UN 227: Melbourne Bus Advocacy Mentorships now available

Would you like to get improved 7 day buses for your local area? 

You might have occasionally contacted a politician but nothing got done. 

Maybe you’ve almost given up. 

Well I have some news for you.

Today I'm proud to announce the availability of ten Bus Advocacy Mentorships across Melbourne. 

These are for people or groups wanting better buses in their area.

Why a Bus Advocacy Mentorship

With a template drawn from Dandenong’s successful Fix800Bus campaign, a mentorship will add energy to your advocacy, boosting its chance of success. 

Here’s four reasons why: 

• Timing. The mentorship is in 2026. A state election year here in Victoria where politicians and candidates will be most receptive to advocacy from people like yourself. Cost of living pressures and high fuel prices have increased the community’s appetite for better public transport. 

• Targeting. Mentorships are available for specific routes only. One route per mentorship. Yes it's strict but it also gives focus that maximises success. You can always move onto other routes after succeeding with the first. Each route is vetted for usage potential, social benefits and low cost of upgrading to maximise your campaign's success.     

• Experience. Your campaign will benefit from my experience – both on the government side as a bus planner and the community advocacy side.  

• Ongoing Support. Each mentorship will be for 2026 – basically between now and the state election. You will get an information pack to help start you off with facts about your bus route and advocacy approaches. And you’ll have someone at call who can give you tips and ideas during this time. 

A mentorship can be highly satisfying. You will meet people who share your passion for the power of improved public transport. You can make a real difference in your community. And if you succeed you can point to a boosted bus route or timetable and say "I made this happen".

The 2024 end of year video for #Fix800Bus shows what a successful bus campaign can look like.  

Who can apply?

All mentorships are for routes short enough for one person to effectively campaign on, though having two people is handy to share work. I’d also welcome interest from community, sporting, environmental, church or cultural groups wanting to take on bus advocacy as a project. Are you studying transport, urban planning or community engagement? If so a mentorship could be an interesting ‘extra curricular’ activity. 

You don’t need to live exactly on the route you’re advocating for. But it needs to be conveniently accessible as the best campaigning involves in-person and/or letterboxing activity. Also campaign posters, flyers and social media content require some computer and online skills. 

Everyone will do their campaign differently. But our experience is that the 4 Cs below are critical:    

• Community focus. You will never lose sight that the purpose of your campaign is to make peoples lives better through the success you obtain. More useful public transport meets a common good and helps people manage cost of living. Each mentorship is based on one service initiative that can make a big difference to people so is easy to communicate. 

• Concentration. As a campaigner you will be aware that there are many legitimate bus issues that need fixing. But, at least initially you will focus on the bus route in your mentorship. Success there gives confidence and you can then move on to advocate for other bus routes or even train services.       

• Cooperation. You will be operating in a diverse community. The passengers you'll be conversing with have many backgrounds and experiences. They will vary from wildly supportive to unengaged. As will the political candidates you'll be seeking to influence. You may have views on various matters not shared by everyone you talk to. But as a campaigner with a message you need a professional approach with all sides. The aim being to win support from all candidates and parties for at least the bus improvement in your mentorship and preferably others.    

• Commitment. Winners are people in for the long haul. Many campaigns might have a big splash, not get what they want and vanish. It may be hard getting traction initially but if you persist you signal to them that "you are not going away any time soon" which is incredibly powerful. Thus demonstrating that persistence by being visible to the public and the politicians you seek to influence is massively important.  

Maximising your success

Each mentorship is about getting improved 7 day service on one popular high needs bus route. As the same 'specific, high-benefit and affordable' formula that got the 800 bus upgraded, this has the maximum chance of success. Especially as government now knows the incredible patronage growth possible even just from modest upgrades to existing route and that it has an established capability to do it. 

Not having to buy new buses nor do public consultation (as timetable upgrades disadvantage no one) makes service upgrades more attractive to governments than more complex bus network reviews. You just need a strong enough campaign to to tap this goodwill and succeed, assisted by this being an election year and renewed interest in public transport due to high fuel prices. 

Available mentorships    

The ten available mentorships and details on each are below:

Advocacy Mentorship 1: Kensington/Ascot Vale

New Sunday service and longer operating hours on Route 404 between Footscray and Moonee Ponds

An upgrade arising from your advocacy would provide nearby 7 day public transport to a section of Kensington Banks without it. It would also cut travel time for those travelling between the major centres of Footscray and Moonee Ponds. It connects the Sunbury and Craigieburn lines, a connection that has been made more important since Sunbury trains were routed away from North Melbourne station. The patronage case for a Sunday service is strong as this route is Melbourne's 5th most productive route (measured on a Saturday) currently lacking 7 day service. 

Advocacy Mentorship 2: Essendon/Moonee Ponds/Ascot Vale
New Sunday service and longer operating hours on Route 468 between Essendon and Highpoint

The most direct bus connector between Highpoint Shopping Centre and the busy Craigieburn line, a seven day upgrade would connect people to shopping and jobs. As Melbourne's 9th most productive bus route without Sunday service this upgrade 'stacks up' on usage grounds. Route 468's high productivity,  low cost of service boosts and localised catchments all add to this mentorship's appeal.   

Advocacy Mentorship 3: Broadmeadows/Glenroy/Oak Park 

New Sunday service and longer hours on Route 542 between Broadmeadows and Oak Park

The only bus route in Melbourne's middle suburbs where one half operates seven days but the other half does not. A successful campaign would result in the entire Roxburgh Park to Oak Park route operating every day, better connecting people to stations at Broadmeadows, Glenroy and Oak Park. This upgrade has a good case on coverage grounds as much of its catchment is hilly and/or unserved by other routes.  

Advocacy Mentorship 4: Campbellfield

New Sunday service and longer operating hours on Route 538 between Broadmeadows and Campbellfield

Residential Campbellfield is a diverse, predominantly low income neighbourhood severed from surrounding suburbs by creeks and busy roads. It is served by two limited service bus routes operating 5 or 6 days per week over limited hours. Your successful campaign will get the 538 bus upgraded to run 7 days with longer hours, providing an all week connection to jobs, services, shops and trains at Broadmeadows. This route is quieter than some others here but this upgrade still has a solid case on social equity grounds and because it is cheap (due to the route being short). 

Advocacy Mentorship 5: Thomastown/Lalor
New Sunday service and longer operating hours on Route 559 between Thomastown and Lalor

A circular route connecting the eastern part of Lalor and Thomastown with Mernda line train stations and the busy Lalor shops that everyone loves. An upgraded service will improve access to local stations day and night. Has a good case on social equity and patronage grounds with this route the 14th busiest  (out of about 60) that does not run on Sundays. The route's shortness makes campaigning easier. 

Advocacy Mentorship 6: West Heidelberg/Bellfield
New Sunday service and longer operating hours on Route 549 between Northland and Ivanhoe

A handy connector to the Northland Shopping Centre whose popularity on Sunday guarantees strong patronage if Route 549 was also operated then. A seven day upgrade would also reduce social isolation exacerbated by Banyule Council closing the Olympic Leisure Centre pool in Heidelberg West. Those accepting this mentorship will have their case strengthened by the area's high social needs and strong Saturday usage of the route (8th most productive out of routes that do not run 7 days).   

Advocacy Mentorship 7: Box Hill North/Templestowe
New Sunday service and longer operating hours on Route 281 between Templestowe and Box Hill

Route 281's limited 6-day timetable does not reflect its popularity as an important north-south route linking major destinations at Box Hill, Box Hill hospitals, Doncaster and Templestowe Lower. It also has significant densifying residential catchment. These combine to make it Melbourne's second most productive Saturday bus route that does not run Sundays (important because routes that are busy on Saturdays are almost always busy on Sundays too). With other recently upgraded bus routes in Box Hill  recording good patronage growth, a good campaign assisted by this mentorship has an excellent chance of success, particularly in a state election year. 

Advocacy Mentorship 8: Mulgrave

New Sunday service and longer operating hours on Route 885 between Glen Waverley and Springvale

Route connects residential Mulgrave with major stations and shopping destinations at Springvale and Glen Waverley. As the third most productive Saturday bus route that does not run Sundays a local campaign can highlight the route's usage as a justification for a seven day upgrade. The area that would most benefit from improved services is around Wanda St, Mulgrave. 

Advocacy Mentorship 9: Doveton
New Sunday service and longer operating hours on Route 844 between Dandenong and Doveton

Route 844 is the nearest public transport for much of Doveton, connecting it with jobs, shopping, services and trains at Dandenong. It also serves the local swimming pool. Its timetable hasn't had a single trip added for decades with limited operating hours (including a 3pm Saturday finish). Doveton has high social needs with the lowest average incomes in Melbourne's south-east. This, the route's above average usage and the low cost of an upgrade, arms you as a campaigner strong evidence to justify a service upgrade. This mentorship would be in conjunction with Fix Dandy Buses, which has already done some campaigning in the Doveton area. 
 

Advocacy Mentorship 10: Frankston South 
New Sunday service with longer operating hours on Routes 772 between Frankston and Frankston South

Large parts of Frankston South have limited hours bus services with timetables unchanged for many decades on routes 772, 773 and 774. This mentorship is based on upgrading the 772 (as the widest coverage route of the three) to operate 7 days. This would assist access to Frankston station, jobs, shopping and services including the newly rebuilt Frankston Hospital.  

If you're not quite sure where each route goes or its service levels you can look these up at Transport Victoria timetables or Transport Victoria local area maps. 

Other routes?

What if you are keen on a bus route not listed here? Please send me a message to discuss prospects for it.

I have generally avoided routes covered by other campaigns such as Sustainable Cities in the west or various climate action groups in the north. I’d encourage you to volunteer directly with them if that’s where your routes of interest are. 

Mentorships are for upgrades to existing high potential but low service routes in established areas that can be upgraded by working the existing bus fleet harder. Other selection criteria include patronage potential, social need and a major self-evident service gap (eg short operating hours and lack of seven day service). I've also skewed the list towards short but relatively direct routes that are easy to campaign on and cheap to upgrade. 

Compared to simple operating hours upgrades to existing routes, new routes in growth areas cost more to provide and have longer lead times due to the need to buy buses. My experience has not been in advocating for such routes. Instead I suggest involvement in local residents associations or forums. As well as bus expansions such groups typically also advocate for trains, roads, schools and other services in their community. 

Where to from here?

Pick a mentorship opportunity you’re keen on, email me at fix800bus@internode.on.net and we can take it from there. Queries are also welcome if you are not ready to take on a mentorship just yet or need to know more first. 

See other Building Useful Network items here

TT 226: Melbourne train timetables to be heritage listed

Parts of metropolitan train timetables that have not had significant frequency changes for 30 years will be heritage listed, the state government quietly let be known today. 

Heritage protection means that existing gaps between trains will be preserved, with any headway shortening requiring Heritage Victoria approval. It is understood that a line simply being busy would be insufficient grounds for approval, with parallel buses recommended instead for overflow passengers taking advantage of this month's free travel.  

In a note slipped into the little-read private advertisements section of Government Gazette (issued late last night when most lines were running to 30 minute heritage headways) Heritage Victoria Executive Director Dr Ava Long-Waite said that old timetables preserved social, industrial and labour history, notably on Sunday mornings. 

"As the West Footscray to Dandenong line through the Metro Tunnel transitioned to all week turn up and go frequency earlier this year, it was increasingly important to preserve remnants of the rail network where people carefully timed their movements according to when the train came".

"Just like bowing and curtsying in past centuries, presenting oneself at a station just before the train came was a social artform that today's youth would be unable to imagine if it wasn't for the preservation of heritage frequencies on the network".  

Long headways also conserved energy, something vitally important in these uncertain times. "Regardless of propulsion method, the most energy efficient train was one sitting unused in stabling", Dr Long-Waite observed. Maintenance costs were also reduced while significant non-driving times in each roster could please un-named industrial stakeholders while maintaining industrial peace and the mental health of members.  

Lower frequencies would preserve the centrality of "the timetable" in passengers' experience. For younger readers this was a list of train times posted on the wall of stations and available in paper booklet form to take home. These were fast disappearing, especially in the last few months. 

40 minute train frequencies were of particularly high heritage value, now being extinct on every Australian rail system bar Melbourne's. Here they remain prevalent at certain times on the Sandringham, Hurstbridge, Mernda, Upfield, Craigieburn and Ballarat lines. They "really give a timetable character", Dr Long-Waite added. 

Sunbury lost its 40 minute gaps when the the Metro Tunnel started, a move labelled as "regrettable" by Heritage Council Chair Professor Keepit Same. Professor Same said that such timetables encouraged social connections at stations as bored passengers would sometimes talk to one another, grumbling about missed trains. It also provided rare space for personal reflection, though he conceded that "young people today"' were more likely to be doom-scrolling on their phones. 

However Prof Same praised the preservation of existing headways on non-Metro Tunnel lines despite 2016 business case threats for the Craigieburn and Upfield lines to run at a "soul-less" 10 minute frequency that broke the peace of surrounding urban villages with noisy train horns. 

He also welcomed the spread of 40 minute service in other parts of the state. Just in the past year or two 40 minute service had been instituted on the Gippsland line to Traralgon, most Latrobe Valley bus routes, the Ballarat line and many connecting bus routes in Ballarat and Melton. Although the Sandringham line was due to go to a 10 minute weekday service later this year, the heritage 40 minute Sunday morning headway would remain. While some deride 40 minute headways as "non-clock face" this declined as an issue as clock faces themselves were increasingly rare.  

Heritage Victoria describes itself as a regulator within the Department of Transport and Planning. Its placement there "allowed a more integrated approach in preserving disappearing heritage including transport timetables", according to Dr Long-Waite.

Continued public experience of them in day-to-day operations, as opposed to just seeing old timetable posters in rarely visited museums was key to implementing the "Living Heritage" theme in our triennial 2026 - 2029 Corporate Plan, she added, describing the decision as a "fantastic win" after a false start in 2024.

Heritage isn't just about old buildings. It's also about experiences. Waiting 40 minutes for a train was as much a uniquely Victorian heritage experience as visiting Sovereign Hill. "Both should be celebrated", she said from her salary-packaged Tesla. 

A spokesperson from the premier's office denied that heritage listing old timetables would have any effect on services for passengers, saying that "We were never going to change them anyway". 

They pointed to the government's steadfast record of retaining historic headways on most metropolitan train lines, despite fears they may be lost when level crossings were removed and timetables rewritten.

"We can rebuild infrastructure while preserving historic timetables" they proudly said. "We stand in contrast to the Liberals (who hacked heritage headways by halving gaps, especially on weekends) or the Greens Political Party (who advocated 10 minute frequencies in 2022)."  The Belgrave and Lilydale lines, with 30 minute midday heritage headways remaining were cited as examples. 

But in a rare show of bipartisanship, and breaking his party's record when in government, the shadow minister backed the move, saying that the "vibe around Newport when news of heritage listing of timetables broke was amazing" and that heritage frequencies matched the party's intention to rebrand "train and tram housing zones" as "train and tram heritage zones" should it win office. 

Protected headways are in the appendix below. A media conference has been scheduled for this morning to provide additional clarification. It will start at 11:20am and conclude at noon sharp.  

APPENDIX: HERITAGE HEADWAYS TO BE PROTECTED 

Every 40 min
M-F interpeak: Hurstbridge
Sunday am: Mernda, Hurstbridge, Sandringham
Weekends: Ballarat line (and connecting buses)
All week: Gippsland line (and connecting buses)
All week: Most buses in Melbourne's west and north

Every 30 min 
M-F interpeak: Belgrave, Lilydale
Sunday am: Belgrave, Lilydale, Alamein, Glen Waverley
Evenings: Mernda, Hurstbridge (to Eltham), Belgrave, Lilydale, Alamein, Glen Waverley

Every 20 min
M-F interpeak: Werribee, Williamstown, Craigieburn, Upfield, Mernda, Hurstbridge (to Eltham)

Every 15 min
M-F interpeak: Ringwood, Glen Waverley

(Above reflect historic headways in force for at least 30 and sometimes 50 years)

See other Timetable Tuesday items here

TT 225: Not your every day bus routes

From today Victorians get a month's free public transport. The state government is billing it as a cost of living relief measure that they hope will get people, including those who previously didn't think much about using public transport, out of their cars. 

Tasmania is doing a similar thing until July while SA and NSW (both with Labor premiers more popular than Victoria) have held off. NT has been fare free for a while, Qld almost so with their 50 cent fares while WA introduced a fare cap of $2.80 for 3 hours on January 1. Meanwhile the federal government is halving fuel excise for three months. 

The usefulness of measures like these depend on whether people have a usable public transport service nearby. Most Melburnians don't have a train or tram in walking distance but, suburban fringe coverage gaps aside, do have a bus.

Whether the bus runs when people need to travel is another matter. Especially because while trains and trams all operate long hours each day the same cannot be said for  buses. Intervals between trips can vary from a few minutes to several hours. And, notwithstanding some recent seven day upgrades, almost 80 bus routes in Melbourne remain without 7 (and in some cases 6) day service.

A good case does exist for some of those 80-odd routes not to run 7 days. A few are commuter peak only or university shuttle services that serve areas that have full-time service on other routes. Others are suburban fringe type shopper services with very low usage. 

But there would be maybe 50 residential area bus routes that don't run 7 days simply because they missed out on the 2006 Meeting our Transport Challenges program that provided minimum service standards on buses across Melbourne. High patronage potential examples serving busy weekend destinations include routes like 281, 404, 414, 468, 503, 506, 549, 802, 804, 814, 844, 885 etc. 

Apart from the 802 in Dandenong, notable residential area routes only running 5 days include 237, 511, 531, 675, 680, 757, 758, 787, 823 and more. Also non-inclusion on the list is no guarantee that service is particularly useful. As an example routes like 384 in Kinglake and 479 in Sunbury run on weekends but with only a handful of trips. Less severely there are around 50 bus routes that run 7 days but over hours shorter than minimum service standards that require service until at least 9pm. 

Unresolved quirks often make buses confusing to use. Some have been inherited from bus timetables neglected for decades (such as some routes operating Saturday mornings only, reflecting pre-1980s shop trading or early 1990s cuts) while others (like 513's non-running that condemns busy sections of Bell St to just one bus every 40 minutes on weekends) have been very recent creations.

Slow progress on standardising public holiday arrangements has led to anomalies remaining. Two routes (681 and 682) run 7 days but not public holidays while other routes run 6 days but do run most public holidays. That contrasts with 407, 414, 415, 490, 526, 536, 538, 548, 549, 550, 559, 671, 672, 677 that run Saturdays but not public holidays. However to the government's credit the 503 and 506, which previously did not run public holidays, have recently become routes that now do. 

7 day bus gaps

The distribution of buses without 7 day service is uneven across Melbourne. There are concentrations in high patronage potential areas such as Greater Dandenong and inner to middle western and northern suburbs. The north was meant to get a bus network reform to tidy many loose ends but the government backed out after doing a lot of work on it. Other notable areas with sparse 7 day bus coverage include the outer east around Knox/Croydon and around Frankston. 

Route by route descriptions

Some brief comments on routes without every day service are below:

201 Deakin University shuttle. Overlapped by other routes that do run 7 days.
236 Albert Park/Port Melbourne coverage route.
237 Fishermans Bend route serving densifying area.
273 Doncaster East feeder route with a kink.
281 Key route to Box Hill Hospital with high patronage potential. 
301 La Trobe University shuttle overlapped by 7 day 561. 
303 Commuter peak express service in Manningham area.
309 Commuter peak express service in Manningham area. 
318 Commuter peak express service in Manningham area. 
343 A route compensating for infrequent Hurstbridge trains. 
350 La Trobe University bus from CBD. 
389 Mernda residential coverage route going opposite way to 388. 
404 Direct Footscray - Moonee Ponds link with high patronage potential. 
407 Coverage route for Avondale Hts also serving Highpoint. 
414 Old Geelong Rd route serving Brooklyn and Laverton. High social needs catchment. 
415 Williamstown - Laverton route with some unique catchment.
417 Laverton industrial route.
431 Kingsville residential route. Significant catchment remote from train. 
468 Short but potentially important Highpoint - Essendon connector. High patronage potential. 
482 Industrial route near Melbourne Airport. 
483 A fast freeway connection from Moonee Ponds to Sunbury. 
490 Gowanbrae's flexible route bus to Airport West.
503 Popular east - west route on Albion St Brunswick. High residential catchment. 
506 Melbourne's busiest bus without 7 day service. Also Brunswick area. 
509 Shopper style service on Hope St Brunswick. 
511 Mandalay Estate - Craigieburn bus. Very limited service. 
512 Coburg area east-west bus.
513 Major route on Bell St. Overlapping 514 every 40 min runs on weekends. 
526 Coburg - Newlands Estate route. 
531 Sydney Rd bus serving Campbellfield. High social needs catchment. 
536 Popular Glenroy - Gowrie bus funded to go 7 days. 
538 Campbellfield - Broadmeadows feeder. Very high social needs catchment. 
542 Southern Broadmeadows - Oak Park section lacks 7 day service. 
548 Potentially handy cross-suburban link hampered by limited service and weak termini. 
549 Bellfield and Heidelberg West connection to Northland. High social needs catchment. 
550 Northland - LaTrobe University route. 
551 Heidelberg - LaTrobe University route. 
558 Melbourne's most confusing bus route serving north-west Reservoir. 
559 Circular feeder route to shops and trains at Thomastown/Lalor. 
601 Monash University shuttle. Overlaps 7 day 630 and 900. 
609 Limited service and weak termini but high patronage potential Chandler Hwy route. 
671 Croydon North area feeder.
672 Croydon North area feeder.
675 Mooroolbark - Chirnside Park route. 
677 Lilydale area feeder. 
680 Lilydale - Mooroolbark area feeder. 
681 Rowville - Knox area circular route. Already 7 days - just needs public holidays. 
682 Opposite direction to 681. Already 7 days - just needs public holidays. 
689 Montrose - Croydon feeder. 
694 Quiet and largely duplicative Sherbrooke Forest route.  
695F Unusual Fountain Gate variation of 695.
696 Quiet shopper route in Dandenongs. 
697 Belgrave South feeder.
699 Confusing Upwey feeder.
705 Industrial route in Braeside area. 
706 Occasional shopper bus with some unique Aspendale coverage. 
740 Peak service in Mitcham/Vermont South area. 
745 Four variations with one trip per variation in Knox area. 
757 Scoresby/Knox area shopper route. Limited service. 
758 Scoresby/Knox area shopper route. Limited service. 

772 Frankston South feeder route. 
773 Frankston South feeder route. 
774 Frankston South feeder route. Limited unique coverage.
776 Frankston / Pearcedale route. 
777 Karingal shopper route. 
778 Industrial route but potential east-west connection to Carrum Downs shopping centre. 

783 Frankston - Hastings route that partly overlaps seven day 782. 
786 Mornington Peninsula local route. 
787 Mornington Peninsula local route. 
795 Cranbourne/Western Port route. 
802 Popular Chadstone/Monash/Mulgrave/Dandenong North/Dandenong route. 
804 Popular Chadstone/Monash/Mulgrave/Dandenong North/Dandenong route. 

814 Popular Springvale/Dandenong area route. High social needs. 
823 Southland/Nepean Hwy route. High patronage potential if extended to Elsternwick. 

838 Emerald - Fountain Gate rural shopper style route. 
840 Gembrook - Pakenham rural fringe shopper style route. 
842 Endeavour Hills - Fountain Gate shopper style route. 
844 Doveton - Dandenong feeder. Very high social needs catchment. 
857 Part industrial/part residential route serving Patterson Lakes.
885 Popular Glen Waverley - Mulgrave - Springvale feeder. 

These descriptions should be helpful in determining which routes most justify 7 day service. 

Conclusion 

There's a lot more to do with regards to public transport that's available all days of the year. Operating hours extensions would make buses much more of an option for those who might wish to switch to public transport in these high fuel price times but find existing timetables don't meet their travel needs.  

Many of the routes that could benefit from an upgrade are relatively short. Those with high patronage potential or high social needs catchments would be particularly good 'bang for buck' to upgrade. Especially as the buses to operate them already exist idle in depots. 

See other Timetable Tuesday items here