Victorian state budget 2025: What did PT get?

The Victorian State Budget was presented this afternoon by Treasurer Jacklyn Symes.  

Station posters might say "More Trains More Often". The minister might proclaim that "The time for bus is now" at industry functions. Or there might be worthy words in documents like the 1437 day old Bus Plan, the latest from Infrastructure Victoria or Plan for Victoria. 

But more important than any of these is what gets budget funding. The following is what we know so far (video at bottom if you prefer watching to reading):

Pre-budget announcements

Budget contents are solemnly secret until tabling. However the government will sometimes announce 'good news' items prior to the budget, especially if other aspects of the budget aren't so rosy. 

There were four main announcements in the week leading up to the budget on public transport matters. These included: 

* $4b funding for Sunshine station expansion as a precursor to Airport Rail and Melton electrification

* A preview of some train frequencies associated with the Metro Tunnel timetables including welcome frequency upgrades on the Craigieburn, Upfield, Werribee and Sandringham lines and some frequency or capacity boosts for V/Line. This totals $98.7m with the metropolitan component accounting for $46m (over 3 years). 

* Free weekend statewide travel for Seniors Card holders (this sounds big but doesn't actually cost the budget much as a. Seniors travelling in adjoining zones already get free weekend travel and b. V/Line fares have been extremely low since the statewide fare cap was introduced)

* Free all week statewide travel for under 18s with a new Youth myki, costing the budget $318m over 4 years. This is being sold by the government as cost of living relief for families. But there may be other motivations for it including political payoffs, an admission of defeat against high fare evasion (especially on buses) and expediting Conduent's over time and budget new ticketing system (free tickets being easier than concessions for fare calculation purposes). 

Where to find the budget papers 

First, for some background see what I wrote in 2024. 

The budget papers are available at https://www.budget.vic.gov.au .

Papers 3, 4 and 5 have substantial sections for the transport portfolio.

The department performance statements (transport section - from page 130) for statistics on running costs, passenger boardings and fare compliance (95.9% for bus claimed!). There's been a big reported increase in tram operating expenses with this attributed to the new franchise agreement and changes in farebox revenue spending. We seem good at paying private operators more each time franchises are renegotiated but getting precious little annual service kilometre uplift in return. Value for money is something that a government interested in both good financial management and improving service levels might wish to look harder at.  

It's important to know what is new funding and what are previously committed initiatives. Here are some described here. Also a lot of funding listed as continuation for buses is a transfer from temporary GAIC to regular budget spending. 

Rail service improvements

There is a 'more trains more often' funding program. Here's a direct quote from p88.

More trains, more often

Funding is provided for additional train services across metropolitan Melbourne, following the delivery of the Metro Tunnel including:

• additional peak services on the Werribee Line

• additional inter-peak services on the Sandringham line

• additional inter-peak services on the Craigieburn line

• additional off-peak services on the Craigieburn and Upfield lines.

Funding is also provided for additional train services in regional Victoria including:

• additional peak services on the Seymour corridor

• service capacity uplifts for critical Bendigo weekend services

• additional weekday interpeak services to and from Traralgon, enabled by the Gippsland Line Upgrade.

Funding is also provided to facilitate timetable changes across the public transport network to ensure new services are effectively integrated into the network. 

Most notable (in my view) has been much needed upgrades to Craigieburn and Upfield line train services to be implemented around the time the Metro Tunnel opens (give or take). Maximum waits on these lines fall from 40 min (Sunday mornings) or 30 min (evenings) to 20 min at any time trains run on any day (apart from Night Network where the service remains hourly). In addition the busy Craigieburn line gains some shoulder peak services. These upgrades fall short of the 10 minute daytime frequency proposed in the 2016 Metro Tunnel Business Case. But the 20 minute maximum wait still represents the biggest service uplift for many years on these lines. Timetables will no longer be so stuck in the '90s as a recent Age article reported based on my analysis. Indeed Fawkner Cemetery will now get a better evening and Sunday morning service than Box Hill! 

Sandringham line also gets a weekday interpeak uplift from 15 to 10 minutes. This makes the frequency  compatible with the trains that form it from Newport now that Sandringham becomes part of the cross-city group. It does however increase inequalities with Brighton having half the midday waits of Broadmeadows despite the latter being a busier station on a busier line.  

Werribee gains improved peak services, with frequency improving from 10 to 7.5 min. Again this assists scheduling with Sandringham services which these trains may form. 

There are some V/Line improvements including a 40 min weekday frequency for Traralgon, more peak Seymour trips and increased weekend capacity for Bendigo. 

What is out of scope? The Burnley and Clifton Hill groups get no improvements. Thus they remain with their 30 and 40 minute maximum waits respectively with City - Ringwood trains having numerous complex stopping patterns. Also Sandringham, despite it operating every 10 minutes on weekdays, appears to retain its existing (and embarrassing) 40 minute Sunday morning frequency. This needs only  a few extra trips per week to fix but was apparently a bridge too far.

Unlike major construction projects that go through at least the motions of community engagement, rail timetabling in Melbourne has historically been a secretive art done with no public consultation and little political scrutiny. The expedience of amending as few timetables as possible sometimes seems more important than delivering a good all week service offer to passengers. That is unless attention is drawn through campaigns like More Trains Melbourne's North, which may have contributed to the relatively good outcomes likely for Craigieburn and Upfield.  

Bus service improvements

2024's budget was extremely sparse for bus improvements. There was basically just the Route 800 upgrade. The north and west were particularly short-changed. The 2025 budget tips the board the other way. The north and west get many new and upgraded services with the south-east getting one (the new Hastings - Mornington bus whose planning and infrastructure was funded in previous budgets). 

Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams recently said that 'The time for bus is now'. The Sustainable Cities Better Buses campaign has been very active in Melbourne's west. The Werribee by-election was arguably a wake-up call for Labor with its primary vote slumping.   

This budget delivers some very worthwhile bus upgrades in areas like Werribee, Tarneit, Mt Atkinson and Craigieburn. There is also funding for bus network reviews in Victoria's largest regional centres, indicating that the government has heard calls for these from cities such as Ballarat and Bendigo. There are some clusters of improvements in certain areas. This is better than just doing one or two routes per year. But it does not deliver new frequent 7 day routes (eg new SmartBuses) at the rate that would be required to really revolutionise the usefulness of buses in Melbourne. 

All up the Output Initiatives for bus services add to $122.8m over 3 years (See Budget Paper 3, p83). 

Page 84-5 has a summary, as below:

Bus Services

Improving bus and ferry services - Funding is provided to deliver bus and ferry services including:

• a package of new and extended bus routes connecting passengers in growth areas to train stations, including Riverwalk, Kings Leigh, Mt Atkinson, Thornhill Park and Mystique estates

• new and upgraded bus services for the new West Tarneit Station

• bus service uplifts to improve access to the Wyndham Law Courts precinct

• bus service uplifts for Broadmeadows and Mandalay, realigned services to connect Aintree residents to the Metro Tunnel via Watergardens and new bus routes for Cairnlea and Hastings

• continuation of Melton South, Woodend and Yarrawonga FlexiRide bus services and the Merinda Park Station to Clyde North bus service

• continuation of regional bus services in Warrnambool, Cowes, Leongatha, Mildura, Bendigo and Korumburra

• continuation of the Westgate Punt ferry service between Fishermans Bend and Spotswood

• late-night services for select bus routes in areas of Werribee, Tarneit and Craigieburn.

Funding is also provided to undertake a review of the bus network in priority regional areas including Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula, Ballarat and Bendigo.

The continuation items are typically growth area initiatives that were funded under GAIC (developer contributions). This is a restricted and limited term funding stream. Inclusion in the budget puts them on a similar footing to other regular bus routes. 

The list above does not give full justice to the upgrades. It is in abbreviated form and does not list route numbers or proper descriptions. Some of them amount to packages of up to 7 routes in an area - something we haven't had for a while.  And at least one initiative has been omitted or has been carelessly assigned to the wrong suburb.  

The best place to learn about the various bus upgrades is local MPs social media. You will see posts, website articles, speeches and/or videos describing the new services in more detail than you'll see in the budget papers. 

Some examples of upgrades happening include news from: 

Dylan Wight MP - New route 186 between Tarneit and West Tarneit station, additional night services on routes 170, 180, 190 and 192. Will make a big difference in a high patronage area as these major routes currently finish around 9:30pm on many nights. 

John Lister MP - improved Route 153 frequency (serves Werribee law courts) and extended Route 441 to serve new Kings Leigh Estate. 

Steve McGhie MP - New Thornhill Park - Cobblebank bus. There is also a continuation of Melton South's GAIC-funded FlexiRide. 

Luba Grigorovitch MP -  new route 140 Rockbank - Mt Atkinson - Tarneit, new route 405 Cairnlea - Deer Park, substantial 444, 461, 463 & 464 reforms. 

Natalie Suleyman MP - New route 405 Cairnlea - Deer Park ($12.1m).

Natalie Hutchins MP - Substantial 444, 461 & 463 reforms with new 464 new east-west connections. Details are sketchy but this looks like a pretty major package. 

Kathleen Matthews Ward MP - 7 day service on 536 bus. A much needed upgrade to services in a high-needs area. The 536 actually ran 7 days in the 1980s but early '90s cuts saw service slashed. This is the only low-cost 7 day upgrade to an established area bus route in the budget (would have liked more). 

Ros Spence MP - Described as afternoon service increases on Craigieburn bus routes 390, 525, 528, 529, 533 and 537 (though might actually be later evening services given what it says in budget papers). Also more trips on the currently very limited service Route 511 and an extension to Craigieburn.  

Sheena Watt MP - train frequency upgrades for Craigieburn and Upfield to a maximum 20 min wait. 

Enver Erdogan MP - train frequency upgrades for Craigieburn and Upfield to a maximum 20 min wait.

Lily D'Ambrosio MP - Wollert area bus upgrades. New route 355. Reforms to bus routes 356, 357, 358 and 577.

Bronwyn Halfpenny MP - Longer hours on bus route 390 from Craigieburn to Mernda. Other upgrades described above. 

Lee Tarlamis MP - Route 881 bus between Merinda Park and Clyde North has its funding transferred from temporary GAIC to an ongoing budget item. 

Michael Galea MP - Route 881 bus between Merinda Park and Clyde North has its funding transferred from temporary GAIC to an ongoing budget item. 

Paul Mercurio MP - Hastings - Mornington cross-peninsula bus 886. The only new bus initiative in the east and south for this budget - builds on funding for planning and infrastructure in prior budgets. 

In addition the tram initiatives I noticed included:

Katie Hall MP - Maidstone Tram maintenance facility at Maidstone and two accessible tram stops on Route 82 at the new Footscray Hospital.  

No doubt more details of alignments, operating hours and frequencies will emerge in due course.

As for how long these service initiatives will take to be implemented the answer is typically "longer than what people would like" given current DTP internal processes and their (now full) agenda. Simple operating hours extensions on existing routes can be done as quickly as 7 months (as Route 800 proved) but for  new and/or reformed routes you're looking at 2 to 3 years, especially if public consultation is done. 

UPDATE: Many (not all) of these initiatives were mentioned on the Growth Area Infrastructure Contribution website for a short time on 22-23 May. See North-Western growth corridor bus package . Package 1 is service increases on existing routes (so is likely to happen sooner) while Package 2 are more complex new and reformed routes. What is listed as new route 335 is (I suspect) 355. However they seem to have been deleted on 23/5/2025. 

This level of synchronised promotion of improved service by government MPs on their social media is almost unprecedented. It's as if there's a new communications coordinator in the premier's office who has told MPs to "sell achievements or lose in 2026". Or maybe there's a new realisation that shorter waits for trains and better buses can be sold as a vote winner. The latter is especially encouraging for advocates who have tried to get the message to MPs that upgraded PT services are sellable (even if PTV aren't the sharpest marketers when they do get improved!).

Meanwhile most of the Liberal Opposition in Victoria (with Evan Mulholland MP being one of the exceptions) has not yet demonstrated their will to win exceeds their internal squabbles. For instance we've heard nothing from them about the budget (a) falling short of the business case frequency upgrades for the Upfield and Craigieburn lines and (b) neglecting bus and most train lines in the east and south-east. 

Which advocates won funding? 

Some of the above upgrades are likely a result of the government accepting DTP business cases for funding. 2025's budget marks a revival in DTP's fortunes. Whereas in the 2023 and (especially) 2024 budgets the department was unable to win much outside temporary GAIC funding. 

This year the government also listened to various community transport campaigns in the north and west, with some of their requests attracting funding. 

Most notably FOE's Sustainable Cities Collective (partly funded by PTUA). It did not get the radical frequent grid bus network it proposed but a large number of bus upgrades in the west did get funding. Including improvements on routes like 170, 180 and 190 that would be part of any sensible grid network.  

2025 was the year that it all came together for Mt Atkinson Advocacy Forum. Its school bus started earlier this year after an earlier successful campaign. This budget saw funding for a public bus in Route 140 which will run between Tarneit and Rockbank. No details of its route alignment yet but it may well be something like my Option 2 discussed here.  

Graeme Blore, a Cairnlea-based transport and environmental campaigner, succeeded in winning funding for better Cairnlea bus coverage with the new Route 405 to Deer Park. Matt Pearse also had a win with a fixed Thornhill Park bus route getting funding. This will offer a more reliable alternative to the existing FlexiRide. 

A 7 day Route 536 bus between Glenroy and Gowrie has been advocated by Climate Action Merribek and the 7 day service on 536 bus campaigns. That too got funded. 

The Public Transport Users Association has long campaigned for improved train frequencies. As have various Upfield line based groups that have also wanted extension and duplication to add capacity. Higher transport frequency has been a Victorian Transport Action Group advocacy priority. And since January 2024 More Trains Melbourne's North has run in-person campaigns at underserved stations in Melbourne's north, notably on the Craigieburn line. All can claim credit for the very good budget decision to cut maximum gaps between Craigieburn and Upfield line trains from 40 to 20 minutes. Especially given that up to now this government has prioritised pouring concrete above frequent service, even where there were no infrastructure impediments to service uplifts. 

Various councils had mixed success in getting their ideas funded. One of those who was successful was Mornington Peninsula Shire, which won budget support for the long-advocated cross-peninsula bus from Hastings to Mornington. 

Those asking for a Sunshine - Melbourne Airport bus did not get budget backing this year. Also,  perhaps compensating for a lack of previous attention, the 2025 budget heavily skewed north and west with regards to new bus services funded. Hence neither Eastern Transport Coalition nor Fix Dandy Buses got any of their wishes funded this year despite outstanding patronage results from the Route 800 7 day boost funded last year. 


DTP administration and value for money

Every dollar spent on a DTP executive's pay is a dollar that can't be put towards funding better buses in overlooked areas that need them such as Campbellfield, Thomastown or Dandenong. Or other transport initiatives that could be thought desirable. 

At the same time the department needs to make its internal processes more efficient given its now bigger agenda implementing this budget's train and bus service upgrades. These reflect both the Metro Tunnel switch-on and heightened activity after lean times for bus funding in the 2023 and 2024 state budgets (recall that last year's budget funded just one new metropolitan bus upgrade - the 800 boost). 

This needs to be done simultaneously with pressure from the Silver Review to reduce VPS numbers to pre-pandemic levels, including with regards to executive numbers. Pages 38 and 39 of the Strategy and Outlook paper give a summary of the Silver Review with this to report by 30 June 2025. And to cap it off one would expect the government would want as much as possible done by next year's state election. 

Video summarising the above

Conclusion

This budget adds much needed growth area bus coverage in Melbourne's north and west, something significantly overlooked in 2024. It also starts to reverse the long-term stagnation of public transport service with encouraging train and bus frequency upgrades.

However its benefits are unevenly distributed; high needs/high patronage areas in the south-east like Greater Dandenong have got nothing from this budget despite the proven patronage success of the Route 800 upgraded last year. Yes Dandenong area stations may benefit from as yet unknown higher frequencies arising from the Metro Tunnel timetable. And the Merinda Park - Clyde bus comes off GAIC and on to regular budget funding. Still more could have been done in the south and east with potential to redistribute service kilometres from quieter routes in lower needs areas to busier routes in higher need suburbs. 

In other areas, the north and north-east bus reviews announced before the 2022 state election appear to have stalled, with no funding initiatives for anything there in the last three budgets. More could also have been invested in low-cost 7 day bus upgrades across popular but limited service routes. 

There are no doubt many aspects of the budget not covered above. Comments on these are welcome and can be left below.