The changes
* Route 766 to run more frequently on Saturdays, gain Sunday service and be run via Union Station. These are welcome changes. As discussed here, this timetable upgrade pretty much had to be done as otherwise some in its catchment would be too heavily disadvantaged by having the rerouted 903 taken away from them. It is also heartening that Route 766 will at last be rerouted to serve the new Union Station, something discussed here but not done at the time. 766's upgrade will also give the area its first 7 day bus route as others like 284 and 612 do not run Sundays.
* Route 271 to operate 7 days. Another surprise but very welcome. Route 271 has significant unique coverage and I considered 7 day service essential, even if it was at the expense of frequency on other days of the week. We'll know tomorrow if it has had timetable changes on the other days to help fund it.
Trade-offs
What are the two big stories of these changes?
Firstly I would have expected the 201 Box Hill - Deakin shuttle to operate every 10 minutes rather than every 15 minutes as advised. A 10 minute service is much more 'turn up and go' with people relying less on timetables. It is also more marketable as waits longer than that would cause people to consider other routes, making the service offer more complex. Other key university shuttles have a 10 minute or better service including the 301, 401 and 601.
However I can also see why they opted for 15 minutes. Deakin is a smaller campus than the others. Deakin already has the recently upgraded 767 to Box Hill and will soon have the 903 also, both comprising 7 trips per hour. Adding a 201 every 15 minutes would boost that to 11 trips per hour, which DTP might have considered sufficient, despite not all Deakin stops being served by all routes. Also, unlike other train lines that other university shuttles serve, trains at Box Hill operate on a base 15 minute frequency, making a well-timed 15 minute shuttle potentially OK. And, especially for Box Hill - Deakin trips there may be scope to stagger a 15 minute shuttle to operate at times offset with the 903, creating a 7.5 min combined service, especially if stops are closely spaced at Box Hill interchange and adequate information exists.
If the Deakin shuttle was less service than some might have assumed, the busy 903 on Saturdays via Chadstone Shopping Centre is a case of more. Why is this important? These changes may start to unravel a historical error that's existed for the better part of 15 years. First some background.
Before the long 903 Altona - Mordialloc orbital there was the shorter Box Hill - Mordialloc Route 700. This was at one time Melbourne's busiest bus route (at least amongst the private operators) and got upgraded to SmartBus status in 2005. The Saturday timetable then featured three buses per hour, ie a 20 minute service typically meshing with trains at the time. The SmartBus orbitals (of which 700 was to become a part) received 30 minute frequencies on weekends. As well as being poor for a premium route this did not mesh well with trains then every 20 minutes. However there was a will to at least retain previous frequencies so the eastern part of the 903 retained its 3 buses per hour with the northern and western portions at 2 buses per hour. That meant an uneven Saturday timetable with a mixture of 15 and 30 minute waits that was arguably inferior to the consistent 20 minute headway that it replaced.
Unfinished business
Overall these look a good package of changes even though the extra service kilometre resources added appears small. It is particularly encouraging that DTP has used this opportunity to introduce other cost-effective reforms including boosted 903 Saturday service and 7 day operation on the 271 along with the previously budgeted Deakin-specific measures.
These are exactly the type of incremental service optimisations that DTP should be implementing at a far faster rate like Perth does. This would maximise benefits from constrained service funding and facilitate future wider reforms including simpler and more frequent routes.
The timetables should be available tomorrow, with services commencing a month later on 15 October.
15/9/2023 post script - new timetables
201 Every 15 min from 7am until just before 10pm. Approximately 15 min trip time. PDF on PTV website has major error in footnote referring to Monash & Clayton (which 201 doesn't serve). Also box re operating days is unhelpful.
271 Introduces an hourly Sunday service. Saturday service remains every 30 min. Span meets minimum service standards on all days of the week.
281 6-7pm weeknight evening service improved with all trips going their full route and one or two later trips added. Saturday timetable substantially unchanged and there remains no Sunday service.
766 Saturday service upgraded to every 30 min. New Sunday service every 40 min. Evening service typically every 30 min on all nights of the week. Span improved to meet minimum service standards on all days of the week.
903 Saturday morning times 'massaged' to provide approx 25 minute headway from Altona with shorter average waits at Chadstone (15-20 min) but still lumpy timetable. Morning departures at Mordialloc improved to approx every 20 min but spacings increase with distance over the morning as traffic volumes rise. Route is basically too long to schedule evenly with varying run times.
PTV write-up here
3 comments:
As a Deakin Uni student myself, these will actually be some very good changes to the buses around here (now being served by 11 buses per hour between Deakin and Box Hill through 3 routes, as opposed to the current 9.5 between 4 routes). I've barely used the 768 in my 6 or so months of being a student here (it's stop is actually on the left side of Holland avenue just past the Building HF overpass whereas the 201 and, at present, the 281 depart from a dedicated interchange on the right side directly underneath said building) and I've only ever used the 281 if it's come before the 201 has so not very surprising to see the former route axed and the latter truncated. Doncaster residents (assuming they use Doncaster Shoppingtown's interchange) now have the 903 anyway to get them directly to Deakin so not really a major offset either for them.
It would've been rather nice if they extended the 766 to Deakin Uni though just to make it an one-seat trip for surrey hills-based students and also allow for a Deakin connection from Union.
Also very pleasing to see the 271 finally gain Sunday service, meaning that 100% of the bus routes serving Ringwood station have 7 day service, and Park orchards finally being put on the Sunday PT map where it belongs. I've witnessed quite a lot of teens waiting for the 271 at Ringwood on Sundays only for them to check the timetable and realise it isn't running and having to find another way home.
P.S. I'm interested to see if the 201 continues to use it's current Elgar road alignment between Whitehorse and Riversdale roads or if they'll change the alignment around for a potentially faster option. Until a couple of weeks ago (I don't know whether it was something to do with Ventura/PTV trialling different things and/or the Level crossing removals at Mont Albert and Surrey Hills), the 201 was often taking an alternative route directly down station street and then along Riversdale road (Basically the 903 path) before heading down Elgar road to Deakin Uni. It often actually felt faster (and tbh it probably was faster) than travelling along Elgar road, probably because the buses can just directly enter the Box Hill interchange on Station street rather than have to wind around Whitehorse road to get to station street, and because the 201 doesn't stop anywhere between Box Hill and Deakin's Elgar precinct.
@Aiden
You make good points but I respectively disagree with your route 766 idea. It needs to be extended down Highbury Road from the current Burwood terminus to Blackburn Road as most of Highbury is a PT blackspot. Ideally, the 766 would turn left from Warrigal Road onto Highbury then turn right at Blackburn Rd to High St Rd then left towards Glen Waverley.
Hello, unfortunately losing the 903 portion from Toorak/Burwood down to Elgar is a sad omission on behalf of PTV, ignoring the needs of the users in this sector - particularly the schools & Cameron Close aged care residence. 766 does not have an equivalent service for these users, nor will it allow people to travel from Box Hill South to work, school or to amenities easily.
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