Are you being served? Commentary on the service aspects of public transport in Melbourne, Australia. Covers networks, routes, timetables, planning, co-ordination, information, marketing and more.
•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.
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.
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 halvinggaps, 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
