UN 131: Greensborough FlexiRide - Will they bust the silos this time?

Victoria's transport portfolio operates as a series of silos within which things get done. 

Hence a new train station or 'accessible' tram stop may be moved further from buses or the cross road it serves. New highway pedestrian signals might not align with the (also new) footbridge they were installed for.  A level crossing removal or new station might present connectivity opportunities but bus routes were not always reformed to reap all benefits. And, biggest of the lot, there remain concerns about whether the Suburban Rail Loop will connect well with intersecting trains, trams and buses.

Not surprisingly the Auditor-General found that we had no overall transport plan, despite a full agenda of 'Big Build' road and rail projects. 

The Department of Transport (and predecessors) even struggles with network integration within the one mode. Sometimes lazy planning plonks new bus routes over existing unreformed routes, with the 903 SmartBus orbital between Altona and Northland being merely our most expensive example. This presents big opportunity costs (eg not having buses every 10 minutes), especially when it's been so hard to get funding for even small service uplifts (as opposed to big infrastructure).   

More recently we've had Rowville FlexiRide introduced. This replaced one form of flexible route bus with another. Again this was layered over an existing unchanged fixed route network. Both network have such limited operating days and hours that it is fair to say that the 40-odd thousand people in Rowville/Lysterfield have two half-networks rather than one full network. Rowville FlexiRide even won a UITP design award for this, presumably because opportunity cost and maximised passenger benefit were outside its terms of reference.

FlexiRide in the Lilydale area was next. There were some minor changes to bus routes but otherwise it was still the basic 'grafted on' approach. Having said that, the redundant 673 bus later did get removed. Like Rowville this is an area with sparse bus services including many routes that do not run seven days.  

Then Melton South got FlexiRide. This is the best FlexiRide of the lot with 7 day service. However the public holiday start was made to align with Sunday and not the Saturday service pattern, making it different from regular bus routes in the area. While relatively minor it indicates the non-connected way in which the DoT specifies services and the lack of a 'network integration' oversight. 

Early 2022 saw FlexiRide start on the Mornington Peninsula. This was better integrated with local network changes (even if PTV information wasn't). Its introduction allowed the shortening and simplification of the extremely long and twisty 787 bus. However operating hours and days remain very limited with last buses departing before 3 or 4pm.  

The Department of Transport is slowly getting better. It is now less likely to introduce a FlexiRide bus without reforms to fixed routes than it did when Rowville's started. It still has a way to go in that frequent and local buses should be reviewed and reformed first. A flexible route (with its high cost per passenger) should only be introduced after other options are proved unsuitable. That is if you want to maximise benefit per dollar spent (which should be an important DoT and public policy aim).

Future FlexiRide services

What's coming in the FlexiRide world? Northern Tarneit's getting theirs in late 2022. Next is likely to be Greensborough/St Helena. This was funded in the 2022 State budget.  More about it here. 

The wording in the budget paper is encouraging. "... network changes to deliver Flexiride services in Greensborough and St Helena" implies that, unlike Rowville, planning will consider the existing bus network. 

What part of the existing bus network will be considered? The July 2022 PTV network map below gives some clues.  Routes 517 and 518, between Greensborough and St Helena, are most notable. Both routes have indirect unidirectional loops near their end at St Helena shops. Loops provide coverage for those travelling to Greensborough but mean that residents along them cannot go to and from St Helena shops.

Route 517 is (mostly) a main road route starting at Northland. It becomes more local in character east of Greensborough. Weekday buses operate at a hideously unmemorable 24 minute frequency that doesn't consistently connect with trains (every 20 min). Weekend service on this, and Route 518 service on all days is every 40 minutes. 

Route 517's boardings per kilometre is about average for buses in Melbourne. It has large scope to do better with a minor timetable boost to every 20 minutes. Route 518's usage is much less, at around half. This is likely because the 517 serves larger destinations (eg Northland) and has better catchment demographics (including Heideblerg West) than the heavily car-owing St Helena neighbourhood that 518 exclusively serves. Notwithstanding 518's quietness, its 14 boardings per hour on weekdays is still better productivity than almost any flexible route bus can provide. 

What choices exist if you were were going to reform regular fixed routes in the area as part of introducing FlexiRide? If they're wedded to FlexiRide, it's unlikely that 518 would survive as a fixed route in its current form. However Route 517 between Northland and at least Greensborough would definitely have to continue with an upgrade to every 20 minutes on weekdays (and preferably weekends) highly desirable. There may also be a case to continue Route 517 to at least St Helena shops and maybe Diamond Creek via a straighter bidirectional alignment. This would make it the area's main trunk route, providing connections to the train at two or three stations as well as Northland Shopping Centre.   

Something like the above would be close to a 'minimum change' network. FlexiRide would have to run 7 days per week given that 517 and 518 both do. There is a risk in that if you just had the 517 on a single linear route there would be a large area (including some main roads) without their own fixed route bus. Retaining a simplified Route 518 could help here. While this would only be a short route scope exists to combine it with another to increase the number of people with a one-seat ride to the area's biggest destination of Greensborough.  

If you are going to get significant gains (noting the poor productivity record of flexible route buses) then a wider consideration of the areas's buses will likely be necessary. 

Need for a wider network review

The outer north-east around Greensborough / Eltham / Diamond Creek is pretty much Melbourne's capital when it comes to having lots of buses carrying fresh air. Just 3 in 10 of its local bus routes perform near the metropolitan average. 2 of those 3 extend significantly outside the area (where they would get many of their boardings). The remaining 7 routes hover at around 60% of Melbourne's average and attract loadings below what Infrastructure Victoria considers a viable bus route. 

Local demographics play a part but so must bus network planning. Some areas are over-serviced with overlapping routes while others suffer poor connectivity with trains or no coverage at all. Also key destinations like La Trobe University (education), Heidelberg (health) and Northland (shopping) are rarely easily reached by bus from the area. If there was any part of Melbourne that could be given a cost-effective bus network makeover it would be this, as discussed here.  

Such prospects present wider opportunities for those willing to look beyond Greensborough - St Helena. Routes potentially in the mix include 293, 343, 381, 385, 513, 514, 580, 582 and even the 901 and 902 SmartBuses. Most do not harmonise with trains and/or attract low patronage. Some reforms would be in Diamond Creek/Eltham rather than Greensborough/St Helena but have benefits spreading wider.  

Possibilities include: 

1. Straightening 517 and extension to Diamond Creek and boosting to every 20 min on weekdays (and preferably weekends too). This will be the area's main trunk route with a connection to a major out of area destination (Northland) as per above. 

2. Further straightening and shortening of 517 by skipping Viewbank. Viewbank could instead get a new Heidelberg - Macleod route (potential number 516) to replace the 517. Scope exists to extend this to La Trobe University via Springthorpe Estate to replace the indirect 548. A simplified 548 enables a simpler connection from La Trobe University to the inner-eastern suburbs. If extended to Caulfield via the 624 alignment this would pass close to three universities (La Trobe, Swinburne and Monash) and serve half of Melbourne's rail lines including Metro Tunnel trains at Caulfield.

3. Consolidating Route 513 and 514 into a single more frequent route 513 between Glenroy, Bell St and Greensborough operating at least every 20 min 7 days per week. This would shorten an overly long route, lessen duplication and simplify services with a single route on much of Bell St. A slightly rerouted 902 would replace the 514 on Mountain View Rd while much of the 513 Lower Plenty portion retains overlapping routes. 

4. Deletion of the poorly used and duplicative Route 385 in the area. Unique stops could retain service by being serviced by Route 580 operating from Eltham to Greensborough via Aqueduct and Plenty River Dr. This route would serve the shopping centre at St Helena with potential for this to be an interchange point with the upgraded and more direct Route 517 as well as FlexiRide. Route 580's current 30 minute frequency is possibly excessive for its weak usage and doesn't harmonise with trains. Nevertheless a stronger terminus at Greensborough and connectivity to St Helena shops may assist usage.

5. Potential extension of the (admittedly poorly used) Route 381 to Greensborough via a replacement of Route 518. Diamond Creek is a weak terminus for a long distance bus route like the 381. Unless there's particular demand (eg school traffic) it should either not run there or extend to a major centre like Greensborough. Thought could also be given to providing local coverage around Diamond Creek if Route 580 is moved from the area (4 above). This could be done in conjunction with a reappraisal of Route 343. 

6. Reduction in frequency of the poorly used 578 and 579 routes (currently hourly each) to every 80 or 120 minutes each to reflect their semi rural nature and to harmonise with trains. Resources freed could be used to extend network coverage to the Bolton St area of Eltham which currently has no service. 

7. Conversion of Route 582 from a unidirectional Eltham circular route to a bidirectional Greensborough - Eltham route to improve directness and add connectivity to a larger centre. Routing could be via the 293 alignment to Greensborough and also compensate for the deleted 513 portion to Eltham. It could even replace 293 in the Montmorency area if desired as per 8 below. More here.

8. Swapping the 901 and the 902 SmartBus in the Greensborough area. Currently the two biggest centres in the north-east (Doncaster Shoppingtown and Greensborough) have no direct SmartBus between them. This is despite Greensborough having two SmartBuses to the Mannigham area. Route 902 runs indirectly via Eltham while the 901 veers off to The Pines. Route 293 provides the most direct access but has short operating hours and a limited 30 - 60 minute frequency. Nevertheless Route 293 has good patronage performance, indicating a travel need exists. 

SmartBus routes 901 and 902 can be swapped with no stops being missed. Operating 902 via the 901 alignment, approaching Greensborough from the south, provides the direct connection from Shoppingtown. Meanwhile 901 can be run via Eltham on the less direct 902 path. The direct 902 makes the highly duplicative 293 redundant. The resources from that could be folded into the 281, thus providing a simple 15 minute frequency service between Templestowe, Doncaster Shoppingtown and Box Hill.   

Most of the above is represented on the 'Expanded Useful Network' map here. What's shown on it as 'New 514' was described above as the 516 as the 514 is now a currently used number.      

Conclusion

Planners looking at network changes to complement the introduction of the Greensborough - St Helena FlexiRide have a choice. They can either change only one or two existing routes. That gives some benefits but they are narrowly confined. 

Alternatively they can think broader and look at the huge opportunities presented by the huge fleet of poorly used buses running right next door at Eltham and Diamond Creek. With care it should be possible to transform that into an enhanced and better connected bus network serving a huge arc from La Trobe University around to Box Hill and many areas in between. 

Which option will they choose? Only time will tell. If you have any thoughts then please leave them below.  

See other Useful Network items here