Four are of special interest. Here's my quick run through them.
New east-west Route 241
Parkville was the main area that got bus reform to tie in with the new station there. In 2024 there were major frequency upgrades for the 505 and 546. Coming up on February 1 is the new route 241. This replaces the now redundant 403 Footscray - Parkville university shuttle and the less important 401 and 202 routes with a new Route 241, which unlike the others, also runs weekends. Route 241 is effectively a longer merging of the 401 and 202 with the offspring inheriting 202's 10 minute service but lacking 401's very high frequency (which was less necessary given the Footscray - Parkville option provided by the Metro Tunnel).
It will join the exclusive club of 7 day bus routes that enjoy a 10 minute or better service on weekdays (the only others being 235, 246 and 402). And by rolling three five day routes into one seven day route there's a welcome improvement in network legibility.
It will join the exclusive club of 7 day bus routes that enjoy a 10 minute or better service on weekdays (the only others being 235, 246 and 402). And by rolling three five day routes into one seven day route there's a welcome improvement in network legibility.
Route 241 becomes the southernmost inner northern east-west route with eventual connections to trains across Melbourne on all but two groups. Weekend service on the 241 is provided with a 30 minute service during the day. This is average to above average as far as Melbourne weekend bus frequencies go. However it does not evenly mesh with most train lines that are typically every 20 minutes. Its early finish also means that it does not meet the 9pm minimum service standard for buses, especially on weekends.
What really stands out with Route 241 is that most of Melbourne's train and tram network is just one change away from it. Few people will travel end to end but it should get substantial usage for short trips in a high demand area that had poor east-west transport. And its 10 minute frequency will make such short trips practical on weekdays (less so weekends due to its lower frequency). Still it should be a patronage success that gets it further service upgrades.
More night trips on the 402
Long-established route that gains a new rail connection at Parkville. One of Melbourne's three (now four) seven day routes that run every 10 minutes on weekdays, the 402 gains some extra later evening trips. These add trips on all days of the week. Key improvements include later Monday to Saturday finishes with service extended to nearly 11pm. In addition weekend evening frequency improves from every 40 to every 30 minutes while Sunday morning service starts a little earlier.
The 402 is bit like the new 241 in that it connects a huge number of train and tram lines across Melbourne's inner inner north from Footscray to East Melbourne. It has enjoyed a welcome trajectory of service improvements in the last 10-15 years with this being just the latest.
The 402 is bit like the new 241 in that it connects a huge number of train and tram lines across Melbourne's inner inner north from Footscray to East Melbourne. It has enjoyed a welcome trajectory of service improvements in the last 10-15 years with this being just the latest.
The botched 250 and 251 timetable
250 and 251 are long-established routes that overlap between the CBD and Northcote. From there they branch off with 250 going to La Trobe University and 251 to Northland. A staple feature of their timetable had been even spacing to provide a combined 10 minute frequency on weekdays, 15 minutes on Saturdays and 20 minutes on Sundays on the substantial common section (partly an old cable tram route).
Unfortunately the February 1 timetable destroys this with the Saturday timetable (for example) having two buses every 30 minutes rather than the previous even bus every 15 minutes, effectively halving the service and reducing bus occupancy. The new timetables haven't started yet but politicians are already starting to get complaints about them.
With poor punctuality there may have been a case to retimetable these routes. However Transport Victoria should have specified (and ensured) that the existing offset so important to provide a frequent service was preserved.
It's not often that Transport Victoria gets timetables so badly wrong but they did in this case. Hopefully it gets changed soon to restore the even service frequency on this popular corridor. The last major metropolitan error (in my view) was last year's 513/514 timetable changes that made catching buses on Bell St (one of Melbourne's main roads) more complicated.
It's not often that Transport Victoria gets timetables so badly wrong but they did in this case. Hopefully it gets changed soon to restore the even service frequency on this popular corridor. The last major metropolitan error (in my view) was last year's 513/514 timetable changes that made catching buses on Bell St (one of Melbourne's main roads) more complicated.
Other buses and coaches
Kinetic routes 246 and 350 will also get new timetables on February 1. Apart from that the vast majority of bus time changes on that date will be regional in areas like Bendigo, Castlemaine, Gippsland and more. Amongst other things this change restores connectivity in the Churchill area that got broken in the previous timetable change.
We don't hear much about V/Line coaches but a large number of routes also get time changes. This makes sense as connections between (typically less frequent) regional trains and coaches are absolutely critical (rather than 'nice to haves') so it's understandable these get first priority.
We are promised more metropolitan bus timetable changes later this year. To quote from that "We'll link more buses between Melbourne's outer and middle suburbs, and improve connections across the network.". Its curious wording that may leave the door open for not just timetable changes but route changes too. The phased sequencing of these changes may be similar to what was done in early 2021 where revised bus timetables came in three stages.
We don't hear much about V/Line coaches but a large number of routes also get time changes. This makes sense as connections between (typically less frequent) regional trains and coaches are absolutely critical (rather than 'nice to haves') so it's understandable these get first priority.
We are promised more metropolitan bus timetable changes later this year. To quote from that "We'll link more buses between Melbourne's outer and middle suburbs, and improve connections across the network.". Its curious wording that may leave the door open for not just timetable changes but route changes too. The phased sequencing of these changes may be similar to what was done in early 2021 where revised bus timetables came in three stages.
All up changes to more than 270 bus and coach timetables are proposed to better coordinate with Metro Tunnel services.
Trams too?
There is not currently news of any tram timetable changes happening on Big Switch Day (or any day thereafter). Trams generally do not currently coordinate with train timetables. For example it is common for trams every 20 min at night to intersect with trains every 30 min, meaning the best connections repeat only hourly. And there are a lot of 12 minute tram headways.
Back in October the premier greatly talked up the 'Big Switch' timetable changes, saying that tram timetables were part of it so news of these may well come out later. Watch her announcement in the first minute of this Taitset/Philip Mallis video.
Back in October the premier greatly talked up the 'Big Switch' timetable changes, saying that tram timetables were part of it so news of these may well come out later. Watch her announcement in the first minute of this Taitset/Philip Mallis video.
On the other hand there may be a case to 'wait and see' to examine the effect that the Metro Tunnel has on tram usage (especially the Swanston and Elizabeth St corridors) and, armed with this data, adjust timetables then.
Summary
These bus changes involve one big good thing (the new 241), one small good thing (the 402 upgrade) and one big bad thing (the 250/251 timetable). They are not however transformative on a metropolitan-wide scale. But future changes may or may not be. We await with interest.
See all Timetable Tuesday items here
3 comments:
A couple of extra stops will also be added to the limited-stops 241 inculding Arden Station, Curzon St, Lygon St and Hoddle St. This will aid in local coverage in North Melbourne, better serve the 'destination' Lygon St precinct and improve connections with DART+246 at Victoria Park.
For legibility with 200+207 it might have made sense to scrap the limited stops along Johnston St - currently it stops near intersections with tram connections/shopping precincts, but misses both Rathdowne St (250+251 connection point) and Wellington St.
The 241 will nicely complement the previous linking of the somewhat parallel 505+546 via Parkville Station in July 2024 when Grattan St reopened to form a Moonee Ponds - Melb Uni - Clifton Hill - Heidelberg link. This also inculded new weekend service on 546 (after over 3 decades) & welcome 20 min weekday frequency for newer high density housing at Parkville Gardens and Alphinghton Paper Mill.
Upgrading both the 241 & 505+546 corridors to 20 mins on weekends would compliment the east-west 200+207 &402 (already 20 mins on weekends) and provide a more usable frequency fitting for inner suburb density and connectivity potential.
It could also establish a precedent for more 15 or 20 min east-west routes in the inner north on weekends through Brunswick & Coburg (eg 504, 506, 508, 510, 513+514, 527+903 & 561) as part of a marketable Go! Network grid.
I am also curious however where the full balance of 202+401 service kms has gone - during university semester there were roughly 24 trips per hour on 401 (2.5 to 3 min gaps), this is now just 6 tph.
The 202 shuttle is a relatively new addition (September 2021) so potentially the funding had a sunset clause? Likewise the 403 interpeak shuttle introduced a decade ago as part of the ALP's 2014 state election bus plan promise may have had not had recurrent funding.
On 250/251, the changes 'breaking' the current timetable are not listed on the Transport Victoria list of Big Switch bus timetable updates.
And so much for throwing away the timetable for passengers along Rathdowne St, Holden St and Westgarth St!
There are also revised bus timetables in Cranbourne, Berwick & Pakenham starting Sunday 25 Jan (Ventura) or Aus Day Monday 26 Jan (Cranbourne Transit), ahead of school returning + Metro Tunnel 'Big Switch' the following weekend.
In what is becoming their usual low standard, they have not published any news item online, nor mentioned it the Big Switch sub-section. This is a concern with many routes running every 60-70 mins, even in peak times.
From what I can see, there are no equivalent changes in Sunbury, where trains finally go to 20 min frequency next month with new arrival/departure patterns.
Routes 926 & 929 in Pakenham area miss out on any frequency increase, despite being shortlisted by the department as possible (but still unfunded) GAIC initiatives back in January 2023, revealed in the September internal Victoria Bus Plan document dump (Schedule B, page 669). And no love for 888 to Clyde either.
Given the exponential population growth in the area, there is a risk that buses will be leaving kids behind in February, with hourly buses inadequate to cope with extra demand from additional students taking advantage of the free travel initiative.
At a quick glance, unlike the botching of 250-251 in the inner north, the 789-790-791 corridor out of Frankston remains off-set outside peaks, with a smoother 20 min headway on weekends than currently. Peaks are a bit lumpy, but not excessively.
One thing I noted however is 4-5 min connections off the train at Frankston during the revised temporary timetable on both weekday interpeak and weekends, which may force many to allow for a long 14-15 min transfer given the unreliability of the long Frankston Line and to allow adequate walk time via the station subway.
Others might narrowly miss a connection only to see it drive past across the road 2 or 3 mins later due to the clumsy turning manoeuvre at Frankston (crossing the Fletcher Rd overpass to access the nearest roundabout, passing through both the Beach St intersection & TAFE pedestrian lights twice).
Outbound connections will become 6-7 minutes later in the year according to the future Frankston Line "Master" timetable (which remains online for trips after Feb 6).
This mockery is not completely unique to Frankston - Routes 419 & 420 pass by the bus interchange again on the opposite side of the road at Watergardens over a minute after departing, while at Cranbourne there is occasionally a chance to make a bus you have just missed by running to the South Gippsland Hwy stop.
As another aside, trains arriving into platform 2 at Frankston when the Stony Point train is present in adjacent platform 3 are timed for 5 mins from Kananook due to slow caution speeds.
While this will slightly improve Metro Trains stats on the Frankston Line, it also flags to passengers/journey planners to allow for the crawling arrival and hopefully not miss their connection to an onward bus, especially down the Peninsula.
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