UN 158: Our part-time electric buses (Ivanhoe depot)

The state government is awfully proud of the electric buses it's getting. More and more are spreading across the network. One recently found itself at the front of state parliament. And I'm told that the party faithful rapturously lapped it up at June's state Labor conference amongst a narrative of more local jobs, cutting emissions and building the future. 

However they are only good at cutting emissions if they are out on the road providing a useful service carrying people. Although you don't necessarily need an electric bus to do that; to quote Michael Galea MLC (Hansard, 22 June 2023): 

Like for like, 40 people on a bus compared to 40 people in their cars, even with an old technology diesel bus it is still more environmentally friendly. 

So the main game in decarbonising transport with buses is making them useful to get lots of people using them. Especially if the new passengers on them previously drove. That requires network coverage, operating hours, frequency and connectivity. If you lack those then making the buses electric won't take many cars off the road.

Neither will much hyped myki replacement ticketing options nor fare-free travel. Zero emission buses and slicker ticketing are not without benefit but risk being a distraction if they are not accompanied by fixes to the network issues identified so well in Victoria's Bus Plan. In short the bus network needs to be useful, as described many times here.

Ivanhoe depot services

The first bus depot to go electric is Ventura's Ivanhoe depot in Heidelberg West. By next year it will be the largest all-electric bus depot in Australia with 27 buses. So far the roll-out seems to be going well. 

Today I'll ask whether the routes that run from this depot provide the all-week frequent service that's so important to getting people out of their cars and cutting emissions. Later I'll discuss how the routes fit in the network with surrounding services and how they can be made more useful.   

Operating hours

Firstly operating hours. Shown below. 

Just one out of six daytime routes operates 7 days. Saturday service operates on five routes but operating hours are limited with just one route continuing much after 6pm. At one time all six routes ran on Saturday but Route 551's timetable got cut (along with many others) in 1991. 

These service levels represent how most Melbourne buses were like before the Meeting Our Transport Challenges upgrade bitz between 2006 and 2010. Like routes serving Dandenong station, MOTC short-changed this depot with just one route (527) getting a minimum standards upgrade. Hence you could fill this depot with electric buses but they risk being quite poorly utilised on this network unless weekly service hours improve. 

Service frequency

Apart from operating hours and run time per trip the other thing that affects bus utilisation is frequency, especially the extent to which peak frequency is confined to a few hours on weekdays or is sustained all day (and preferably all week). The university and school skewed Route 548 has about the biggest fall-off as seen below:

Route 527 has a different pattern, with its 20 minute frequency largely holding up Monday to Saturday. However it falls off sharply on Sundays to about every 50 minutes despite it serving busy Northland shopping centre. 527's pattern is similar to busy routes like 406, 408 and 410. These had Monday-Saturday 15-20 minute frequencies but the Sunday service added under MOTC was a 'safety net' 40 - 60 minute frequency rather than the 20 minutes that these routes justified given their usage, catchment demographics and destinations. 

The potential utilisation of buses is least on Sunday where just the route 527 operates. And even that is operating at a much reduced frequency with 50 minute gaps. Given the ~45 minute run time this requires just two buses to operate. Though to be fair actual utilisation has however been better lately with buses from this fleet being used to replace trains during occupations.   

The network

If routes are well used and serves high social needs areas and/or busy destinations, there's a good case to be throwing more 7 day service at them especially if this doesn't trigger an increase in the peak bus requirement. Such an upgrade delivers benefits sooner without having to wait for ponderous network review or public consultation processes.

On the other hand you would not want to be spending big on  dysfunctional routes with poor patronage potential. Also the depot's routes is subject to the ambitious northern suburbs bus network review announced last year.  

With that in mind I'll run through the pros and cons of each of the depot's six routes and prospects for improvement. 

Route 526 Coburg - Reservoir (west)
Includes some unique catchment with housing replacing industry. But has weak northern terminus.  Shorter term: Minimum standards upgrade including 7 day service and longer hours.
Longer term: Potentially extend east to Northland to provide strong terminus in conjunction with reform to routes like 553, 558 and 567. More here and here. 

Route 527 Gowrie - Northland
Serves a major east-west corridor but part of the route overlaps with 903 orbital. Weak western terminus at Gowrie.
Shorter term: Boost Sunday service to 20 min and add some earlier am trips. 

Longer term: Potentially split route at Coburg with western half being extended north to Broadmeadows for a stronger terminus. Eastern half merged into a frequent 904 Megabus operating between Heidelberg, Northland, Preston and Coburg. This may require shared running arrangements with another operator such as successfully operates on Route 900. 

Route 548 La Trobe Uni - Kew

A potentially useful north-south route bus with a weak southern terminus stopping short of a station. Also complex midday reversing pattern in Springthorpe Estate. 

Shorter term: Minimum standards upgrade including 7 day service and longer hours.

Longer term: Make more direct with Springthorpe Estate having its own route. Extend south to at least the Ringwood train line and potentially Caulfield Station. Upgrade frequency and operating hours further to provide a SmartBus style service. This may require shared running arrangements with another operator such as successfully operates on Route 900. 

Route 549 Northland - Ivanhoe

Little unique coverage but it provides a shopping centre and train station connector. Gets average usage for a bus route in Melbourne with some high needs demographics.  

Shorter term: Minimum standards upgrade including 7 day service and longer hours.

Route 550 Northland - La Trobe Uni

Little unique coverage but provides a university and shopping centre connector. Gets slightly below average usage for a bus route in Melbourne. 
Longer term: Considering amalgamating with 551 to provide an east-west route in conjunction with other reforms that would provide a more frequent La Trobe - Heidelberg connection (eg 550 concept or extended 903 and 904 concept).  

Route 551 Heidelberg - La Trobe Uni

A mix of local coverage and university feeder from Heidelberg. Has higher than average usage on the weekdays it runs, indicating demand as a university feeder, especially for people coming off the 903 bus. 

Longer term: Consider operating to Northland via Heidelberg West replacing 550 to form an east-west route. Heidelberg - La Trobe connection made more frequent and direct as part of an upgraded/straightened 550 route or extended 903 (see above).  

Conclusion

Ivanhoe depot may have the latest state-of-the-art electric buses but the routes and timetables they run on are anything but. For example Route 527 have very high patronage potential that is stymied by a weak terminus or competition from duplicative routes. Both 548 and 551 unsuccessfully try to combine local coverage and university feeder type roles, with inconsistent running and a weak terminus also afflicting the 548. These factors make network reform for routes served by the depot highly desirable. 

Notwithstanding that, there are some potential shorter term quick wins that would deliver 7 day service on routes like 526, 548 and 549 and improved Sunday service on the 527. These would be a start to make the network more useful and lead to better utilised electric buses. 

See other Building Melbourne's Useful Network items  here

TT #184: How Dandenong got short-changed on buses

Greater Dandenong is Melbourne's most short-changed municipality when it comes to bus services.

Especially if we're talking about access to the 7 day service so important to get people to jobs, shopping, recreational and social activities.

First some history. Back in the 1990s the typical Melbourne suburban bus ran 5 or 6 days per week with no evening or Sunday service. Timetables bore the scars of severe cuts early that decade. These made buses decreasingly useful as more shops traded Saturday afternoons and then Sundays.

Some local bus upgrades happened in 2002 but the big change came in 2006 when transport minister Peter Batchelor introduced minimum service standards as the centrepiece of the Meeting Our Transport Challenges (MOTC) plan. These delivered 7 day service to many suburbs that didn't previously have it. That was a big deal for most people who didn't have a station, with its 7 day service, within walking distance. 

MOTC roll-out was fast but haphazard. Some areas got all their routes upgraded while others got only a handful. Neither were improvement priorities related to patronage or social need. For example quiet routes like the 701 got early upgrades, the semi-rural 578/579 got way over-serviced while busy main road routes (eg the 800 on Princes Hwy) received nothing. The 802, 804, 814 and 844 were other above-average patronage performing Dandenong routes that missed out. Yes, MOTC brought the useful 901 SmartBus and some local upgrades but progress wasn't nearly as fast as in other areas like Broadmeadows, Epping, Werribee and even Melton.   

Dandenong's bus neglect continued under the 2010 Coalition government. Maybe Dandenong wasn't on their political radar, though that did not stop politically and demographically similar seats in Brimbank getting bus improvements in 2014. Upgrades in also-safe Point Cook and Werribee were also funded under the Coalition.

Labor in 2014 promised bus upgrades in Cranbourne that had some knock-on benefits for Dandenong when these were implemented in 2016. Later a new Endeavour Hills network improved and simplified some services but not by quite enough to meet MOTC minimum standards. Keysborough South also got some improved coverage, but going from two weekday routes every hour (813 and 815) to one every 40 minutes (813) cannot be counted as a net gain for Dandenong station. 2021's bus plan diagnoses bus service issues like common in Greater Dandenong well but has yet to be backed by significant funding that would fix them.   

To summarise, the Bracks/Brumby MOTC did lots of good stuff with buses but prioritised quieter routes in other areas over busier routes in higher-needs Dandenong. Nothing much happened under Baillieu/Napthine. The current infrastructure-oriented Andrews government cannot claim much so far either. Thus the story of buses in Greater Dandenong has been one of sustained neglect with it slipping behind relative to other similar areas in relation to seven day service.

Don't believe me? 

I checked timetables for buses serving the busiest stations in municipalities selected for their demographic similarity to Greater Dandenong. Those that did not comply with minimum service standards (mostly because they didn't run Sundays and/or finished early at night) were noted. 

With nearly half its routes non-compliant, Dandenong really stands out. Frankston was the next worst, though average incomes in its less serviced areas are much higher than Dandenong's less serviced areas. This makes Dandenong's bus shortcomings more pressing than Frankston's with regards to social inclusion and equity.

The lower proportion of noncompliant routes serving stations like Melton and Cranbourne does not mean there aren't major bus service issues in those places; there are. But they relate more to lack of coverage and frequency rather than the very restricted days/hours that afflict nearly half the bus routes in Dandenong.

Dandenong's usage / service mismatch

What about patronage productivity? One might make a case that quieter routes are less deserving of 7 day service than others. Especially if you were a DTP bureaucrat who talks about juggling scarce resources to where they are most needed. Anyone who writes in gets the same form answer about the department monitoring usage and adjusting service needs accordingly.  

However this claim rarely stacks up; apart from one (worthwhile) change in 2021 when the bus plan came out, DTP lacks the 'incremental optimisation' culture of monitoring and adjusting timetables and services like Perth does even if funding for new service kilometres is scarce. 

The biggest loser in all this? It's none other than Dandenong due to its high social needs and strong usage of the bus services that do run. As an example, some of the non-compliant routes are in the busiest 25% of the network on a boardings per service hour basis. Some others are in the top 50%. This is especially so for Dandenong Station but also for some Frankston routes.

Data on bus routes that don't meet minimum service standards is below. Marked routes have higher than average weekday boardings per bus service hour (either TOP 25% or TOP 50% ) based on 2018 numbers (source DTP).   

Greater Dandenong Dandenong station: 19 bus routes - 47% non-compliant

800 No evening service, no Sunday service, limited Saturday service TOP 25%

802 No evening service, no Sunday service, no Saturday service TOP 50%

804 No evening service, no Sunday service, limited Saturday service TOP 25%

814 No evening service, no Sunday service, no Saturday afternoon TOP 25%

843 Late Saturday morning start, early Sunday evening finish

844 No evening service, no Sunday service, limited Saturday service TOP 50%

845 Late Sunday morning start, early Sunday evening finish

857 No evening service, no Sunday service, no Saturday afternoon

861 Early evening finish

Wyndham Werribee station: 12 bus routes - 17% non-compliant

439 No evening service

441 No evening service, especially weekends

Hume Broadmeadows station: 9 bus routes - 11% non-compliant

538 No evening service, no Sunday service, no Saturday afternoon service

Casey Cranbourne station: 11 bus routes - 9% non-compliant

795 occasional weekday trips only


Brimbank Sunshine station: 13 bus routes - 8% non-compliant

422 No evening service, especially weekends

Melton Melton station: 7 bus routes - 0% non-compliant

All routes run 7 days to ~9pm

Frankston Frankston station: 22 bus routes - 36% non-compliant

772 No evening service, no Sunday service TOP 25%

773 No evening service, no Sunday service, limited Saturday service TOP 50%

774 No evening service, no Sunday service, no Saturday service TOP 25%

776 No evening service, no Sunday service, limited Saturday service, limited weekday service

783  No evening service, no Sunday service, no Saturday service TOP 50%

789 Weekends has 80 min gaps

790 Weekends has 80 min gaps

887 Limited frequency, no evening service

Fixing it

Bus network reform in Melbourne can take ages. Because political support has begat funding and institutions that allow work to be done quickly and at mass scale, we can do major and complex works like removing level crossing and rebuilding stations in less time than DTP needs to substantially reform bus networks. However if you just want to boost services on existing routes and available buses already exist then time-lines for bus upgrades are shorter - say 12 months after budget funding. 

Dandenong's waited long enough for better buses than to be subject to a ponderous review process that may or may not deliver results. And because its existing routes are so strongly used it would seem preferable to deliver 7 day service now and worry about network reform later.

Top priorities, based on improving the busiest routes first, could include: 

* 7 day service on Route 800 to at least 9pm and higher weekend frequency. (see the #Fix800Bus page on Facebook and video below). 

* 7 day service on routes 802 and 804 to at least 9pm (would deliver a major boost for Dandenong North including the hospital - network simplification like this can happen later) 

* 7 day service on routes 814 and 844 to at least 9pm (These routes, especially the complex 814, also need reform, but, existing catchment and usage justify 7 day service now)

* Minor extended hours on Endeavour Hills routes 843, 845 and 861 to meet MOTC minimum standards (very cheap addition of 2 or 3 trips per day per route on average)

* Boosting weekend frequency on popular routes 813 and 828 to weekday service levels (reflects 813's strong catchment and 828's connection to major destinations) with some longer operating hours.

Dandenong's local member of parliament is Gabrielle Williams MP. Most of the abovementioned  underserved routes also cover Mulgrave, held by premier Daniel Andrews MP with 800, 802 and 804 extending into Oakleigh, held by Steve Dimopoulos MP.

All are Labor government MPs. Compared to if they were in opposition, that increase their access to decision-makers but may lessen their willingness to publicly advocate on behalf of their electorate.  

Dandenong is also in the South-east Metropolitan Legislative Council region, with 5 MPs from various parties. One, Rachel Payne MP, recently asked a question on notice about a Route 800 upgrade, with an answer from Minister Carroll to appear soon.

Conclusion

Dandenong has been short-changed with regards to 7 day bus service, with the gap increasing over time with successive governments diverting their limited budgets for bus upgrades elsewhere.

While other parts of Melbourne (eg Knox, Mornington Peninsula, Yarra Valley and fringe growth areas) also has sparse service that need improving, Dandenong is unique in its proportion of well used routes that don't run 7 days and/or much after 7pm. If you had $5 million per year to improve buses you'd possibly get the greatest patronage returns if you spent it all in Greater Dandenong. 

Either Paul Younis/DTP is not telling the minister that there's a misallocation of bus service resources that's dudded Dandenong for decades or it's known and there isn't the political will to do anything about it. Dandenong is known for its assembly of Volgren buses but the community that builds them hardly gets to see them running a useful service on weekends. 

Dandenong has possibly suffered from its consistent pattern of Labor voting. However old party alignments and loyalties are loosening with huge primary vote drops in booths, especially those with low income catchments and poor community services (including buses). The steady erosion of its voter base should profoundly worry Labor party MPs and officials, even though it has so far been insufficient to cost it seats in the 2022 state election. 

Down in Dandenong the (unfunded) bus plan or even electrification means nothing. 

The top need is 7 day service along with longer operating hours and then better frequencies.

That helps people get to jobs, cuts the cost of living and widens opportunities.

This is possible right now with political will and a modicum of funding to work the existing bus fleet harder. 

See other Timetable Tuesday items here

Melbourne's little-known suburban V/Line coach stops

A direct coach from Bundoora to the high country. Or Campbellfield to almost the NSW border? These are some of the lesser known V/Line trips possible from Melbourne suburbs. Keep reading as we uncover some of the 'hidden' suburban stops to country destinations that may be near you.

Introduction to V/Line coaches

While rarely talked about, did you know that V/Line's coach network is vastly more extensive than its train network? Coaches took up the slack as the rail network shrunk and quiet stations were closed in the 1950s through to the 1990s. The result is an extensive co-ordinated coach network typically operated under contract by local bus companies. Travel is a bargain if the times suit as the $9.20 fare cap applies.

Most V/Line coach routes leave from large regional hubs like Ballarat and Bendigo but some start from Melbourne's Southern Cross Coach terminal (the same bleak concreted place that you get Skybus from). Not only that but some stop in Melbourne suburbs. That's today's topic as I don't think these stops are widely known. 

Network maps

Our starting point were the V/Line network maps. The state-wide map shows that coaches exist but is just a tangle if you want to know where routes start and finish.

V/Line's area by area maps are only slightly better. That's because because individual routes are shown with the same colour, even when many converge. Several years ago the Metlink/PTV metropolitan train and tram maps had that problem but thankfully that got fixed. V/Line has yet to catch up here. 

Suburban locations where you can catch V/Line coaches

With maps unhelpful it was time to hit the online timetable books. These were more useful, with listings and descriptions of stopping locations. Most were on highways, so as not to delay through passengers like an off-street bus interchange would. This meant that their locations were easily missed, typically not being at or near the suburb's railway station.

Going roughly clockwise from west to south-east, I found the following:  

* Deer Park V/Line station. Served by: 
- Short distance coach route operating to Caroline Springs. This is because weekday peak direction trains tend to stop at either of those two stations but not both. The coach operates in peak direction only, ie inbound in the morning, outbound in the evening. 
- At time of writing served by a temporary shuttle to Tarneit during construction works 

* Caroline Springs V/Line station. Served by:
- Abovementioned coach to Deer Park.
- Wendouree Night Network coach in the small hours of Saturday and Sunday mornings from Southern Cross.  

* Coburg/Bell St near primary school. Street view. Served by: 
- Barmah to Melbourne via Heathcote coach stops Monday - Saturday mornings. The return trip to Barmah via Heathcote stops there on weekday afternoons only.  Connection from ex Barham coach available at Heathcote. 

* Campbellfield opposite Kmart. Street view. Served by: 
- Barmah via Heathcote coaches that also stop at Coburg (see above). Connection to Barham coach available at Heathcote.
-Some Moama/Deniliquin via Heathcote coaches 

* Melbourne Airport/near T4. Served by: 
- Barham via Heathcote coach
- Some Deniliquin via Heathcote and Moama coaches (sometimes requiring changing at Heathcote or Rochester)

* Box Hill/Maroondah Hwy & Watts St. Street view. Served by:
- Some Mansfield via Yea coaches. Coach connections to Mt Buller operate in snow season.  

* Nunawading/Front of tennis courts, Walker Park, Whitehorse Road. Street view. Served by:
- Some Mansfield via Yea coaches. Coach connections to Mt Buller operate in snow season.  

* Ringwood/Ringwood – Warrandyte Road near Eastland Entrance. Street view. Served by:
- Some Mansfield via Yea coaches. Coach connections to Mt Buller operate in snow season. 

* Croydon/ Croydon – Corner Exeter Road and Maroondah Highway. Street view. Served by:
- Some Mansfield via Yea coaches. Coach connections to Mt Buller operate in snow season. 

* Lilydale. Served by:
- Some Mansfield via Yea coaches. Coach connections to Mt Buller operate in snow season. 

* Yarra Glen/Toy Library. Street view. Served by:
- Some Mansfield via Yea coaches. Coach connections to Mt Buller operate in snow season. 

(Note: Box Hill - Yarra Glen served by same service)

* Bundoora RMIT/Plenty Rd. Street view. Served by:
- Some Mansfield via Yea coaches. Coach connections to Mt Buller operate in snow season. 

* Whittlesea/Amcal chemist, Walnut St. Street view. Served by: 
- Some Mansfield via Yea coaches. Coach connections to Mt Buller operate in snow season. 

(Note: Bundoora RMIT and Whittlesea served by same service)

* Dandenong Station. Served by:
- Coaches to Cowes and Inverloch via Anderson. 
- Some coaches to Yarram via Leongatha

* Cranbourne/near level crossing. Street view. Served by: 
- Coaches to Cowes and Inverloch via Anderson. 
- Some coaches to Yarram via Leongatha

* Cranbourne/Lyall St. Street view. Served by: 
- Coaches to Cowes and Inverloch via Anderson. 
- Some coaches to Yarram via Leongatha

Street view links are provided above for stop locations not at stations or in formal interchanges. 

Conclusion

The above are, to my knowledge, all the Melbourne suburban stops served by V/Line coaches.  Especially for those in outer suburbs using them could save time compared to going into the CBD and out again. Service frequencies are typically limited but there are some cases where day return trips are possible, notably South Gippsland from Dandenong and Cranbourne. 

Unlike a suburban bus you can't just rock up at a coach stop with your myki; instead you will need to book ahead and get a paper ticket. Booking can be a foreign process, especially if you're used to unbooked myki train travel and you want to avoid paying a double fare on the day. You are probably best off booking the trip and getting a paper ticket from a premium Metro station a few days prior. (Info at PTV & V/Line).

Comments on your travel experiences with V/Line coaches from suburban stops are appreciated and can be left below. 

Bus Plan turns two: Still alive?

Two years ago today Victoria's Bus Plan was launched.

It promised a fresh start for Melbourne's closest public transport to most homes and jobs. This was sorely needed since buses were in a stupor with little happening.  

Background

The last serious investment in bus services was about 15 years ago under the Bracks-Brumby government. Key Meeting Our Transport Challenges achievements included 7 day service on many (but not all) local bus routes and new SmartBus routes in the middle (mostly eastern) suburbs including three orbitals. There were also local bus network reviews but implementation was limited. You can read what MOTC achieved in its first 2.5 years here (spoiler: it was a lot). 

The 2010 Coalition government did some very good bus network reform and simplified the organisational structure with PTV. However they tipped in little new money. Their biggest mistake was signing the cut-price metropolitan bus franchise that inflicted the maintenance-skimping Transdev Melbourne on a third of the network. 

Labor returned in 2014 but, as far as public transport was concerned, in a different guise as an infrastructure-only government. Once their 2014 promises were honoured, there was little new money for buses and even less network reform than under the Liberals. Also the prevailing economic conditions including low interest rates made it easier to borrow billions for ambitious mega-projects than find a few million recurring for services, especially buses.

Melbourne's grown by over a million people since the last SmartBus route was added. And as the minister stated at last week's PAEC estimates hearing, there still remained bus routes with timetables that did not reflect travel needs since Sunday trading started in the 1990s. Hence buses have became less relevant with each passing year with popular routes (like Route 800 between Dandenong and Chadstone) remaining with timetables stuck in time.

Infrequent (yet busy) cross-suburban buses have made getting around harder than it should be during Melbourne's numerous long-term rail shutdowns while authoritative voices including people from Infrastructure Victoria have called out Melbourne's sparse Sunday service.

Has the government responded? Only rarely, resulting in service per capita slipping further behind.  

Victoria's Bus Plan and the start it got

2021's Victoria's Bus Plan promised to break the inertia. It diagnosed issues with the existing network well. Key objectives included a simpler network, cleaner zero-emissions buses, improved bus performance, better customer experiences, governance improvements and overall improved value for money. Of these the first, including 7 day service, decent operating hours and reasonable frequencies, is by far the most important when it comes to delivering a useful bus network. If you don't have those then nothing else really matters. 

A simplified Night Network, which upgraded some regular bus routes to run 24 hours on weekends, commenced in August 2021. That was followed, less than a month later, with other low cost timetable upgrades on the Transdev/Kinetic network. These involved minimal extra funding but had an overall good in transferring resources from quiet to busy routes.  

These weren't earth-shattering but it was a fair start. My end of year summary said that 2021 was better than expected for public transport services, with bus changes making a fair contribution to this. Compared to the 2020 budget the state budget in 2021 put more money into improved bus services. 2022's budget was a further improvement, though measures were still modest relative to the large backlog of network reform and service upgrades. 

Progress to 2023

In March 2023 I checked up on the bus plan's progress, listing these and other achievements. Since then there has been further announcements on the transition to zero emissions vehicles and bus re-contracting. Network reviews for Melbourne north, Melbourne north-east and Mildura were announced with an initial survey in September/October 2022. Results of that came out 10 months later, in May 2023. 

The 2023 state budget offered little for new bus services. It ended the upward trajectory we saw in the 2021 and especially 2022 budgets. Emphasis instead went to honouring election commitments (including the $9.20 regional fare cap), increased interest payments on borrowings and continuing the construction agenda that had been electorally successful for Labor in 2014, 2018 and 2022. 

Without budget funding, the most important (ie service) aspects of the Bus Plan are clinically dead. That is unless DTP can internally fund small timetable reforms similar to those of 2021 (but spread across more operators) or like super cheap boosts discussed here, The government may also be pinning its hope on savings arising from bus recontracting. Though with the new contracts to start in 2025 there won't be anything coming from that soon, even if they are successful in reducing costs (which isn't a certainty). 

How is Victoria's Bus Plan going on its deliverables? I've already mentioned the 10 month lag in the results of surveys. These basically give legitimacy to the Bus Plan's favoured approach of simplifying routes to be more direct, more frequent but more widely spaced with more reliance on connections for some trips. 

2021 - 23 was going to be the period of some small network changes to Mornington Peninsula, Fishermens Bend and Yarra Valley. The first two introduced some welcome changes but were nothing to write home about, especially with regards to operating hours and weekend services. Yarra Valley, meanwhile, should happen later this year. 

We don't yet know anything about "The route changes as part of the Doncaster Busway are planned to become the first large-scale network reform", though some very small changes commenced when Bulleen Park & Ride opened.  

How have they gone with delivering more attractive networks in high needs areas (another priority)? The Craigieburn, Endeavour Hills and Keysborough upgrades fit into this category. As do the Hampton Park changes starting later this month. However possibly the highest need area are parts of Greater Dandenong without 7 day service (including Princes Hwy and the 800 bus). That got nothing. Indeed the state budget funded more in removing vehicle registration for apprentices and tradies than it did on the Bus Plan in 2023-24.   

The last two years were to have seen the development of the Bus Reform Implementation Plans BRIPS). We are approaching the last half of 2023 and we aren't sure of the form these will take. 

Finally the bigger network reforms were to take place from 2023. This is now optimistic for several reasons. These include a. the BRIPs not being completed, b. substantial reform often requires larger planning and public engagement, c. there being no substantial funding in the 2023 budget and d. long lead times (eg 2 years or more) from budget funding to implementation, as illustrated here. 

Even if the 2024 budget funds what 2023's missed, substantial bus network reform seems unlikely much before 2026. This means that hopes of tying significant bus network reform with major infrastructure (eg the Metro Tunnel due to open in 2025) are fast fading. Even 2026, with the Commonwealth Games and the State election (where they might want to avoid controversial stuff), looks a stretch. 

Conclusion

Parts of Victoria's Bus Plan less consequential for passengers, notably bus electrification, remain alive and in progress. But its key element, that to do with service, is sickly due to a loss of budgetary commitment from government.

The risk of it being (yet another) unrealised transport plan is thus high with the Department of Transport and Planning protected from accountability only by the masterful vagueness of its proposals. I'd describe its condition as that of a comatose toddler with an uncertain future.

To stop the Bus Plan dying life support is essential. This requires that DTP to internally fund small timetable and route reforms to tide the plan over a difficult time where neither the premier nor transport's senior minister apparently considers bus (or for that matter train) service a priority.

WA's McGowan government had a similar political mix of generously funding infrastructure but (mostly) doing less about service. However Perth has been able to keep network and timetable reform going through the approaches described here.

We could do worse than copy them to keep bus service reform alive in the hope that it's still there for a reinvigorated and more pro-service state government.   

A history of organised singing on (or about) Melbourne public transport

As they say online, "PTV just got ratioed". Not due to the usual complaints public transport gets like ticketing, inspectors, poor frequencies, crowded trains or disruptions, but over singing. Singing?

Notwithstanding major winter disruptions due to construction on some of the network's busiest lines, PTV has been running the Autumn of Adventures and Winter of Wonders promotions to drum up ridership. 

Part of that includes introducing a 'surprise element' with a choir popping up on trains, stations and stops to entertain passengers. However this was not welcomed by everyone. Especially those on Twitter.

People who tweet aren't necessarily representative of the general population. But the somewhat more representative Facebook crowd didn't like it much either. So PTV might have scored an 'own goal' on this one. It seems that people value taking PT more for solitude than sociability. Especially if the latter is forced. 

Even though hiring a troupe or two of singers is mere spare change in PTV's budget, people still think it's a misplaced priority when there's bigger things that need fixing, like the service itself. Or doing better at their core job of clearly telling people what's happening during the continual construction shutdowns currently crippling the network.

Others object on health grounds. Sensory overload is a real thing. Some supermarkets have 'quiet hours' to general acclaim. Transit authorities point to the quietness of new electric buses as a benefit. Yet PTV's singing promotion is deliberately introducing noise. Which not everyone likes, especially if it's in a confined space like a train carriage.   

If you subscribe to the view that 'any publicity is good publicity', the fact that people are engaging on social media and it got picked up in the news is a tick for some PTV social media marketer's performance indicator. 

But if you're after a good passenger experience then maybe PTV should stop the singing. They've already tried to stop the talking, with comments switched off on their Facebook and Twitter posts after overwhelming push-back.   

That's the present. What about the past? 

Passenger discontent with public transport in Melbourne peaked around 2010. Though new bus services had been added, rail delays, cancellations and crowding were acute. That year's state election saw a change of government with public transport reliability a major issue.

That drove people to sing about how public transport could be better. 

The Melbourne Complaints Choir was formed in May 2010. Meeting in an inner city pub, they seemed to be a mix of socialists, anarchists, artists and activists under the umbrella We Love PT (which had a website at https://welovept.com.au ). Those involved included musicians Stephen Taberner and Katrina Wilson. 

They soon became the Melbourne Public Transport Complaints Choir, with a trailer to a Ch31 TV documentary here. This was understood to be the only complaints choir that sung about public transport.  

They appeared at Southern Cross Station with speeches and singing. Below is a 20 min recording (link here if you can't view it below). 

Despite 'complaints' being in their name, the choir saw singing as a way to raise awareness and action for a public transport network that people would use and love.

Much of the style comes from complaint choirs overseas (eg Birmingham) and then popular urban flash mobs where people would appear out of nowhere to bring performance to the streets. The term flash mob entered the dictionaries earlier that decade with the concept originating in Manhattan in 2003. 

What happened later? The choir sung at other venues including Flinders Street Station and Melbourne Town Hall. There was a change of government. Then it seemed to dissipate. Trains got more reliable from about 2013. And presumably choir members went their own ways. 

The unexpected appearance of the PTV singers in 2023 appear to draw a bit from this tradition. 

Where else has singing made its appearance? Metlink, especially, featured singing in its marketing about 15 years ago. Here's an example for ticketing, though there was also the "highly recommend you get on the bus" campaign. 

What are you thoughts on all this? Singers on the network - do they add a welcome spontaneity? Or are you more the 'quiet traveller' type? Comments appreciated below. 

UN 157: Buses for Mickleham Rd (Melbourne's forgotten corridor)

Possibly because it's not centred on a highway or freeway as well-known as Western, Hume or Princes, the Mickleham Rd corridor is less prominent than others in many minds. It also lacks a nearby railway.

Estates are sprouting either side of it but Mickleham Rd doesn't yet have a continuous bus route along it. And the buses that do run (like the 484, 543 and to some extent the 525) are typically indirect and only run every 40 minutes most times. 

This may be partly due to the area's land use and housing. Greenvale was one of the area's first suburbs. Known for its super-sized blocks and luxurious houses with multiple garages, Greenvale is like no other suburb in Melbourne's west, including, like Toorak, homes on double or triple size lots with pools and tennis courts. 

 The modestly successful Broadmeadows migrant family who survived the brutal early 1990s recession might  have chosen Roxburgh Park for their dream home (though this area was later to degentrify). But if they continued to do well a move to Greenvale would really show their friends that they've 'made it'. 

Their lounge alone may outsize their parents home in Jacana, Coolaroo, Naples or Istanbul. And the main commute decision could be which car to drive (the only bus then being the indirect and infrequent 484). Thus all the density, income, demographics, prevalence of non-CBD employment and car ownership stats would have meant only a marginal role for public transport. 

However things have changed. The big-blocked Greenvale that we know is now not the only residential area that abuts Mickeham Rd. Go a bit further north and we see tracts of black-roofed homes on blocks  scarcely bigger than the house itself.

It looks more like Craigieburn than Greenvale. And we know that Craigieburn can generate high bus usage with many of its routes upgraded from every 40 to every 20 minutes (on weekdays) quite recently. Keep going north and there's even more estates, again catering for the more affordable end of the market. A resumption of immigration, rising interest rates and a housing crisis means that areas like these can only keep developing. 

Politics

Local MPs on this corridor include Kathleen Matthews-Ward (Broadmeadows), Iwan Waters (Greenvale) and Ros Spence (Kalkallo). The first two are parliamentary first-timers, having represented their areas only since the 2022 election. All are Labor.

Labor has historically held a tight grip on the Broadmeadows/Greenvale area, with the Liberals especially uncompetitive in diverse mostly working class northern suburbs. Labor's public transport record in the area includes worthwhile weekday bus frequency upgrades in Craigieburn and funding for a new fast bus to Donnybrook (proposed 501).

However Labor's record has been poor when it comes to adding rail services, notably on the busy Craigieburn line. Hence, despite high off-peak usage, waits for Craigieburn line trains are double those of the similar length Frankston line in the south. The Frankston line linked the state's main ribbon of politically marginal seats (a decade ago) and got a significant service boost under the 2010-2014 Coalition government including 7 day trains every 10 minutes. Labor has governed since 2014 but has not given taken-for-granted lines like Craigieburn and Mernda similar boosts. 

The electorate's drift away from the major parties is not just happening in more publicised inner 'Teal' areas. It's happening in outer suburbs too with seats in the area recorded large drops in Labor's primary vote in both the federal and state election of 2022. It's only less publicised as Labor were coming off such a high base. While a lot more results came down to preferences, Labor's primary vote was still sufficient to beat off challenges from far weaker rivals.

The Liberals (who have limited local support) historically also took Melbourne's outer north for granted, regarding it as unwinnable. Thus you didn't get the same bidding war in Melbourne's north that you might get in the marginal eastern and south-eastern seats. Hence the latter pulled further and further ahead when it came to funding for new hospitals, sporting clubs, train services, stations etc. An example from the 2023 state budget was the funding given to enhance Boronia Station (in the marginal seat of Bayswater) when on all objective evidence (including its gateway status for airport arrivals coming off the 901 bus) the long neglected Broadmeadows station has a much higher claim to improvement funding. 

Past Liberal uninterest in the north might be starting to change with local MLC Evan Mulholland taking Opposition Leader John Pesutto on multiple visits to the Greenvale area. Melbourne's middle and outer northern suburbs contain  amongst its lowest proportion of people without a religion. Christianity is particularly strong in a U around Melbourne Airport with strong Islam, Hindu and Sikh adherence east and north of there. This is important for conservative parties and candidates as they sometimes attract significant support from religious people even if their demographic profiles are otherwise more like traditional Labor voters.  

A rethought network

With the area's growth and diversifying income demographics, what public transport might have been considered acceptable for just 1980s/90s Greenvale would be very inadequate now. Hume Council is well aware of this.

Their Hume Corridor Integrated Growth Area Plan from 2015 proposes Bus Rapid Transit down Aitken Bvd. BusVic also suggested Aitken Bvd BRT between Craigieburn and Broadmeadows in 2013 but not in their 2022 state election agenda. Neither has it been a priority with the current state government. 

Mickleham Rd is parallel to Aitken Bvd but is about 2.5km to the west and further from the Craigieburn line. A major road, it's the nearest thing to a grid route in an area broken up by parks, lakes and the airport precinct. As mentioned before there has been substantial housing growth in the estates off it. 

The rough network concept below includes more frequent and direct routes along portions of both Mickleham Rd and Aitken Bvd. I've included three new routes - 520, 521 and 535. They partly overlap with existing routes that may need a rethink. More detail later. 

Route 520

A new main road route that connects Mickleham Rd to large shopping centres and stations at Broadmeadows and Craigieburn. Initially service would operate every 20 minutes 7 days per week (potentially higher in peaks) with long operating hours.

If you were to stage bus improvements here this would be the first route added. Later, as the area develops service would increase to every 10 minutes 7 days, preferably in conjunction with a similar upgrade to Craigieburn line trains.

If the government sticks to the service plan in the 2016 Metro Tunnel business case, we will get such an upgraded 10 minute service Craigieburn line operating when the Metro Tunnel opens in 2025. However there have been other developments since, eg the on and off again airport rail. And this government has a serial habit of building rail infrastructure but adding only minimal service when it opens. Hence it's a case of 'believe it when you see it' as there have not yet been official announcements on post-Metro Tunnel rail network service levels.  

Pedestrian access and connectivity to stops is a must given high traffic volumes. Also desirable would be redoing the intersection of Broadmeadows Rd and Mickleham Rd to permit easy connectivity to SmartBus routes operating to Melbourne Airport and Airport West without backtracking via Broadmeadows Station. 

Route 521

This is a local east-west connector to trains at Roxburgh Park station. Because many homes are more than 400m from Mickleham Rd it has a significant coverage role. Added to this is a commuter role given that Roxburgh Park is the nearest station to the area. 

The middle part of this route skirts Greenvale Reservoir, resulting in a lack of residential coverage. Thus it wouldn't be as frequent as other routes discussed here. It could run every 10-20 min peak and 20-40 min off-peak.  

Potential exists for it to extend east of Roxburgh Park station to connect with jobs at the Austrak Business Park and Somerton Logistics Centre. 

Route 535

A new route that could serve the portion of Mickleham Rd between Craigieburn and Donnybrook Rd, feeding stations of those names. Further south it could serve a part of Aitken Bvd and even terminate at Broadmeadows.  It would be a lower priority than the 520 with an interim option simply to boost the existing Route 525 to operate every 20 minutes 7 days with longer service hours. 

The dotted line reflects a potential Aitken Bvd option with benefits for eastern Greenvale and western Meadow Heights. The main trade-off is that it would either no longer or have a long backtrack to Roxburgh Park Station. However it would greatly increase the number of people within walking distance of a frequent service. 

The 535 could start off as a 7 day service every 20 minutes (better in peak). But as the area develops it could be boosted to operate every 10 minutes, especially when Craigieburn line rail frequencies improve and there is an electrification extension to Donnybrook or beyond. 

Conclusion

Presented is a rough bus network concept for Mickleham Rd with benefits for suburbs like Greenvale, Craigieburn, Mickleham, Yuroke and Donnybrook. I haven't discussed local routes in much detail but these may also need rerouting to minimise inefficient overlaps. Thoughts are appreciated and can be left below.   
 

Index to other Building Melbourne's Useful Network items 

Making sense of the Frankston line's winter works (UPDATED)

Bamboozled by all the bus replacements on the Frankston Line this winter? Here's a guest post from Craig Halsall who has sifted through the sometimes complex, incomplete and conflicting published information to tell us what we need to know. 

A long winter of discontent awaits passengers on the Frankston Line, with the line closing for 2 months from 9pm Friday 2 June for the "big dig" at Glen Huntly; Metro Tunnel works near Caulfield & South Yarra; and works for level crossing removals in Parkdale.

Unfortunately, this means a fairly complicated series of line shutdowns ahead that vary between weekdays, weekends and evenings with the sections of line closed constantly changing. Certainly many will look to working from home as much as possible.

While the core works are between Caulfield & Moorabbin, at various times replacement buses will extend to Arts Centre, Mordialloc or even Frankston.

For passengers south of Moorabbin, express cross-line buses operate across to Brighton Beach (& Sandringham for one week), which is generally the fastest option into the City.

The Frankston to Stony Point line will close for the entire shutdown as the Sprinter diesel railcars are unable to travel to Southern Cross for their usual servicing and maintenance. Replacement buses operate alongside Routes 782 & 783.

Added to all this, there are various weekend and evening works on the Sandringham, Pakenham & Cranbourne Lines at times, which will leave many looking for a plan C.

Only members of the 1% Club can truly understand the information PTV & Metro Trains is pumping out in various formats & countless works articles, which include a complicated table simply listing some twenty variations in date order.

PTV summary page - https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/disruptions/frankstondisruptions/

PTV brochure for June period https://ptv.vic.gov.au/assets/Uploads/NSB-disruptions/2023/June/Frankston-and-Stony-Point-lines-disruption-brochure-June-schedule.pdf

(Oddly this brochure lacks line maps for two of the weekends in June!)

Metro Trains "planned works" calendar (you need to filter to only show "Frankston Line") & it's hard to differentiate between day & night works - https://www.metrotrains.com.au/planned-works/

I've had a go at summarising the main weekday and weekend works in an alternate dot point form...no guarantees this is 100% correct, but, hey I tried!

WEEKDAYS

MONDAY 5 JUNE to FRIDAY 9 JUNE
TUESDAY 13 JUNE to FRIDAY 16 JUNE
* Buses replace trains Caulfield to Moorabbin
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* Pakenham Line: Buses also replace trains Berwick to Pakenham from Thursday 8 June to Wednesday 21 June. On weekends and selected evenings express buses will operate Glen Waverley to Berwick (see below)

ADDITIONAL WEEKNIGHT WORKS in EARLY JUNE
* Pakenham & Cranbourne Lines: After 7:20pm on both Monday 5 June & Tuesday 6 June, buses replace trains Caulfield to Pakenham & Cranbourne
* Pakenham & Cranbourne Lines: After 7:45pm Wednesday 7 June, buses replace trains Westall to Pakenham & Cranbourne
* Frankston Line: After 9pm on both Tuesday 13 June & Wednesday 14 June buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
* Pakenham & Cranbourne Lines: After 9pm on both Tuesday 13 June & Wednesday 14 June buses replace trains Burnley to Oakleigh and also Dandenong to Pakenham. Express buses Glen Waverley to Berwick after 9pm.

MONDAY 19 JUNE to THURSDAY 22 JUNE
* Buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* (L4) limited express buses run express Glen Huntly to Arts Centre - take (S4) stopping all stations bus to travel Moorabbin to Caulfield
* Weekday Pakenham/Cranbourne express trains still operate between City & Caulfield
* After 9pm nightly Monday 19 June to Wednesday 21 June buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Frankston
* After 9pm Thursday 22 June buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin

FRIDAY 23 JUNE
MONDAY 25 JUNE to THURSDAY 29 JUNE
* Buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Mordialloc
* Express buses Mordialloc to Sandringham, connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* Limited express buses Mordialloc stopping all stations to Moorabbin then to Brighton Beach, connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* (L4) limited express buses run express Glen Huntly to Arts Centre - take (S4) stopping all stations bus to travel Moorabbin to Caulfield
* Weekday Pakenham/Cranbourne express trains still operate between City & Caulfield
* After 9pm nightly Monday 26 June to Wednesday 28 June buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Frankston

FRIDAY 30 JUNE to FRIDAY 21 JULY (WEEKDAYS)
* Buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* (L4) limited express buses run express Glen Huntly to Arts Centre - take (S4) stopping all stations bus to travel Moorabbin to Caulfield
* Weekday Pakenham/Cranbourne express trains still operate between City & Caulfield

MONDAY 24 JULY to "EARLY AUGUST" (WEEKDAYS)
* Buses replace trains Caulfield to Moorabbin
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains

AFTER 8:30PM THURSDAY 27 JULY
* Buses South Yarra to Moorabbin

WEEKENDS IN JUNE (subject to change)

9PM FRIDAY 2 JUNE to SUNDAY 4 JUNE
* Frankston Line: Friday night & Saturday night - buses replace trains Caulfield to Mordialloc
* Frankston Line: Saturday before 8:30pm & all day Sunday - buses replace trains Caulfield to Moorabbin
* No Brighton Beach express buses due Sandringham Line works
* Sandringham Line: Buses replace trains South Yarra to Sandringham (not from Parliament). Connect with Caulfield trains from City
* Pakenham & Cranbourne Line: Buses replace trains Caulfield to Dandenong & Pakenham

9PM FRIDAY 9 JUNE & SATURDAY 10 JUNE
* Frankston Line: Buses replace trains Flinders St (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
* No Brighton Beach express buses due Sandringham Line works
* Sandringham Line: Buses replace trains Parliament to Sandringham
* Pakenham & Cranbourne Line: Buses replace trains Burnley to Oakleigh (connect with Belgrave/Lilydale/Glen Waverley Line trains to/from City)
* Pakenham Line: Buses also replace trains Berwick to Pakenham, with express buses from Glen Waverley to Berwick

SUNDAY 11 JUNE
* Frankston Line: Buses replace trains Flinders St (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
* No Brighton Beach express buses due Sandringham Line works
* Sandringham Line: Buses replace trains Parliament to Sandringham
* Pakenham & Cranbourne Line: Buses replace trains Burnley to Caulfield (connect with Belgrave/Lilydale/Glen Waverley Line trains to/from City)
* Pakenham Line: Until 9pm Sun buses also replace trains Berwick to Pakenham, with express buses from Glen Waverley to Berwick
* Pakenham Line: After 9pm Sun buses also replace trains Dandenong to Pakenham, with express buses Glen Waverley to Berwick

MONDAY 12 JUNE (KING'S BIRTHDAY) - UNTIL 9PM
* Frankston Line: Buses replace trains Caulfield to Moorabbin until 9pm
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* Trains operating on Sandringham Line all day
* Trains operating on Pakenham & Cranbourne Lines until 9pm
* Pakenham Line: Buses replace trains Berwick to Pakenham. No express buses to/from Glen Waverley until after 9pm Mon
* Trains operating on Sandringham Line all day

MONDAY 12 JUNE (KING'S BIRTHDAY) - AFTER 9PM
* Frankston Line: Buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin after 9pm
* Trains operating on Sandringham Line all day
* Pakenham & Cranbourne Line: Buses replace trains Burnley to Oakleigh (connect with Belgrave/Lilydale/Glen Waverley Line trains to/from City)
* Pakenham Line: Buses also replace trains Dandenong to Pakenham, with express buses Glen Waverley to Berwick after 9pm

AFTER 9PM FRIDAY 16 JUNE to SUNDAY 18 JUNE
* Frankston Line: Buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* After 9pm Sunday 18 June buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Frankston. No buses from Brighton Beach due to Sandringham Line works
* Sandringham Line: After 9pm Friday 16 June & After 9pm Sunday 18 June buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Elsternwick, trains Elsternwick to Sandringham. Sandringham trains operating at other times.
* Pakenham & Cranbourne Line: Buses replace trains Burnley to Westall (connect with Belgrave/Lilydale/Glen Waverley Line trains to/from City)
* Pakenham Line: Buses also replace trains Berwick to Pakenham, with express buses Glen Waverley to Berwick

AFTER 9PM FRIDAY 23 JUNE to SUNDAY 25 JUNE
* Frankston Line: Buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Frankston
* Limited express buses from Frankston stopping all stations to Mordialloc then express to Sandringham, connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* Limited express buses Mordialloc stopping all stations to Moorabbin then to Brighton Beach, connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* Pakenham & Cranbourne Line: Buses replace trains Burnley to Oakleigh (connect with Belgrave/Lilydale/Glen Waverley Line trains to/from City)
* Trains operating on Sandringham Line all day

JUST ADDED: ARRANGEMENTS FROM 30 JUNE 2023

AFTER 9PM FRIDAY 30 JUNE to SUNDAY 2 JULY
* FRANKSTON LINE: Buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* PAKENHAM & CRANBOURNE LINES: Buses replace trains Burnley to Oakleigh (connect with Belgrave/Lilydale/Glen Waverley Line trains to/from City)
* SANDRINGHAM LINE trains as normal


AFTER 9PM FRIDAY 7 JULY to SUNDAY 9 JULY
* FRANKSTON LINE: Buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* PAKENHAM & CRANBOURNE LINES: Buses replace trains Burnley to Oakleigh (connect with Belgrave/Lilydale/Glen Waverley Line trains to/from City)
* SANDRINGHAM LINE: trains as normal


AFTER 10:30PM FRIDAY 14 JULY to SUNDAY 16 JULY
* FRANKSTON LINE: Buses replace trains SOUTH YARRA to Moorabbin due to Run Melbourne road closures on Sunday 16 July. Catch a Sandringham Line train from Flinders St to South Yarra to connect.
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* PAKENHAM & CRANBOURNE LINES: From 12:15am Saturday, buses replace trains Burnley to Oakleigh (connect with Belgrave/Lilydale/Glen Waverley Line trains to/from City)
* SANDRINGHAM LINE: trains as normal


AFTER 10:30PM FRIDAY 21 JULY to SUNDAY 23 JULY
* FRANKSTON LINE: Buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* PAKENHAM & CRANBOURNE LINES: From 12:15am Saturday, buses replace trains Burnley to Oakleigh (connect with Belgrave/Lilydale/Glen Waverley Line trains to/from City)
* SANDRINGHAM LINE: trains as normal


AFTER 9PM FRIDAY 28 JULY to SUNDAY 31 JULY

* FRANKSTON LINE: Buses replace trains Caulfield to Moorabbin (same as weekdays from Monday 24 July)
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* Weekend trains stopping all stations Flinders St to Caulfield
* 11:10pm Fri 28/7 to 1:10am Sat 29/7: Buses South Yarra to Moorabbin
* 11:10pm Sat 29/7 to 1:10am Sun 29/7: Buses South Yarra to Moorabbin
* 1:10am Sun 29/7 to 4:45am Sun 30/7: Buses South Yarra to Mordialloc
* Weekend daytime buses are Caulfield to Moorabbin
* PAKENHAM & CRANBOURNE LINES: No works advised as yet
* SANDRINGHAM LINE: trains as normal

OTHER THINGS TO NOTE

* Frankston Line passengers travelling to City, Richmond & South Yarra can use the cross-line express bus from Moorabbin to Brighton Beach (or Sandringham in late June) to connect with Sandringham Line trains

* Similarly, trains from Burnley during Pakenham & Cranbourne Line disruptions stop at Richmond

* Buses replacing Route 67 trams from Glen Huntly Depot to Carnegie until mid-July. These divert via Caulfield Station due to the closure of level crossings in Glen Huntly for the "Big Dig" - https://yarratrams.com.au/service-changes/glenhuntly-level-crossing-removal-works

* 67 tram replacement buses can be used as a Community Shuttle to get across the closed railway line at Glen Huntly (free of charge)

* MALVERN: Pakenham & Cranbourne Line trains stop at Malvern between 10am & 3pm on weekdays. At other times between 17 June and 23 July catch replacement buses. Rail replacement bus stops are located on Dandenong Rd.

* Rail replacement bus stops from Glen Huntly to Patterson are located on Grange Rd and Jasper Rd, up to 10 mins walk from the stations

* PARKDALE: City-bound rail replacement bus stop has moved to Como Parade West, near Birdwood St (near BurgerLab) due to works. Route 708 buses towards Southland and Hampton also stop here.


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So that's it. Good luck to anyone trying to travel on the Frankston (and some other lines) this winter. The comments below are open if you wish to share your experiences.