Timetable Tuesday #47: Route 512 the Munro St survivor

Who am I?

I'm one of those back street bus routes that's been unchanged for years.

I operate in Mebourne's middle-northern suburbs south of Bell Street.

Like an old-style shop I operate five and a half days per week.

Occasionally I deviate via the locality of Coonans Hill.

Still not sure?

The answer is bus route 512. It runs roughly west - east from Strathmore to East Coburg via Coburg. It intersects trains on the Craigieburn and Upfield lines and trams on routes 58, 19 and 1. Its eastern and western termini are transport termini but not major destinations. Coburg in the middle of the route is the main destination. The route straddles the marginal Green-held seat of Brunswick (Tim Read MP) and the safer Labor seat of Pascoe Vale (Lizzie Blandthorn MP). 

Even if you're a Coburg local you might not know about the 512.

After all nearby Bell Street has other bus routes that go further and operate more frequently (network map below).

Hence Route 512's usage is not high. On weekdays it gets 15 boardings per bus operating hour, which is below what Infrastructure Victoria considers a viable service. Saturday usage is a bit higher at 17 boardings per bus operating hour. This may be because these are traditional suburbs where Saturday morning shopping is still a big thing. And, due to narrow Saturday operating hours, there's only a few return trips to choose from.

Bike rack trial

A few years ago Route 512 was one of two metropolitan bus routes to have bicycle racks fitted as part of a twelve month trial. It didn't get a lot of use. Ardent cyclists could ride faster than waiting for the bus and the limited operating hours would have made the 512 one of those 'don't bother' routes. Here's the backstory.

Timetable

Route 512 has the traditional pre-2006 Melbourne private operator bus service pattern. That is a daytime-only Monday to Saturday service. On weekdays the service runs from 7am to 7pm approximately. Saturday service is from approximately 8am to noon, with the early finish reflecting either pre-1987 shop trading hours or the deep 1990-91 service cuts. Many routes had their Saturday afternoon service deleted then (sometimes not long after being introduced). Local bus service hours were reinstated or extended in the 2000s but 512 is one of the 50 or more residential routes that missed out. 

What about service frequency? A 20 minute peak service runs. During off-peak it's an irregular 20 or 25 minutes.   Saturday service is also irregular at every 40 to 50 minutes.

The reason for this variation isn't obvious at first glance. However if you inspect the timetable more closely you will see that some trips take 25 minutes while others only take 20 minutes.

Route 512 service appears to require two buses to run. While not indicated on the PTV timetable above, the 25 minute trips are those that run via the Coonans Hill deviation while the 20 minute trips go the regular route. This deviation runs off-peak only approximately every 2 hours. 

The consequence of the deviation is extended run times. The result is an irregular off-peak timetable whose times form neither a clockface 'memory timetable' nor a service that reliably meshes with trains (every 20 minutes).  Two stops are missed on deviating trips, resulting in some 45 minute gaps on Reynard St.

Route 512 serves some areas away from trains and could be a feeder service. In practice it doesn't work very well due to the unharmonised frequency. Instead of chancing waits of up to 19 minutes at stations (basic train frequencies being every 20 minutes on both lines the 512 serves), people are better off catching trams instead (even if they are slower). This may be one reason for its mediocre patronage performance. 

Has the 512 always been like this? No. The basic route today is similar to that of 1991 (See old timetable on Krustylink). However there was no Coonans Hill deviation. Not having this deviation meant that buses were an even 20 minutes at all times the service ran (including Saturdays!), allowing for memory timetables and potential reliable connections with trains. Going back to the 1970s it did serve Coonans Hill but not Strathmore Station, which instead had the 511. The area was densely served with bus routes from the 1920s and 30s with the number thinning out from the 1970s as more people got cars and patronage declined. 

Conclusion

The 512 is one of those underperforming established suburb bus routes that has been allowed to drift along with minimal change for decades. What changes have occurred have made it worse rather than better (eg the uneven weekday headways and the halving of Saturday service). 

What would you do with the 512?

Removing the Coonans Hill deviation would speed trips for through passengers and allow a restoration of 1991's 20 minute service frequency, harmonising with trains. 

On the other hand, given the route's low productivity and proximity to other services, would it be better to save a bus by dropping frequency to 40 minutes and  using the saving to boost services on either side such as Route 510 to the south and buses to the north on Bell St? Or even a Saturday afternoon and Sunday service.

Is the route alignment right? Would extending it east or west improve its usefulness? This is probably best done in conjunction with wider network reform rather than in isolation.  

Please leave your comments below if you have any thoughts. 

See other Timetable Tuesday items here