Run it and they will come

No less than 23 people boarded the westbound 5:15pm Route 623 bus at Chadstone last Sunday. Route 623 runs between Glen Waverley and St Kilda via Chadstone Shopping Centre. Last Sunday was the first day of the new Sunday service; previously it (like most routes) ran six days per week and finished just after 6pm.

This success indicates the real demand for Sunday bus travel, a fact only recognised very recently. Indeed with an equivalent service, a route like 623 is the sort that could end up carrying more passengers on weekends than it does during the week.

34 Melbourne bus routes upgraded with extended hours

Metlink website item saying that 34 bus routes were upgraded with extended operating hours (typically Sunday service added and trips added until 9pm) in the period of April to June 2007 under Phase 2 of the Meeting our Transport Challenges upgrade package. Direct quote from the article:

Good news for people who need to travel around Melbourne by bus in the evenings and on weekends.

Between April and June 2007, another 34 bus routes were upgraded to operate with extended hours, seven days a week. These upgrades were introduced under Phase Two of the Victorian Government’s “Meeting Our Transport Challenges” transport package, which will upgrade more than 200 local bus routes in Melbourne over the next four years.

The upgraded bus routes generally operate with the following extended hours:

• 6am to 9pm Monday and Friday
• 8am to 9pm Saturdays and public holidays
• 9am to 9pm Sundays, Good Friday, and Christmas Day.

So far the following routes have been upgraded:

• 304 - City - Warrandyte - Ringwood via the Pines
• 402 - Footscray - East Melbourne
• 436 - Hoppers Crossing - Werribee
• 440 - Werribee - Hoppers Crossing
• 451 - Sunshine - Deer Park North
• 457 - West Melton - Melton Railway Station (via Woodgrove Shopping Centre)
• 458 - East Melton - Melton Railway Station
• 459 - Westlake - Brookfield - Melton Railway Station (via Woodgrove Shopping Centre)
• 472 - Williamstown - Moonee Ponds (via Footscray)
• 475 - East Keilor - Moonee Ponds
• 477 - Moonee Ponds - Broadmeadows (via Airport West Shopping Centre)
• 513 - Glenroy - Eltham via Lower Plenty & Greensborough
• 527 - Gowrie Station - Northland Shopping Centre (via Murray Road)
• 530 - K-Mart Campbellfield - North Coburg (via Fawkner)
• 541 - Roxburgh Park - Broadmeadows (via Meadow Heights)
• 544 - Broadmeadows - Craigieburn (via Roxburgh Park)
• 555 - Epping - Northland S/C via High Street
• 556 - Epping - Northland S/C via Dalton Road
• 566 - Lalor - Greensborough - Northland S/C
• 623 - St Kilda - Glen Waverley
• 624 - Kew - Oakleigh via Caulfield & Chadstone
• 670 - Ringwood - Lilydale R/S
• 679 - Ringwood - Chirnside Park
• 695 - Belgrave - Gembrook
• 775 - Frankston R/S - Lakewood
• 779 - Belvedere - Frankston via Kananook
• 780 - Frankston - Carrum
• 782 - Frankston - Balnarring
• 791 - Frankston - Cranbourne West (via Cranbourne Station)
• 822 - Sandringham - Chadstone
• 840 - Berwick Circle Service - This service has been renamed as two separate routes, one operating in an anti-clockwise direction to become the new Route 834 (Berwick - Narre Warren Circle), and the other operating in a clockwise direction to become Route 835 (Berwick - Narre Warren Circle).
• 841 - Cranbourne - Narre Warren North
• 850 - Glen Waverley - Dandenong
• 862 - Dandenong - Chadstone via Dandenong North

https://web.archive.org/web/20070829233302/http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/news/service_alterations/metropolitan_buses/extended_operating_hours_for_more_bus_routes

Note: This item added retrospectively for posterity. 

BYO boltcutters?

What do you take when you're planning a public transport trip? The following might be a reasonable list:

(i) Ticket (remember BATBYGOBSTOPL?)
(ii) Timetable
(iii) Timepiece
(iv) Street directory or other map
(v) Boltcutters

Boltcutters?

Yes.

If you want to take Route 440 to get to Werribee Plaza from the houses pictured (Melway 205 G2 & H2), and don't wish to duck (or jump over) the chain you'll need to do a round trip of some 340 steps (west to the Purchas Street intersection) for a break in the chain. Or get out the boltcutters and make your own path.

It's only a bit better if you live nearer to Purchas Street. Although it runs through the middle of the established Riverdene subdivision (built c1980) and is a logical collector of pedestrian traffic, no bus stop has been provided for it at Heaths Rd. Instead passengers must either use the stop pictured or board near the Italian Club across the water channel. As is familiar to veterans of the tram stop debates, having stops midway between streets increase walking compared to if they are located at intersections.

The cul-de-sac layout of the area already doubles walking time for many local trips compared to a porous grid-style layout. Bad stop placement and poor foot access to them (eg having to negotiate chains or uninterrupted traffic) means that public transport isn't effective either.

The example demonstrates that road builders alone can't be trusted to do the right thing for either pedestrians or public transport. Hence it is important that plans for new and redeveloped subdivisions be checked for pedestrian and transit amenity. Fortunately for Heaths Rd, the solution is simple - some boltcutters and an extra stop.