TT 188: Gains and cuts in the 19, 57, 59 & 82 tram timetable changes

Improvements to tram services in Melbourne happen at about the same speed as they go in mixed traffic. There have been no substantial network extensions or timetable upgrades for years. And the progress towards universal accessibility and priority has been painfully slow. I quantified this when I said that we are in a per capita long-term tram service recession, with tram service per capita down 24% in 20 years. 

It was thus a pleasant surprise when news of some modest tram timetable upgrades came out. They started on Sunday. With benefits for Routes 19, 57, 59 and 82, they seek to provide more even service levels and relieve evening crowding. The latter is notable because with typical 20 to 30 min headways, Melbourne trams are less frequent at night than the systems of Sydney, Canberra and the Gold Coast. 

What benefits will we get? Some are in this PTV item. 

Route 57 and 59 will have 14 and 16 extra Saturday trips respectively. The main effect of these is an improvement from every 20 to every 15 minutes for most of Saturday evening (until approx 11pm leaving the CBD, earlier towards the CBD). These and Route 19 get a similar uplift on Friday nights, also until approximately 11pm. 

Like almost anything to do with service frequency in Melbourne, these are oily rag upgrades, involving small uplifts partly funded by trade-offs elsewhere.  This is different to Sydney which knows that frequency is good and will upgrade it boldly, including adding hundreds of trips to a single route.

For example Route 19's Friday and Saturday evening boosts were partly bought by having its weekday evening 10 minute frequency reduced from about 7:30pm instead of 8pm. And from Flinders St the early evening ~15 minute service drops to 20 min at 9:05pm instead of 9:25pm. Few will notice these but still a drop.  

Route 57 presents an interesting case of a very old service pattern being sensibly rethought. Timetables once had a frequent Saturday morning service that reflected old trading hours (including shops being closed on Saturday afternoons and Sundays) and Saturday mornings being very busy. 

Up until these changes the 57 operated every 8 minutes on a part of Saturday morning and 12 minutes on a popular part of Saturday afternoon. Hence in 1999 when tram and train timetables got their big 10am - 7pm Sunday upgrade, the directive was apparently just to cut and paste then Saturday timetables over an otherwise unreformed timetable earlier and later than those times. This gave the 57 a Sunday pattern of 20, 8, 12, 20 then 30 min from morning to night, with the frequent Saturday morning peak applying late Sunday mornings too. 

This timetable smooths out the pattern so there's a flatter 8-10 minute frequency (with fewer 12 minute gaps) during most daylight periods on weekends. Not that Melbourne seriously markets its frequent network, but if we were to then this timetable makes it easier, with the 57 operating every 10 minutes or better for more of the week. The new timetable does however retain the 57's quite late Sunday start time and its 30 minute Sunday evening frequency. 

Route 59 has similar features and got similar amendments to the 57's timetable. However it also got a worthwhile unsung win on Sunday mornings. Instead of the 30 minute service continuing until 8:46am, it cut out an hour earlier for trips towards the city.  Northbound trips got a similar gain, with their 20 minute or shorter waits starting at 8:36am instead of 10am. Because DTP is dominated by late rising Sunday brunch types, such improvements do not get the communications prominence they deserve. 

What about the 82? For years this has been Melbourne's Cinderella route despite all the dense housing going in around Maribyrnong and Moonee Ponds. Whereas other trams operated every 12 minutes or better interpeak weekdays, the 82 had 20 minute gaps until these were recently shortened to 15 minutes. The evening frequency remained unchanged at 30 minutes all week. 

Most of the extra 60 trips per week has gone in to boost 82's evening service. Now it runs every 20 minutes on Monday to Saturday evenings, matching most other tram routes and my recommendations here. Sunday morning also got a lift, with over 20 minute waits ceasing a little after 8am (instead of around 9:30am) from the Moonee Ponds direction. 

82's upgrade means that it has finally shed most of its low service Cinderella status relative to other tram routes, with the slightly longer weekday interpeak waits and late Sunday morning commencement being its two remaining differences. Fixing lower service routes first lowers maximum waits and thus means a more attractive service can be more simply communicated with fewer exceptions. Route 82 will also benefit from the new G-class trams and corridor improvements.  

Conclusion

There's no mistake that the tram timetable changes described above are good. However many come from redistributing service from one time period to another. It's an approach we should be learning from to do with our buses (like Perth does). However one can only do so much with existing service kilometres and more of them are needed to truly transform tram services across Melbourne all week. 

In the same week in which Melbourne's changes started, Sydney announced another round of service upgrades on their L1. Just this one route has had 450 new trips added per week in the last twelve months, extending operating hours and delivering maximum 15 minute waits for 140 hours per week (ie 5am - 1am daily). 

Sydney found no need to trim frequencies at other times of the week to deliver these.

Other Timetable Tuesday items are here

GAIC comes good on bus funding

Growth areas will get a bus boost with developer contributions from GAIC (Growth Area Infrastructure Contribution) going into community infrastructure and services including buses. 

The details of which areas will get what were announced on Wednesday April 24, 2024 (premier's release here). It follows media reports last year of growth area funds being collected but not spent. 

Bus services in the cities of Cardinia, Casey, Hume, Wyndham will gain from the funding. As will some active transport connections. 

 In summary the bus upgrades will be (direct quotes in red, followed by my comments): 

Cardinia

* New and extended bus services to the growth area of Cardinia around Officer – routes 925, 928 – $22,619,000

There haven't been bus upgrades in this area for many years so these are very welcome. With any luck the short-stopping 925 finally gets extended to Cardinia Rd station that opened in 2012. Given mention of Officer, I'd expect 928 to be extended west. Also welcome due to the need for coverage. With gaps of nearly 70 minutes in the weekday peak the 926 needs boosted service but this wasn't mentioned. Also keep an eye on East Pakenham as the new station will open in June and governments are generally pretty good about having at least one bus route running to new growth area stations on Day One, with Caroline Springs and Cardinia Rd being precedents.    

Casey

* Extended bus service on Bells Road in Casey – Route 831 – $23,670,000

* Bus service extension to Clyde North via Hardys Road in Casey – Route 798 – $16,227,000

Both are needed growth area extensions. 831 adds a handy connection to Berwick from the south. Route 798 has better than average frequency for a growth area route so if this is maintained this will vastly improve services in the eastern part of developing Clyde North. 

Hume

* Sunbury Station car park and access paths upgrade – $1,867,000

* Roxburgh Park Train Station upgrade – $331,347

* Bus service extension – Route 543 to Craigieburn Central – $13,145,597

* New bus service – Kalkallo to Olivine via Donnybrook Station – Route 524 – $16,406,739

The Mickleham Rd corridor hasn't had a lot of love with regards buses so it's good this is getting a Craigieburn connection. Though some might be asking for this to continue through to the station. The job asked of 525 in the Donnybrook area is now too much for a single route so the introduction of the new 524 will be a positive, especially for isolated Olivine.  

Wyndham

* Williams Landing Station upgrade – $4,552,596

* A new bus connection between Harpley Estate and Cornerstone Estate communities, and Wyndham Vale Station – $21,473,000

* Delivery of a fixed route services to residential areas currently reliant of the Tarneit North FlexiRide which is over capacity. The modified route will also provide a link between Tarneit Station and the employment area of Laverton North – $39,732,000

Very welcome. Parts of Harpley are a fair walk from the 192 and Cornerstone/Mambourin currently has nothing. It's visible from the Geelong train but the proposed Black Forest Rd station remains pending. Some in Harpley may be hoping the new route continues through to Werribee but this is not mentioned in the description. For some time Tarneit North FlexiRide has been insufficient for the area's population.  Tarneit North should probably have had a fixed route from the beginning but at least it's getting it now. Out of my 5 step wish list for buses in the City of Wyndham this package delivers on two and a bit (scrapping FlexiRide, a Tarneit - Laverton North industrial area connection and some growth area coverage).   

Other comments

What's missing? Not all growth areas got bus funding from this package, with Melton, Whittlesea and Mitchell missing out. Melton's Deanside residents might have reasonably hoped for something along Taylors Rd connecting into the Caroline Springs area. There are also coverage gaps in Mt Atkinson and Thornhill Park. This is a recurring pattern with Melton generally faring worse than Wyndham in PT. However all areas except Mitchell received GAIC money for active transport connections. 

The funding dollars for GAIC look impressive but is only for the first five years' worth, ie it is not ongoing. That will need to come from future state budgets. However precedent is that if a route has been funded by GAIC it generally does continue under budget funding. 

When will the new services start? I examined this last year. As a rule of thumb, if it's a simple service upgrade it takes about a year after funding is confirmed. If it's a new route like some of these will be it will take longer - say two years. So all should be running by mid 2026 (a state election year). 

GAIC funding criteria are strict. It is easier to add a route in a growth area (over an existing network) than to reform a local bus network, which may have wider implications (including areas not funded by GAIC). This is an issue in the Clyde area where many routes have been added but some still have weak termini and there aren't through connections between key centres such as Cranbourne to Berwick. Hence it is highly desirable that reviews be done as soon as possible to simplify and connect local networks. 

Conclusion 

This is a good set of what should be 'business as usual' type bus service upgrades in our suburban growth areas. Better late than never, they will make a big difference to many peoples' lives. 

What might an SRL precursor SmartBus look like?

I (and a few others) have sometimes mentioned the desirability of establishing a premium bus route as a precursor to long-term rail projects such as Sunshine - Melbourne Airport and the Suburban Rail Loop. 

While slower and with less capacity than rail, precursor buses would bring some project benefits forward by 10 to 30 years. It would also make the project appear more tangible and build confidence amongst those making location decisions, whether it is to live, work or invest. 

For brevity I've called this concept (for the Suburban Rail Loop) 'SRL SmartBus'.

This is largely because SmartBus remains the nearest there is to a widely recognised premium bus brand in Melbourne. From a car driver's point of view, there is nothing more powerful than a convoy of 12 metre long moving billboards saying 'SmartBus' going faster than them in its own lane.

Unfortunately such sights no longer exist because DoT/DTP retired the special SmartBus livery. And no more SmartBus routes have been added for 13 years despite some having sufficient service to basically qualify already (eg 216, 220, 234, 235, 246 etc). This deprecation (by a department notoriously lacking marketing skills) has in my view has been a mistake given the especially low social licence of buses in Melbourne versus other cities, but I digress.

So what is SmartBus and why should we continue to be inspired by it? Operating on nine routes, SmartBus services feature earlier starts, later finishes and more frequent service than average for buses in Melbourne. They also have real time passenger information and more distinct stops. Its three orbitals made circumferential travel easier while freeway expresses greatly improved all-day connectivity to the Doncaster area. SmartBus has been a success and contributed, along with the roll-out of more 7 day service on local routes, to the large increase in bus patronage between 2006 and 2011. 

Today I will go into more detail on what form an SRL SmartBus (or better) might take. I will concentrate on SRL East (ie Box Hill - Southland) as this is the first stage with occasional remarks for  later sections of SRL (which also need benefits brought forward with upgraded buses).  

Bronze: precursor SRL bus at SmartBus standards

To its credit the government has made a start here, with the 2022 state budget funding improved frequency on Routes 733 and 767. Implemented last year, these have been appreciated by passengers.  

The next logical step would be a further upgrade to SmartBus standards, notably longer hours and better weekend frequency. The routes that would be front runners for this include the busiest portions of the 733, 737 and 767 for SRL East. 733 would also need extending to at least Southland/Sandringham.

SRL North is best addressed by upgrading the existing 902 SmartBus with a 901 swap at Greensborough and again at Broadmeadows to provide, like the SRL plan, a Doncaster - Melbourne Airport portion. This is zero operational cost but misses La Trobe University, which could get other upgrades.

Melbourne Airport - Sunshine needs a new route as there is none existing to modify.  The western portion is likely best addressed by upgrading popular Werribee - Tarneit routes including 170 (via Werribee Plaza) and some others either side. Labor's 2022 election promise of Geelong weekend trains being boosted from 40 to 20 minutes would also help orbital trips here.  

Silver: precursor SRL bus at above SmartBus standards

While SmartBus was a big step forward for Melbourne at the time, it is well short of what a premium bus service looks like in other cities. For example it mostly lacks the consistently high 7 day frequency as found on Brisbane's BUZ routes or Perth's High Frequency Buses. The gap is most notable on weekends (30 versus 15 minutes) and to some extent evenings. Also most SmartBus routes shut down at 9pm Sundays. Good 7 day service with longer hours, such as offered on other cities' routes, would be highly desirable for an SRL precursor route. 

As for speed, this comes with frequency, directness, widely spaced stops and priority over other traffic. Freeway SmartBuses to the Doncaster area are quite fast but large parts of other routes are not. Good speed is also important if you want a bus to be a credible precursor to what will (still) be a much faster SRL. 

One could increase spacing between SmartBus stops but there are portions of SmartBus routes that are very heavily used. Longer stop spacing reduces in-vehicle travel time but may increase walking distance. This is significant given that a high proportion of bus trips, including on the long SmartBus orbitals, are relatively short and expressing wouldn't necessarily save much time. Given that SRL stations will be a long way apart there will still need to be substantial bus services from various directions, including potentially parallel to the SRL line.

Overall the main way to get to a silver level of SRL SmartBus service is to boost weekend (and preferably evening) frequencies from 30 to 15 minutes and add Sunday evening service. Two routes that got upgrades along these lines include the 234 and 907 in 2021, so there is precedent. Sydney has recently gone one better with their key eastern suburbs routes being boosted to every 10 minutes 7 days a week.   

Gold: precursor SRL bus with 2 tier express/all stops route

Toronto has several cross-radial bus routes that could inspire a 'gold standard' SRL SmartBus. And other middle and outer suburban orbital corridors that lack a public transport equivalent of EastLink or the M80. 

Finch Avenue East, like the Suburban Rail Loop, is in Toronto's established middle suburbs, about 15km north of downtown. Route 39 is the all stops east-west route. It runs every 10 minutes or better from early morning to late at night. Its consistency of frequent service is not matched by any single train, tram or bus line in Melbourne. It feeds the subway and numerous other bus lines it intersects with. 

Overlapping the 39 is the 939 express route. It runs all day from before 7am to 1am on weekdays and approximately 8am to 10pm on weekends. Service is normally every 10 minutes 7 days, improving to about 5 minutes in the peak.

Thus unless it is very early or late at night a two tier service, comprising the 39 all stops and the 939 express is available on Finch Avenue at excellent frequencies almost unknown of in Melbourne outside CBD trams.  

The 39/939 runs a similar distance from Toronto's downtown as the SRL operates from Melbourne CBD (at Box Hill). It intersects the U-shaped subway Line 1 at two major stations and suburban centres (as the SRL intends to do at Box Hill, Clayton and Southland). Development density along Finch Av varies, with it being highest near subway stations. Thus its service pattern is a good match for at least the Clayton - Box Hill/Doncaster portion of our Suburban Rail Loop as a precursor service.  

Below is a possible Melbourne/SRL adaption of the TTC Finch Avenue service model. Based on an extended and upgraded two tier Route 733, it would provide an excellent precursor service.

The red line is the limited stop route, which I've called 733E (although it could, to borrow Toronto practice, be the 933). This would operate a frequent service 7 days and offer substantial travel time savings for those making longer trips. There may be more stops than indicated, for example the Monash Medical Centre and Warrigal Rd (for a Route 903 connection). There is also scope for it to be extended north to Doncaster, though there are already other routes (including the 903) that already operate there. 

The orange line is the 733, serving all stops. This would operate from Box Hill to Clarinda. This is a minor change to the existing 733 which finishes at Oakleigh (after paralleling other routes on Centre Rd). Major stops between Box Hill and Clarinda would get 12 buses per hour as both this and the 733E would stop. This is considered justified due to higher population density and trip generation compared to the Clarinda - Southland portion which will be covered by local routes. 

Something should be said about the two SRL East locations not served by the above 733/733E. Deakin University already has a frequent connection to Box Hill via the rerouted 903 and the 201 university shuttle. Connectivity to the south could be improved if at least the Box Hill - Chadstone section of the 767 is upgraded. Monash - Glen Waverley connectivity could be improved through a frequency upgrade to Route 737 which could also provide a direct connection to Knox City and even further east. The other gap is between Glen Waverley and Deakin University. A potential connection could be possible by extending 766's currently weak terminus to Deakin and then to Glen Waverley via Highbury Rd, though it would be less frequent than the other routes discussed. 

Network transition post SRL 

Unlike (say) a railway to Doncaster, the SRL won't exactly replace an existing bus route. However its success is predicated on excellent access to its relatively small number of stations. This is where good feeder services come in. 

The Gold standard SRL East precursor bus above featured a two tier service with both limited stop and local routes operating frequently for long hours all week. The SRL will replace the need for the express 733E service, however a frequent all stops service will need to be kept to operate as a feeder. On the map above the 733E might be removed with the 733 extended to Sandringham via Southland to retain connectivity for those in Clarinda. 

Bus and driver hours resources from the 733E could be put towards delivering an upgraded SRL East feeder bus network as discussed here (though many upgrades are justified beforehand). 

Conclusion

All three levels of upgrade will require significant additional bus vehicle and driver hours. And the Gold standard will need new buses too, especially for the express route. However the ability to bring many of SRL's benefits forward by between one and three decades should be regarded as a major countervailing gain.

It would also be a good proof of concept for other bus corridors such as boosted Warrigal, Springvale and Stud Rd orbitals, growth area Taylors Rd and Wollert links and a potential future western orbital. Such high order routes would also be fully consistent with the post 2023 mass transit role for buses identified in Victoria's Bus Plan (now 1045 days old with no implementation plan sighted yet).