TT 233: Route 140A joins the weekday 'Useful Network'

 

A quick welcome to new bus route 140A (Rockbank to Mt Atkinson) which joined the weekday Useful Network frequency map yesterday. Described by Transport Victoria here, hopefully they will add it to their local area map soon.

The 140A brings Mt Atkinson from having zero public transport to having better than average weekday frequency and operating hours for a Melbourne outer suburb with buses every 20 minutes across most of the day.

On weekends the 140A enjoys wide operating hours that also exceeds what most other new estates get. But at every 40 minutes (which matches the Melton line's limited weekend train service) it doesn't quality for inclusion on my Useful Network frequency maps for Saturday and Sunday.  

The commencement of Route 140A follows a long community campaign to bring public transport to an area that had much promised but nothing delivered in the way of shops or services (even a Westfield shopping centre was promised but they pulled out).

Providing buses was made harder by the area having an incomplete road network. Also some prospective termini (like Rockbank and Caroline Springs stations) are little more than train stations in the middle of nowhere. Until local facilities develop even simple errands that are elsewhere possible on a single bus trip need (as a minimum) at least one and possibly two changes between services, none of which are consistently frequent. I speculated on several bus route options for Mt Atkinson here. 

The 140 as designed gets Mt Atkinson people to Rockbank Station and, when extended, Tarneit Station. This will make it the first bus route that connects the Melton and Geelong lines. 

The long-awaited bus will make a big difference to Mt Atkinson's liveability. Though adding a new $2-5m bus route should be simpler and quicker than a major $200m capital works projects like a level crossing removals, institutional arrangements, funding means and plain political will often makes achieving the latter faster. 

But in Mt Atkinson's case community advocacy led to political urgency and the makeshift interim Route 140A being established. The 'A' standing for alternative route until the full 140 Rockbank - Mt Atkinson - Tarneit route can start later in the year. 

Mt Atkinson residents often refer to their suburb as an 'island' due to the lack of local retail, services and transport. They now have the 140A bus so they can leave their 'island'. But only to a point. The 140A bus itself still appears as an 'island' on the weekday Useful Network map, with no qualifying lines or routes intersecting. This is because while the Melton line is mostly every 20 minutes on weekdays it still has some much longer gaps that stop it qualifying. Hopefully this, along with a 20 min weekend frequency, can be sorted well before the long-promised Melton line electrification happens.  

As for the every 20 minutes Useful Network, what's next? At one time buses every 20 min in growth areas were almost unheard of. Now it seems to be quite normal planning practice, at least on weekdays. Funded 2025 and 2026 budgeted upgrades for trains and buses should give cause to be adding more lines to the Useful Network maps in due course. 

See other Timetable Tuesday items here