Bellarine Times
Tuesday 31 August 2010
VOL 3. No 35
www.bellarinetimes.com.au
FREE WEEKLY
It’s Family Fun Festa time at Leopold Primary School! Entertainment, Kids Street activities, fabulous food and a full programme of festivities are planned for the huge annual event which is finally here. The festa, proudly sponsored by the Bellarine Times and other local businesses, will be held on Saturday, September 4 from 10am and 4pm at the school. See next week’s Bellarine Times for full coverage of the Family Fun Festa. Billy, Jacob and Leopold PS principal, Glenn Brown, were preparing for fun with the lucky ducks on Saturday. Photo: ALISON MARTIN
ON THE BUS A reliable bus service would reduce road congestion and our carbon footprint
BY ALISON MARTIN AN INCREASING population and push to create a more sustainable Bellarine requires a greatly improved bus system according to the local Public Transport Users Association. The Bellarine community is still waiting to see what improvements will be rolled out, as part of an $80 million State Government overhaul of Geelong and the peninsula’s bus system - and when. However PTUA branch convenor, Paul Westcott, is adamant that if public transport on the Bellarine is going to be a reliable option for the thousands of commuters who currently drive to Geelong for work or train connection to Melbourne, the “network must be planned from scratch”.
Surf Forecast
“We need to have an interconnecting bus network, planned and supervised by a skilled Geelong Regional Public Transport Authority,” he said, explaining that a few extra services would not solve the existing problems. Westcott said the current bus system was only used by Bellarine residents who had no other transport options because it did not offer adequate services for a commuter service. “The government must provide an initial funding injection for new services.” He said the frequency and operational hours of buses around the Bellarine needed to be improved and routes needed to be more simple. “The plan should include regular-interval services; running at ‘clock face’ times and always departing at the same ‘minutes past the hour’. This
makes it possible to organise repeating connections with other routes at certain points on the network. “Ideally, train timetables should also be ‘regular interval’ services so that peninsula bus services can feed into them at Geelong station - and possibly Marshall, depending on the timetable.” He said services needed to run at least every hour, and perhaps every half hour all day, including on the weekends, when currently services are extremely infrequent. The PTUA is also calling on route structures to be simpler, with few or no variations; and major hubs in Ocean Grove and Drysdale where people can change buses. “At least in the short term, the system is likely to need an injection of funding to pay for extra services, and perhaps some extra buses for peaks.
“But we’re likely to get better value out of existing buses because they will be used more, carrying more passengers overall and receiving improved levels of cost recovery, Westcott said. In the long term, he said problems associated with the growing number of Bellarine commuters could be addressed with the reinstatement of a rail service along the old Drysdale corridor, with bus feeders. “A rail service could help ensure quicker and more reliable travel times to Geelong by reducing the effects of any on-road traffic congestion.” Member for Bellarine said the promised improvements were currently being determined in consultation with stakeholders, including local bus operators and more details would be announced in the coming months.
WED 2-3ft+ clean, N 14° THU 2-3ft+ easing, SW 13° FRI 1-2ft+ poor E 16° SAT 1-3ft inconsistent NE 17°
PAGE
78
Instore Specials NOW ON Carpet, Vinyl & Laminate Flooring 61-63 Murradoc Road, Drysdale
PH 5253 1855