Past budget funded service upgrades - what's been done?

With the federal budget tonight and the 2023 Victorian budget in two weeks let's do a review of what the previous few state budgets have funded. That's important so we know which budget has funded what service upgrade. 

2019

From what I can tell everything service-wise funded in the 2019 state budget has been delivered. 

Notable examples include the new route 390 Craigieburn - Mernda bus, the new route 816 Keysborough South bus plus bus improvements in Romsey, Lancefield, Alexandra and Eildon. 

Metro trains on the Werribee, Williamstown and Frankston line got a major upgrade with maximum waits reduced from 30-40 min to 20 min in early 2021. Such reduced maximum waits have been unheard of on the metropolitan rail network for decades, particularly since the evening service cuts made in 1978. The City Loop was also simplified with single direction running for trains coming from Dandenong. I'm going to hazard a guess and say this was funded from the $56m allocated to new train services from 2020-21 in the 2019 budget. 

The main rail infrastructure projects on the planning agenda in the 2019 budget included Suburban Rail Loop planning, Melbourne Airport Rail planning and Western Rail plan, including electrification to Wyndham Vale and Melton (p 5).

There was funding for planning and business case development of tram and active transport connections between Fishermans Bend and the CBD. Remember 'Fishermans Bend' as it comes up in future budgets. 

And, returning to buses there was $6.8m for a 'Bus Industry Innovation Fund'. This was to support the bus industry "through delivering initiatives focused on improving network efficiency, patronage, customer experience, safety and driver support. Maybe it was used to develop Victoria's Bus Plan (which came out in mid-2021)? If you have an idea of funded examples then please mention in the comments below. 

2020

The 2020 state budget was generous for infrastructure but  parsimonious for service. 

The only really new item for the public bus network was network reform and service upgrades on the Mornington Peninsula. This featured much needed upgrades to the 788, a new 7 day Rosebud - Frankston express buses, some welcome coverage extensions and simplification to other routes and a new FlexiRide for Rosebud. However service levels remained underbaked with some routes shutting down as early as 3 or 4 pm and not running weekends. 

The Route 390 Mernda - Craigieburn bus from 2019 also got a mention with accelerated delivery. Actual delivery was October 2021.  Some outer suburban secondary colleges will get improved school special services in this budget. 

$3m was committed for a tram corridor strategy. This was to consider network reform to optimise the use of both existing and next generation trams. Again comments on this are appreciated as we haven't yet seen a lot of tram network reform. Maybe, like mooted rail frequency upgrades, these will wait for the Metro Tunnel's opening? 

Airport rail and Geelong fast rail were the major projects in the 2020 budget. However recent media reports indicate that these may get delayed. We'll know for sure in two weeks.

There was also funding for 100 next generation trams, the Dandenong rail corridor, station parking and more. Furthermore, this was the budget that introduced a (modest) charge on electric driving along with $20m for a zero emission bus trial. 

2021

2021's budget was an advance on the 2020 low point with regards to service. The year also marked a revival of official interest in bus network reform after several years of not much. A way forward was charted in Victoria's Bus Plan, out six weeks after the budget. Areas for the first network reviews were announced in late 2022 with an online survey done. 

Growth areas in the south-east got some love with new or extended routes in Clyde, Clyde North and Cranbourne in the last few years. 888 and 889 started in early 2021 (so would have been funded from a previous budget). Then 881 from Lynbrook started in January 2022. Finally 897 and 898 got extended in August 2022. 

Tarneit North gained a FlexiRide though the original plan was for two fixed routes (154 and 155). This started in October 2022. High usage may mean that fixed routes will be needed as discussed here. 

Also implemented were Moonee Ponds - Melbourne University improvements as extra trips on Route 505. These started in February 2023. 

Funded in the 2021 budget and starting in October 2022 were large improvement to buses 235 and 237 between the city and Fishermans Bend. These two routes run at 10 min (ie tram-like) frequencies during the day on weekdays but remain with either occasional or no weekend service. These upgrades may buy some time given there's been no government interest in tram extensions to this area (or anywhere else) for a long time.

In a similar vein, the West Gate Punt retained funding as a foot and bike alternative to a Metro 2 rail tunnel or even a direct Fishermans Bend bus from Newport over the West Gate. Planning money for future Fishermans Bend transport was still there but this time it was broadened to 'high capacity transport' (rather than the tram-emphasis in 2019).  

Also mentioned were network changes in Yarra Valley and Broadmeadows. Yarra Valley changes aren't operating yet. However an update last month indicated the new network will be running later this year. As for Broadmeadows, there's less definite to report. However Craigieburn got significant upgrades with four local bus routes improving from every 40 to every 20 minutes later, in April 2022. Route 538 was mentioned in some material but that's had no service uplift. 

2021 also saw some low cost but worthwhile bus network reforms associated with (i) Night Network reform and (ii) redistribution of service within the Transdev / Kinetic network. The former was planned some time ago while the latter was so low cost that I don't recall any mention of it in either 2019-2020 budgets. It seems to indicate that a resourceful department can get smaller service reforms through without recourse to the drawn-out budget process. There should be much more of this, with some examples presented here. 

To sum up most of the 2021 funded bus upgrades have been implemented except for the more complex ones involving network reform. On the infrastructure side the budget mentioned the development of a battery electric train potentially for Wyndham Vale as part of the Western Rail Plan. It would be interesting to see an update on this project in the light of current concerns about rail in the west being de-emphasised, firstly in relation to airport rail and latterly in relation to projects like SRL in the east.   

2022

Last year's budget continues the gradual upward trajectory of funding for service. As it's more recent it's reasonable to expect that less of it will have been done given that current DTP processes require two or more years to implement new or greatly reformed bus services once funded. 

Here's the status of some of the funded service initiatives from the May 2022 budget: 

Bulleen Park & Ride: OPERATIONAL. Associated route and service changes only minor.  

Improvements to bus routes between Box Hill, Deakin Uni, Monash Uni and Southland: PARTLY OPERATIONAL. Route 733 and 767 gained their service upgrades last month. Other reforms involving 201/768 Deakin shuttle and 903 via Deakin University planned for later in 2023.  

Greensborough FlexiRide and associated network changes: IN PROGRESS. A survey was done in 2022. The website states that the consultation report was released in April 2023 (though there is no link to it). A late 2023 start is stated. Background here. 

Network changes in Heatherton to complement SRL works: IN PROGRESS. Information at stops and online put out to advise of changes. Involves the deletion of Route 821 and some upgrades and rerouting for 631. Background here. 

Weekday shuttle between Donnybrook and Craigieburn stations: IN PROGRESS. Route 501 due to start some time in 2023. 

New Diggers Rest - Sunbury bus route: IN PROGRESS. October 2022 release from Josh Bull MP gives Route 475's service levels but not a start date. 

Improved buses for Torquay and Armstrong Creek: IN PROGRESS. Consultation April 2023. Implementation planned for 2024.

Bus upgrades in Cranbourne West and Narre Warren: UNKNOWN - PRESUMED IN PROGRESS. Release here. Local bus network is very complex and infrequent with inefficient overlaps so waiting a bit longer for proper network simplification may be desirable. 

I'd expect there'd be announcements about at least some of these upgrades later this year. 

Other funding items in last year's budget was work on the tram plan, V/Line improvements, new V/Line trains, a northern transport and land use plan and Caulfield station interchange. 

Related: Has State Labor kept its transport promises? (2014 - 2018)

Conclusion

This has been a run down of funded implemented and forthcoming service upgrades for the Melbourne and Geelong areas. Regional and school bus improvements have been omitted.

Join me in two weeks for a look at what (if anything) new gets funded in the 2023 state budget.