Confusing bus routes

Route 627 has been nominated as Melbourne's most confusing bus route.

How to effectively double bus service frequency

Where bus routes serve two stations on the one railway line, there may be scope to provide 'every train' connections even though the bus is only half as frequent as the train. In Melbourne potential routes include Altona - Laverton, St Albans - Watergardens, Seaford - Frankston, Hoppers Crossing - Werribee etc. A local example is Route 425 between St Albans and Sydenham; this connects with every evening train from Flinders Street until 8:23pm.

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That brings us to the end of The Connections Series. I hope that these examples demonstrate the contribution that careful scheduling can make in providing fast and frequent service on a well-connected network.

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Very long routes are a connection hazard

The more stations a route serves, the more connections are necessary and the harder it is to optimise each one. 'Knock-on' delays can also be caused where buses are held back for late trains. The effects of this can be minimised, and connections improved if long routes are split and their connections optimised.

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