UN 121: Four routes to two - Healesville's bus revamp

 

Yarra Valley is (at last) getting a new bus network. Funded in the 2021 state budget, services will commence late this year. 

Reform has long been needed as little good can be said about what's there now. For example 684 was complicated with odd holiday patterns, 685 (the main route) was even more complex with many deviations and alternative termini, 686 had limited days and hours while 687 got used by basically no-one. 

Of these issues the most important ones are to do with the 685. This carries perhaps 90% of the area's bus passengers. Leaving aside the very occasional 684 it is Healesville's only public transport connection to the outside world. It is also the only way to Healesville Sanctuary on weekends. Any reform would thus have to have the 685 at its centrepiece, with route simplification and the elimination of multi-hour gaps between buses at certain time of the day. 

The proposed network

Details of the Department of Transport's proposed network appeared on the PTV website earlier in the week. Extra details including current and proposed network maps and a passenger survey, are here. 

In a nutshell the new network reduces four routes (684, 685, 686 & 687) to two (684 and 685 only). It does this by merging 685 and 686 and deleting the very poorly used 687. 

The surviving 684 and 685 will also be simplified and shortened in their western portions. For example Route 684 (which is like a quasi V/Line service but with a metropolitan route number and myki ticketing) will no longer commence at Southern Cross Station and travel via Ringwood. Instead it will start at Chirnside Park Shopping Centre and operate via Lilydale station. Those needing Ringwood or the CBD will need to change to the train at Lilydale with the 670 at Chirnside Park another option for Ringwood. 

685, which sometimes goes to Chirnside Park, will always start at Lilydale. However it will consistently extend to the Healesville Sanctuary and Badger Creek rather than just on weekends in a single directional loop. This will replace most stops on the deleted 686. The benefit here is a one-seat ride all week for most 686 passengers. 

All 685 trips will go the same way with Maroondah Hwy (which 685 sometimes currently takes) being served only by the 684 (which will also serve Coldstream). The main exception is an interpeak out and back deviation via Healesville Hospital (which currently has the to be deleted 686). 

 

What happens to service levels?

This appears to be a very low cost upgrade. With slower population growth than the north and west, relatively less social disadvantage than elsewhere and some poorly used bus routes this is not unexpected if you were using a rough 'needs and patronage' framework to assess priorities across Melbourne. Especially as under the current state government it has been very difficult to obtain funding for transport services as opposed to 'big build' infrastructure where money falls like confetti. 

You can get an indication on high tight things are by the lack of specific promises with regards to frequency and operating hours on the new network. 

The general intent is to shift resources from the 687 and what is seen as duplicative portions of the 684 and 685 to boost service levels on the 685, the main route between Lilydale and Healesville, and the portion of the 686 that the more consistently extended 685 takes over.  

There is also an un-numbered Eildon - Alexandra Wednesday and Friday shopper bus paralleling part of the 684. These aren't mentioned in the PTV website item and it is unknown whether this route is part of the reforms. 

So what's going to happen to service levels on the two surviving routes? 

684

The 684 is an odd beast with nothing else like it on the network. It has a metropolitan route number but has a timetable like a V/Line coach including trips starting from Southern Cross station and ending at very rural Eildon. Yet it accepts myki ticketing, unlike V/Line coaches. 

The timetable is another legacy with extra trips on public holidays, an assumption about Sunday day trips from Melbourne and even a later Friday departure so Melbourne people can visit on the weekend after they finish work. However the 684 has so few trips that you generally can't make a same day return trip in both directions.

On weekdays an early morning trip starts at Eildon while a later trip starts at Alexandra. The first could suit commuters while the second would be more shopper oriented.

The afternoon also has two trips but it's complex. You can return to the area by leaving the city in the middle of the day but you need to get a train to Ringwood as that's where the first outbound 684 trip starts. This goes to Alexandra only. Then there's one other afternoon trip. This varies with the days of the week. Monday to Thursday is after 3pm while the Friday trip is after 6pm. Arguably the latter enables people to finish work and be up at Eildon for the weekend.   

Otherwise the weekday arrangement allows Eildon people to spend a long day in the city while Alexandra people have some extra flexibility for a later arrival and earlier departure. It is not possible for Melburnians to use the 684 to spend a weekday in the area without an overnight stay. 

Saturday is just one trip each way. This allows Eildon and Alexandra people to spend a day in Melbourne (but not the reverse). Sundays is the reverse, permitting Melbourne people to make a day trip to Alexandra / Eildon (but not the reverse). Unusually, special timetables operate on public holidays with extra trips compared to weekends. 

PTV summarises the 684 changes in the table below. The concept of service span is meaningless for a route containing so few trips yet they promise it will remain the same. All up there will be two round trips on weekdays and one on weekends. It is not stated whether both weekday trips will go to Eildon or not (currently they don't). Presumably there will be uniform departure times on weekdays rather than having the later Friday trip. 

The key change involves making Sunday like Saturday to favour locals  making day trips to Melbourne rather than Melburnians travelling to Eildon. If it is standardised as per  most other public holiday timetables in Melbourne then the number of public holiday trips will fall to what applies on weekends. 

685

685 (at least the part between Lilydale and Healesville / Healesville Sanctuary) is the big winner in this reform. We know that it's currently a horridly complex route but what about the timetable? Where are the main service gaps? 

Firstly it doesn't meet even hourly minimum standards. Weekday peak service is roughly every 40 minutes while interpeak has varying intervals ranging up to about 90 minutes. Only a handful of weekday services start at Chirnside Park and even fewer go the full route. But one that does operates on Friday evening only for late night shopping. Apart from that the early finish means that you can't leave the CBD much after 7pm to get the last bus from Lilydale. 

Saturday has gaps of up to 100 minutes between buses. It is not possible to go arrive at Healesville from Lilydale before 9am (unless one gets the 965 Night Bus in the small hours). Evening span is as good as Fridays (with a 9:15pm Chirnside Park departure) but the previous bus is over 140 minutes earlier. Sunday service is even more limited with 2 - 3 hour gaps between buses all day and more limited span.  

Given the above limited schedules, even an hourly service until 9pm would be a large upgrade on what runs currently. The question is whether we are getting anything significantly like this. 

The notes below say 'more services more regularly'. Later it says 'better frequency and span'. 

Elsewhere it is mentioned that the public holiday timetable isn't clear. Infrequent Sunday services is cited as is the span (described as 'very limited' and unsuitable for a route of 685's size). It is later mentioned that 685 will gain extra trips on all days of the week. The mention of simplified timetables  (including for public holidays) may mean that Saturday and Sunday timetables are made more similar to one another (possibly with Sunday having a similar timetable but slightly less span). Later though it is mentioned that 'there will be an increase to the weekday spans for Route 685' with a note mentioning budgetary dependencies. 

Although we're not told much, I'm not surprised if the outcome for the 685 ends up being (i) a weekday service with slightly wider span and a flat hourly off-peak frequency, (ii) weekend services also being hourly during the core of the day and (iii) not necessarily much additional weekend span, particularly on Saturdays, although there may be an option for two hour gaps at the start and end of the day if wide span for little money is considered important. 

Local reaction

The Yarra Valley likes to see itself as comprising close-knit communities rather than more anonymous suburbia. An old tradition that has continued is the publication of a local newspaper with in-depth  reporting on local matters. 

Including on local bus services such as discussed here with reporting of a type that has largely disappeared from what remains of the metropolitan local press. 

Read Alexandra Newspapers report here. Included is commentary from the bus operator on travel patterns, preferences and patronage. 

The main concern is that the 684 truncation will force Melbourne-bound passengers to change at Lilydale. Currently they have a through service. Often such changes enable a more frequent service to be run but in this case it would appear that the service frequency is staying the same with any spare service kilometres going to boost the 685. That is unless the weekday short Alexandra services are extended to Eildon.  

Further comments appear on the paper's Facebook page (post 24/3/2022). These also indicate concern about changing at Lilydale for through passengers. Although there were other suggestions about more convenient times or increased frequency. Other comments appear on this item posted by the Yarra Ranges Council (see it here via McKenzies, the bus company who runs services in the area).  

The planning trade-offs are that when you have long routes that parallel others you are less able to deliver better service frequency in your local area where a route may have a unique catchment. On the other hand some people might prefer not to change from a bus to a train to complete their trip. 

Locals will have a chance to express their views via the online survey. There will also be two daytime drop-in information sessions at Healesville (31 March & 5 April).

We'll know what will happen for sure when timetables come out about a month before the commencement date later this year. We don't know the exact commencement date. But it will be within a few months of the state election. These reforms will affect two state seats (Eildon and Evelyn) both of which are held by Liberal members on thin margins. I recommended a local bus network review something like this in my 2022 state election special.   

Conclusion 

The above changes simplify a very complex bus network. What's your thoughts on them? Do you think the coverage of Healesville's town is adequate after some stops get removed? And what about the 684? Is its CBD portion a useful service or just inefficient duplication? Should the Night Network 965 be replaced with extra trips on 683 and 685 for a simpler service or is improving day travel a higher priority? Comments are invited and can be left below. 

See other Building Melbourne's Useful Network items here