with 407)

* 480 Sunbury - Airport West - Moonee Ponds 

The 469 might take about 55 min end to end with the existing 40 min frequency retained. The 480 might take about 70 min for its full length. This makes a 40 minute frequency economical. Short workings between Melbourne Airport and Airport West would be desirable to provide a 20 min combined frequency on this portion. 

A number of service options are possible but it should be possible to do some reform with the existing  number of buses. Not all buses in the area are run by the same operator but there is precedent of multiple companies successfully operating key cross-regional routes such as occurs on the 900 between Caulfield and Rowville. 

Need for a simpler network

The Airport West/Niddrie area has Melbourne's usual fare of meandering bus routes running every 20 to 40 minutes until approximately 9pm. The most recent significant change was several years ago where the meandering 501 was replaced by the almost as perplexing route 469. This was also associated with the deletion of the also complex 475 and its replacement with a rerouted less direct 476.

The only semi-frequent route is the 477 which runs every 20 min on weekdays (though only every 40 min on weekends). This will be joined by the 476 which will be improved to a similar frequency following 2026 state budget funding. 

Key issues with the Airport West and Niddrie bus network include: 

* Limited operating hours (and in some cases no Sunday service) on routes 478, 479 and 483. 
* Limited connectivity north to Melbourne Airport and east-west eg Niddrie - Pascoe Vale
* Complex routes such as the indirect 469
* Weak termini affecting the 469 and in adjoining suburbs routes 406, 407, 465 and 467 also. 
* Inefficient overlaps and low productivity on some routes such as 469 and 483

Sunbury (which shares some routes with this network) is handicapped by: 

* Hourly Route 479 weekday frequency to Melbourne Airport does not mesh with local buses every 40 min and runs just two trips on weekends 
* Route 483 to Moonee Ponds runs hourly, has limited hours, lacks Sunday service but is also weak on unique coverage and productivity 

Many issues are visible on the local area maps for Moonee Valley and Hume. The network concept outlined before seeks to address most of these issues while being economical with bus usage. 

Scope for more

The above cut-price network does not address all concerns with the Airport West/Niddrie bus network. Moonee Ponds Creek, the Citylink freeway and bus operator history limit east-west connectivity. Routes such as 561 and 512 have weak western termini. Extending a route like 512 westward to Essendon North or Niddrie could provide some connectivity not well catered for by existing routes. 

Previously identified issues with the weak termini for routes like 406 and 465 remain in Keilor East. A local train station will provide a logical termination point but in the interim a case exists to extend these to stronger termini such as on the Sunbury line or even Melbourne Airport. 

Airport connectivity could also be improved if a Route 500 airport rail Sunshine - Keilor East - Melbourne Airport precursor bus route commences, with potential for this to extend to Broadmeadows and Doncaster to create a Suburban Rail Loop North precursor bus.  

Also, regardless of when Airport Rail starts, a North West Melbourne Bus Rapid Transit via Keilor East could connect many currently disconnected parts of Melbourne's north-west with each other and to western growth areas. 

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TT 237: 40 minute gaps gone from 5 lines - A look through Melbourne's August 2026 train timetables

 

Executive Summary: A worthwhile package of improvements that makes rail travel more useful for more trips. But despite political messaging about the dependence these have on large infrastructure projects, many could have been done years ago. 

The Melbourne suburban rail network will be almost free of 40 minute gaps between trains when a new timetable starts in less than two weeks. The timetable will slash maximum waits on five lines and upgrade peak capacity and service on others. Some V/Line corridors, including Seymour/Shepparton, Wyndham Vale/Geelong as well as South Gippsland coaches will also benefit. An unlikely line emerges as the biggest winner from the new timetable - keep reading to find out what it is! 

Metro service upgrades

Summarised in this animation below. 

You can click to stop it to read the fine print but there's a better summary here:  

Transport Victoria explains these changes here. These add 390 trips per week on the Metro network. This is an average of 56 more trips per day. Or a rise of 2.2% on Metro Trains' current 18000 trips per week master timetable.   

What does all this mean?

* The busy Craigieburn line gets 115 services per week added, with Sunday morning, evening and shoulder peak boosts, implementing 2025 State Budget funded upgrades. Before the increase it had gaps between trains of 40 min on Sunday morning and 30 minutes at night. However midday frequency remains at 20 minutes, well short of the 10 minute service proposed in the Metro Tunnel Business case. 

* The Upfield line gets similar evening and Sunday morning improvements to the Craigieburn line, amounting to 77 extra trips per week. Its peaks remain at every 16 minutes. The 2026 state budget funded a study of the line's duplication and extension to permit improved frequency. 

* Sandringham line is the biggest winner in this timetable change with three main improvements. These include cutting its 40 minute Sunday morning gaps to 20 minutes, improving weekday interpeak frequency from 15 to 10 minutes and through running it to Southern Cross, North Melbourne, Footscray, Newport and beyond. Through running will hopefully also mean nicer platforms at Flinders St with shorter walking distances. 

The government's release groups Werribee, Laverton, Williamstown and Sandringham as getting more than 180 extra services per week. Accidentally or otherwise, this grouping obscures the fact that the vast majority of the extra trips will be at the Sandringham (eastern) end, not the western (Werribee) end. 

* The Werribee line will gain some extra peak frequency plus resumed direct access to Richmond, South Yarra and beyond. Like Sandringham, this was funded in the 2025 State Budget. But unlike Sandringham these upgrades do not extend to a 10 minute off-peak weekday frequency. Like with the Metro Tunnel's West Footscray turnback, eastern sections of through lines tend to get the higher off-peak frequencies. 

The May 2025 announcement was 2 extra trains per hour in the morning and afternoon peaks, increasing service from every 10 to every 7.5 minutes on average. This is delivered for one hour in the mornings and one hour in the afternoons. A welcome early morning trip (which qualifies for free Early Bird travel) is added at 6:22am. However the new timetable does not fill the 24 minute gap after 7:46pm (caused by the weeknight transition from express to via Altona running). 

A summary of peak direction trips (times at Werribee) is below. The new timetable adds three morning trips and two afternoon trips, or 25 extra trips per week. 

Let's now talk about the cross city part of Sandringham - Werribee. 

Connecting Sandringham to the Werribee end partly restores the cross-city group that was served by the Frankston line prior to it returning to the City Loop when the Metro Tunnel started. The reason why I say partly is that whereas this group ran every 10 minutes every day when it ran from Frankston, weekend cross-city service from Sandringham will be only every 20 minutes. This low weekend frequency reduces direct access to the MCG from the west and makes the Metro Tunnel a net negative for South Yarra due to a reduced service.

Cross-city running is a good concept that works in other cities (and Melbourne prior to the City Loop). It was brought back about 15 years ago to optimise track use.  But we never quite perfected it with transposals, disruptions, shutdowns and conflicting passenger information common. Restoring reliable cross-city running is not just a timetable change but a cultural and operational one for DTP and Metro Trains. Ultimately it could become a second Metro line in the form of the Werribee Fast Rail concept I discussed here. 

* The Mernda line and most of the Hurstbridge line have their maximum waits reduced from 40 to 30 minutes due to Sunday mornings improving from every 40 to every 20 minutes. Along with the other lines' improvements these almost entirely remove the network's remaining 40 minute Sunday morning frequencies, at least after about 7:30 or 8am. The 30 minute maximum wait arises from evening timetables which remain half-hourly. Both weekend evening and Sunday morning uplifts for Mernda and Hurstbridge were funded in the 2026 state budget but they found a way to bring forward the latter (possibly as a pre-election sweetener). This needed just 8 extra weekly trips per line, indicating how cheap it is to remove irritants like infrequent Sunday morning service from timetables.  

Speaking of pre-election sweeteners, Ringwood (but not Belgrave or Lilydale) get one extra trip on Friday nights and another on Saturday, amounting to just two trips per week to busy stations that have not seen any service uplift for a decade.

This is embarrassing for a government that has done many disruptive level crossing removals in the area but not returned any favours in increased service. Unless they can cobble up a hasty timetable change in November, the 2026 Budget funding for additional weeknight services may have come through too late to help their electoral fortunes in the eastern suburbs.  

Source: Government media release & Transport Victoria timetables

It is worth noting that most of the above service increases could have been done at any time in the last few decades. That is they were not dependent on infrastructure, new trains or level crossing removals. Their timing was more likely a political choice, possibly to improve messaging about the benefits of major projects.  

Progress on keeping promises

Previous premier Jacinta Allan promised "A new timetable everywhere" for February 1 when in fact only the Metro Tunnel lines and Frankston got anything significant on that date. 

The 23 August 2026 timetable fully delivers on five lines and partly delivers on two more. 

The two part delivered lines and all four not delivered lines are likely to have new timetables, funded in the 2026 budget, in 2027. However even after that these six lines will remain with 30 minute maximum gaps at certain times (weeknights for the Clifton Hill group and interpeak weekdays/weekends for the Burnley group) as this year's budget did not include these. The same goes for Craigieburn and Upfield ten minute interpeak services. 

 

A silver linking has been better than expected progress on removing 40 minute gaps. Back in February it appeared that Sandringham would get 10 minute weekday interpeak frequencies but remain at every 40 minutes on Sunday mornings. Fortunately sense has prevailed and the timetable includes a boost to every 20 minutes. The same can be said for Mernda and Hurstbridge (to Eltham) that get Sunday morning frequency doubled only three months after the budget that funded them. 

Bus service changes

Some metropolitan bus routes get new timetables on 23 August. 

Route 561, a major route across the north serving La Trobe University, will get a major weeknight improvement to run every 20 minutes until late. 

Another major east-west route, the 390 from Craigieburn to Mernda, gets a Saturday evening lift from every 30 to every 20 minutes. This creates a case where service late on a Saturday evening (every 20 min) is twice as frequent as midday Saturdays where services remain every 40 minutes. Presumably this is to connect with evening trains at Craigieburn which get improved to every 20 min. 

Interestingly Craigieburn routes like 529 and 533 appear not to get similar upgrades with these remaining at every 30 min at night.  

513 and 514 get what appear to be minor tweaks, though these do not address other problems with their timetables. 

A significant number of regional city buses and coaches will get time changes to retain connections. 

V/Line service upgrades

The V/Line website explains their 23 August changes well. 

* Shepparton and Seymour are the big winners with some overdue upgrades. Shepparton improves to every 9 weekday services and 5 weekend services per day with trains replacing some coach trips. That's 48 extra trips per week on a historically underserved line.  

Seymour, which is increasingly a growth area line due to stations at locations like Donnybrook, gets an even hourly service on weekends with late finishes. Weekend trains will also stop at Craigieburn. However weeknight service gets less attention with large gaps remaining. 

* The Geelong line has 40 services per week extended to Waurn Ponds. This is a step forward. However it does not fully resolve the weekday / weekend differences at Waurn Ponds. That is Waurn Ponds enjoys a 20 minute weekend service but its weekday frequency remains at 40 minutes. 

In addition ten peak services will run to Wyndham Vale each week. The use of nine car (up from six car) should hopefully relieve crowding. These changes will come ahead of the opening of West Tarneit Station on Sunday 13 September. 

Some other V/Line times will change. Some peak Traralgon line trips will start/finish at Flinders St Station instead of Southern Cross. On the coach side there will be some additional South Gippsland services. 

Watch the video

Conclusion

These frequency upgrades are exactly the type that will make the Melbourne rail network more useful for diverse trips across the week, not just 9-5 weekday CBD commutes. They deliver 20 minute maximum waits for Craigieburn and Upfield while almost eliminating 40 minute Sunday morning gaps across the network. In addition Sandringham will join lines to Watergardens, Dandenong, Frankston, Newport and Clifton Hill in enjoying 10 minute off-peak weekday service.

To complete the job more upgrades like them are needed, not just those funded in the 2026 State Budget but also further improvements to cut maximum waits across the network to 20 minutes followed by a progressive roll-out of more ten minute service. 

See other Timetable Tuesday items here

UN 242: No passengers but more buses - How Western Sydney is trouncing Melbourne on airport PT

Executive Summary: Despite not yet serving passengers, the second airport in Australia's second biggest city has better public transport access than the main airport in Australia's biggest city. Described is a way to cost-effectively deliver the overdue better bus service Melbourne Airport workers and visitors deserve. 

Regardless of new premier Ben Carroll's enthusiasm for Airport Rail, its completion will be a long way off.

In the foreseeable future if we want better transport from surrounding suburbs (such as where many airport precinct workers live) buses must be much of the answer. I've written before about opportunities for better bus access to Melbourne Airport, including here, here, here, here and here. And credit/debit card tap and go, introduced last month, removes another barrier to using regular bus services.

How do does Melbourne Airport compare with other airports for public transport? 

There are various airports we could talk about but let's be easy on ourselves by setting the bar low.

It would almost be a given that a busy long-established airport would have better transport than a new one that hasn't started carrying passengers yet. Or is it? Keep reading!   

Western Sydney International Airport public transport

A new bus network for Western Sydney International Airport commenced on July 5, 2026 with more details here. This was ahead of its opening for cargo on July 27. Passenger service is planned to start on October 25. 

This network comprises five bus routes to four major termini surrounding Western Sydney International Airport (WSI). These termini are Mt Druitt (772), Kingswood (790), Liverpool (825), Campbelltown (845) and Liverpool via Leppington (860). 

All five routes run 6am to 10pm seven days per week with service every 30 minutes. This harmonises with trains (typically every 15 minutes from early morning to late at night). 

Melbourne Airport buses 

Four regular fare metropolitan bus routes operate to Melbourne Airport. These run to three destinations - Sunbury, Airport West and Frankston (let's call it Broadmeadows, though you might also wish to count Roxburgh Park and Epping). 

Unlike the Western Sydney examples, their hours and frequencies vary hugely. The Route 901 orbital offers the best service, with a 15 minute weekday daytime frequency and some Monday to Saturday trips after 10pm. 901's weekend service is similar to any of the Western Sydney routes with buses every 30 minutes. However the trains it intersects are typically every 20 minutes (and sometimes 30 or 40 minutes), making connections less consistent. Sydney upgraded its trains to a 15 minute maximum wait at most stations in 2017. 

The next best served corridor is the 478/479 pair to Airport West from where passengers can catch the 59 tram to Niddrie, Essendon and the city. The combined service here is 30 min weekdays and hourly weekends though operating hours are short. The 479 is an extended 478, operating to Sunbury every hour on weekdays, falling to just two trips on weekend days. Finally, the 482 can be disregarded as it's an occasional peak-only industrial route to Airport West. 

One recent improvement that has made travel from Melbourne Airport easier is the acceptance of credit and debit cards on public transport across the state. I highlighted the benefits for airport travellers last month. However Transport Victoria didn't get the memo with their airport travel page still claiming a Myki is required for travel on regular bus routes. 

Comparison

The graph below tells the story. 

The long-established Melbourne Airport (which passes 96000 passengers per day) has a far inferior bus network than an upstart Western Sydney airport that currently has no passengers. Not that passengers is the only metric when considering airport travel demand; workers due to their every day travel are also important (even if only a minority take the bus). This is something that Sydney understands but Melbourne does not despite customer parking charges being a major source of revenue for the latter. 

MEL's inferiority is due to both (a) a smaller number of routes and (b) a lower frequency on routes that do run, especially nights and weekends. The collapse in both is shown below.  

Whereas WSI's five routes provide a consistent half-hourly service all week from 6am to 10pm, the service offer to Melbourne Airport varies greatly. For example the 482 is an occasional peak only industrial route, the 478 runs hourly seven days while 479 to Sunbury is hourly on weekdays with a token two trips on weekends. 

MEL's strength is the 901 orbital's fifteen minute weekday frequency versus 30 minutes for all of WSI's routes. 901 also finishes a little later most nights of the week. But otherwise everything is in Western Sydney International's favour, whether it is geographic reach, stations connected, operating hours, frequency and service levels at surrounding train stations.

Melbourne Airport especially lacks direct public bus connections to western and northern suburbs such as Sunshine, Keilor, Caroline Springs, Greenvale and Craigieburn. And access to others where there is on-paper a bus, such as Airport West and Sunbury, is limited due to short hours and infrequent service. 

Six fixes for Melbourne Airport PT

The main airport for Australia's biggest city should have better regular bus services than the secondary airport for Australia's second largest city. That means longer hours. more frequency and more destinations. 

Here's six ways to achieve this: 

1. Establish a new regular fare bus route from Sunshine to Melbourne Airport similar to the Route 500 concept here. Noting that a premium fare express Skybus already exists this route would have intermediate stops at key employment locations with potential operation via East Keilor. A Sunshine - Melbourne Airport bus route features in Brimbank Council's 2025-27 Advocacy Plan. 

2. Swap Routes 901 and 902 at Broadmeadows so that 902 operates to Melbourne Airport and 901 to Airport West. Supported by the Northern Councils Alliance, this provides more direct access to middle-northern suburbs and train lines and be effectively a Suburban Rail Loop North precursor route. Desirable enhancements for both reformed routes (but especially 902) include adding Sunday evening service, boosting weekend service to every 20 min or better and potentially extending it to Sunshine to incorporate the above 500. 

3. Upgrade and simplify bus route 478/479. Operate all trips (including short-workings from Airport West to Melbourne Airport) as Route 479 so people have only one route number to remember and frequency is better communicated. Have a uniform weekday and weekend frequency for both Airport West and Sunbury. Increase operating hours and frequency and improve passenger information to boost currently low awareness of this service. A Route 479 upgrade is supported by the Northern Councils Alliance due to the high number of airport precinct workers who live in Sunbury. 

4. A new local bus route from Melbourne Airport to the Caroline Springs area via Keilor Plains Station. This would have both airport and non airport connectivity benefits including connecting Keilor to its nearest train station. This could potentially extend further west as part of a North West BRT.

5. Wider northern suburbs rail and bus service improvements including:
(a) Craigieburn line upgrade to every 10 minutes off-peak,
(b) Extension of evening and weekend morning trains that terminate at West Footscray to Watergardens to provide a consistent 10 minute all week day and night frequency, 
(c) upgrade Tram 59 evening and early Sunday morning frequency, 
(d) bus network reform in the Keilor East area to provide longer hours, higher frequencies and stronger termini for routes such as  406, 407, 465 and 469,
(e) 7 day upgrade and extension to Coburg for the 531 bus to improve connections at Campbellfield pending the construction of a rail station, with local advocacy here,
(f) simplification of Reservoir area bus routes 552 and 558 to enable easier access to the 902, and
(g) potential new bus route from Melbourne Airport via Mickleham Rd to Craigieburn. 

6. Wider northern suburbs rail infrastructure improvements including:
(a) Revamp of Broadmeadows Station to improve its amenity as an interchange, including for international/interstate visitors, as recently spoken about by Kathleen Matthews-Ward MP
(b)  and a new station at Campbellfield to interchange with Route 902, and 
(c) Upfield line duplication to enable a 10 minute all week frequency.
 
All six points have connectivity benefits wider than Melbourne Airport and would amount to a transformation of public transport in the north/north-west suburbs. 

Conclusion

Currently the secondary airport in Australia's second biggest city has better public transport access than the main airport in Australia's biggest city. Western Sydney also adds service before the airport becomes fully established to lock in travel habits early while Melbourne doesn't add service until decades later (if at all). 

The people who disproportionately bear the cost of this poor service are not airport travellers (who overwhelmingly only use the airport a few times a year and have a premium fare Skybus alternative) but airport workers, many of whom are not on particularly high incomes and live in surrounding suburbs.

Thus improved buses from Melbourne Airport is a bread-and-butter cost of living matter widening job opportunities and delivering real benefits to peoples' pockets. As distinct from Airport Rail whose direct network benefits, with the notable exception of a new station at Keilor East, are more symbolic and  harder to quantify.   

Cost-effective ways to provide better public transport to Melbourne Airport ahead of Airport Rail are outlined above. This would have benefits for visitors and (especially) airport precinct workers alike. They should be implemented as soon as possible given their relatively low cost, widespread benefits and ease of implementation. 

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