Finally, a review of Ballarat's bus network

This year's Victorian budget included some funds for a review of Ballarat's bus network. This is something the people of Ballarat have been campaigning for since the network was last changed, in 2016-17, and was a core focus of my advocacy back when I was Convener of the Ballarat Branch of the PTUA. It's been a real uphill battle to get this review, so now we've finally got it, what do we want it to do? 

New bus interchange and services for Ballarat

Construction on the bus interchange (midground) and staff car park (foreground)

Last Friday, PTV announced that as of 19 December, Ballarat buses would start using the new bus interchange at the railway station, and that Ballarat's bus routes would start running a bunch of additional services. So what does this mean for the travelling public? 

The legacy of Ballarat's tramways

The shape of Ballarat's tram network in 1971

On Sunday 19 September 1971, 50 years ago today, the last ever revenue service on Ballarat's tramways ran from Lydiard Street to Sebastopol. The mayors of Sebastopol and Ballarat ceremoniously piloted it back to the depot, and the transition of Ballarat's public transport network to motor buses was complete, with the tramways entering their preservation era. But the legacy of the tramways echoed through Ballarat for many years after, and can still be heard today. 

New Ballarat bus timetables

A bus heading down Sturt Street

With very substantial changes to the timetables on the Ballarat rail line introduced at the end of January, the Department of Transport has revamped the timetables for the Ballarat bus network, and launched them last weekend. Let's take a look at what this means. 

Can buses attract more passengers?

There is a persistent view among some politicians, policy-makers and members of the general public, that people won't use buses unless they absolutely have to. There is a not-insignificant (though shrinking) chunk of the population who think public transport as a whole is only for people who can't afford to drive a car, and that anyone who has the option of driving would be mad to do anything else. But there's a much larger group who see it as perfectly valid to take a train or a tram - and who may regularly do so themselves - but who would never take a bus if they could avoid it, and assume everyone else thinks the same way. I think this is worth examining, because it has a lot of implications for the policy - and the politics - that drives our transport systems. 

The Belated Ballarat Bus Interchange

I'm back in Australia and have been quite busy getting my life organised again, hence the lack of posts (searching for rental properties is The Worst). Some more Travel Diaries and some more substantial local stuff should be coming soon, but just a quick post today on some news that broke last weekend.

Diagram of the precinct redevelopment (via VicTrack)

New accessible bus stops along Main Road

VicTrack recently installed a bunch of new bus shelters along the Main Rd/Geelong Rd corridor in Ballarat, which I think deserve a bit of attention. New shelters and surrounding works have been installed at Callow Street, Elsworth Street, Kinnersley Avenue, Milverton Lane, Glenvale Road, Shire Avenue, Gear Avenue, Elizabeth Street, Barkly Street, and the Midland Highway. All of these were existing stops along the route, but some were just poles in the grass, some had shelters but no paths leading to them, and so on. All needed an upgrade.

Locations of the stops

Connecting Ballarat