Timetable Tuesday #64: 680 Lilydale to Mooroolbark

One of the simplest bus routes in the public transport maze that is Melbourne’s outer east is Route 680. It runs between the last two stations on the Lilydale line, serving residential areas east of it. The stations are a fair distance apart so few homes in the area are within walking distance of the train. A route map is below.

The area map shows the 680 in relation to other routes and stations. Its unique coverage is the residential area around Lakeview Dr. The western portion near Mooroolbark overlaps the catchment of Telebus Area 3. And around Lilydale there are overlaps with Route 663 and the almost entirely duplicative 673 (described previously). The 680 operates in the seat of Evelyn, held by Bridget Vallence MP. 

History

Route 680, like almost all bus routes in the Outer East has seen minimal change in the last decade or two. Before that services chopped and changed quite a bit with the route number at one time being used for a Ringwood to Lilydale service. Although a fair distance from Melbourne the outer east is not considered a growth area to the extent that areas a similar distance to the west, north and south-east are.

Patronage

Route 680 is slightly quieter than average, attracting 18 passenger boardings per hour on a regular weekday.  This below average performance can be attributable to low population density (the outer east typically has blocks twice the size of new growth areas), demographics (parts of the outer east have an older population skew that makes fewer trips), and factors such as car ownership (higher in the outer east than some other areas).  Aspects of the service and network, such as operating hours and overlaps with other routes, may depress patronage.

On the other hand the presence of a TAFE near one end of the route and the existence of reasonably strong termini at both ends (in this case train stations and local shops) make it more productive than other local routes such as the 663 (15 boardings/bus hr) and 673 (1 boarding / bus hr). Student patronage Is also important for the 680 with non-school day patronage dropping by a third to 12 boardings per hour.  This high dependence on students is typical of a limited-hours bus route operating in a fringe area with high car ownership.  In contrast bus routes with long operating hours and higher frequencies attract a more diverse passenger base and hardly drop in usage during school holidays.

Timetable

Route 680 operates only on weekdays. As it common around Lilydale and Mooroolbark it missed out on the minimum standards upgrades implemented about ten years ago in most Melbourne suburbs. Consequently it has no weekend service. Weekday service runs from 6am with a 7 or 8pm finish. This means that it only barely covers the evening peak period especially for those coming from Melbourne CBD or beyond. Services are roughly every 30 minutes during peaks and  hourly interpeak. The timetables are below (click for a better view).  

Conclusion

What would you do with the 680? Does it deserve a service upgrade? Does it need to have other services overlapping parts of it? Or are there routing changes that would improve its catchment population? Please leave your thoughts below if you have any ideas.


PS: An index to all Timetable Tuesday items is here.

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