TT 214: Craigieburn upgraded bus timetables to start next month (and what's next for bus reform?)

A major feature of bus upgrades in 2025's state budget was a package for the Craigieburn area. These were needed due to the area's high population growth and the strong usage of buses in more established parts of Craigieburn. 

The upgrades, which will start on October 5, were announced on the premier's website and later on Transport Victoria's. However people might have missed it as TV put it in the Projects area, not where  they have other bus upgrades announced. 

PTV/TV shies away from using maps to publicly explain services upgrades even though they need to be produced to explain them to stakeholders such as MPs. Said MPs like them, and being better at public communication than the generally taciturn TV, sometimes post them online. So Ros Spence MP posted a handy TV-produced map on her Facebook page that you won't see on TV's. 

In summary the upgrades include: 

* Craigieburn routes 525, 528, 529, 533, 537 

- Monday to Saturday evening hours boosted to 11:40pm approx

- Monday to Saturday evening frequency boosted to 30 min

        - Route 525 made more direct with the extended 524 serving Kalkallo instead 

The operating hours extensions are arguably most significant of the measures above. These, along with upgrades to several routes in Werribee funded in the 2025 state budget and some earlier initiatives in Cranbourne, ditch the practice that all local bus routes in Melbourne should stop at 9pm Monday to Saturday despite trains, trams and SmartBuses continuing until at least midnight. 

The later trips represent an advance on the 7 day 9pm finish set down in the 2006 MOTC minimum service standards. This was a widely (but not totally) implemented plan that benefited over 100 bus routes in the vigorous period of bus service addition between 2005 and 2010. MOTC reversed about two or three decades of cuts which by late 1991 had removed almost all after 7pm and Sunday service from privately operated (but state funded) metropolitan bus routes.  

What didn't get changed on Craigieburn buses? Weekend morning start times remain too late for some early events or transport connections. Weekends remain at every 40 minutes even though a 20 minute service on routes like 529 and 533 would bring Craigieburn in line with Werribee which already has some 7 day 20 minute services. However Sunday evenings improve with their last buses now nearer to 10pm than 9pm. 

A notable omission is that Route 541 from Broadmeadows to Craigieburn North does not gain from these changes even though, with 24 hour weekend service, it could be a worthy replacement of the less known 953 Night Network only route. 

Also of future interest is what happens to evening bus frequencies when Craigieburn evening trains improve from every 30 to every 20 minutes after the Metro Tunnel opens. Maintaining connectivity will require some headway changes, possibly involving the 20 minute weekday service continuing to later at night before dropping to 40 minutes for the last few trips. 

Overall though these are a good set of bus service upgrades that will make a real difference to how people get around in Craigieburn and surrounds in the 8pm to midnight time slot. 

* 511 Modified to operate to Craigieburn station (instead of Donnybrook) 

Remains a limited peak-only service for now but will get extra trips next year. Craigieburn station has more trains and buses to other destinations. 

* 524 Extended north to serve Cloverton Estate and becomes bidirectional.

Some improvements to operating hours though ~7pm weekend finish remains. The extension adds coverage and replaces 525 in Kalkallo. 

* 543 Extended to Craigieburn Central 

Also with service boosts including:

- Weekday peak frequency boosted 30 to 20 min

- Weekday interpeak frequency boosted 40 to 30 min

- Later finish (10pm instead of 9pm)

As well as providing new coverage the 543 Craigieburn Central extension makes a lot of trips quicker; previously Greenvale and Mickleham Rd passengers had to backtrack to Roxburgh Park and catch a train or bus to get to Craigieburn, which is their nearest large centre. The extended route should get good usage from Day One as the extended route facilitates a bidirectional passenger flow across the day. 

Two things of are of note. (i) The opportunity was not taken to join it to Route 537 to provide a one seat (though somewhat indirect) ride to Craigieburn station and (ii) The 30 minute interpeak weekday frequency (which it shares with the 544) does not harmonise with trains every 20 minutes but offers a more intuitive clockface service that people will probably value more. It is also a step towards an ultimate 20 minute frequency as already runs on most Craigieburn local routes. 

Summary

These Craigieburn area bus network changes are good and will be welcomed by passengers. They bring much needed route coverage, frequency and operating hours extensions to a high patronage and fast growing part of Melbourne's outer north. Usage of the new services is likely to be above the metropolitan average for buses.  

However the government appears to be using a pivot to growth area service boosts like these as reasons to ditch its ambitious but unfunded program of Melbourne north, Melbourne north-east and Mildura area bus network reviews that were promised before the 2022 state election. When both are needed and should not be traded off against the other.

The fate of the bus network reviews represents a continuation of historical patterns writ large. The 2005 to 2010 period was marked by high activity in expanding growth area coverage, upgrading existing local routes and even rolling out new SmartBus routes with the majority of these initiatives done by 2010.

Bus network reviews were in the same MOTC package. They were commissioned but implementation was limited. By the time the reports came out the government's priorities had moved on (in this case addressing severe problems with rail crowding and unreliability) and political interest in buses (and especially network reform) had evaporated.

A similar thing appears to have been repeated (with even less to show) despite substantial DTP spending on staffing, consultants and reports to develop reform proposals that may never see the light of day. Like with financing for large infrastructure projects the financial and/or political appetite needs to be just right for significant bus network reform to happen. If the opportunity is not grabbed immediately it will vanish or at best be redirected to something else.  

Notwithstanding the high value of the funded bus upgrades in areas like Werribee and Craigieburn, dropping the ball on network reform will mean that 30 year backlogs in maybe two-thirds of Melbourne suburbs extend to 40 or 50 years if not more, leading to mounting inefficiencies and a bus network decreasingly fit for purpose.

It looks like the people of Reservoir North-West, for example, will continue to have their midday reversing, occasionally extending 558 bus that finishes at 1pm Saturday for years to come. That is unless an alternative more agile and politically acceptable path to successful and implemented established suburb bus network reform like Perth has developed expertise in can be found.  
 

See other Timetable Tuesday items here