Executive Summary: A few thoughts on the future of bus network reform in Melbourne (it needs to proceed in some form despite the reported setbacks) and a summary of numerous media appearances in the last week.
I was one of the first outside the department to read and index nearly 2000 pages worth of these documents and reports that reveal previously unknown information about Melbourne's bus services and the implementation of the Bus Reform Implementation Plan as called for in
Victoria's Bus Plan. I had
worries that the network reform elements of the plan were ailing back in 2023. The released papers validate these concerns.
About 18-24 months of substantial planning work, including public engagement and the use of consultants (which wouldn't have been cheap) was done before the plan to reform buses in the three pilot areas of Mildura, Melbourne's north and Melbourne's north-east was apparently ditched.
Despite Melbourne spending less than other cities on running buses, it is also true that (as it has pointed out) the government is continuing to invest in new bus services. Especially in outer western and northern suburbs with genuinely high transport needs. Examples include growth area funding through GAIC and funding for improved bus services that feed the Ballarat and Traralgon train lines as part of re-coordination with V/Line trains. The
2025 state budget was much better for buses (and also Metro train services) in Melbourne's west and north than the generally threadbare 2023 and 2024 budgets.
However these upgrades, welcome as they are, do not address multi-decade network inefficiencies and service shortfalls that plague buses in the 5 to 25km ring from Melbourne. The reviews would have done that by tacking route overlaps and weak termini to get us towards a more direct network with buses every 10 minutes along main roads. Instead, especially on weekends, we have long gaps with parts of Bell Street Preston (for example) having similar 40 minute gaps between buses as local routes in the back streets of Moe. Low frequency and short operating hours contribute to the poor perceptions of buses confirmed by market research.
Unless the government can revive bus network reform in some form (possibly involving simpler, quicker to implement reviews involving small clusters of routes), we'll be waiting years if not decades for weekend service better than every 30 to 60 minutes on key roads like Millers, Bell, Murray, Mahoneys, Warrigal, Springvale, Wellington, Cheltenham, Stud, Narre Warren - Cranbourne and more. Doing nothing here should not be an option given Melbourne's rate of growth and travel patterns that continue to change.
Bus network reform can be controversial, creating 'winners' and 'losers' even though there might be an overall good. This might have caused some in cabinet to be wary of it. Maybe some involved bit off more than they could chew and/or did not sell the benefits sufficiently to people who mattered. Then there is the opex starvation problem where, especially in a low interest rate environment, it is easier to find (say) $10b for a capital infrastructure project than to fund (say) $200m extra annually for improved services, despite the latter often moving more people.
Views may differ over the merits of the reform plan that got presented to cabinet and not funded.
But there is not doubt that proceeding with Werribee-style weekend frequency and operating hours bus upgrades on main roads and completing the 2006 minimum service standards program on popular local routes in areas with high social needs present a massive opportunity given the power of good quality bus services to spread connectivity, broaden housing choices and save people money. The success of this approach is shown by the strong patronage results arising from service upgrades on key routes such as 733 and 800. Candidate routes could include the likes of 160, 411, 418, 420, 460, 494, 495, 508, 532, 561, 570, 623, 630, 670, 693, 737, 742, 828, 841, 900, 901 (part), 902 (part), 903 (part), 926 etc.
Media commentsMy comments have been on bus service resourcing, bus network reform and tacking fare evasion.
Here is where people saw, heard or read my comments:
* 10/9/2025 Australasian Bus & Coach item on Melbourne's bus underspend
https://www.busnews.com.au/tabled-documents-reveal-victorian-government-underinvesting-on-metropolitan-bus-services
* 12/9/2025 Dandenong Star Journal item on bus service underfunding
https://dandenong.starcommunity.com.au/news/2025-09-12/underfunded-bus-boost-call/
* 17/9/2025 ABC News website item on bus network underspend and failure of bus reform plan
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-17/victoria-bus-system-public-transport/105780926
* 17/9/2025 7am ABC Victoria Radio News item regarding bus reform plan
* 17/9/2025 ABC Melbourne radio interview with Raf Epstein on bus network reform (from 36:50 in)
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/melbourne-mornings/mornings/105771218
* 17/9/2025 7pm ABC Victoria TV News item on failure of bus reform plans
https://iview.abc.net.au/video/NU2502V260S00
* 18/9/2025 ABC News website item on low touch on rates on Melbourne's buses
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-18/victoria-bus-fare-evasion-public-transport-myki/105785946
* 18/9/2025 4:15pm ABC Regional Drive with Prue Bentley (approx 1hr 17 min in)
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/vic-statewide-drive/drive/105772482
* 18/9/2025 7pm ABC Victoria TV News item on bus fare evasion
https://iview.abc.net.au/video/NU2502V261S00
Thanks to journalists Sean Mortell, Margaret Paul, Prue Bentley, Raf Epstein and others for compiling these stories.
Index to Useful Network items
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