Ministerial Statement: Express bus boost for Monash University

[ozbob]

Express bus boost for Monash University

Wednesday, 25 May 2011
From the Minister for Public Transport

Students travelling to Monash University's Clayton campus will soon have a quicker, easier journey, thanks to the $1.25 million trial of a frequent new express bus service, Minister for Public Transport Terry Mulder announced today.

Mr Mulder said the new Route 601 bus service would run express between Huntingdale Station and Monash University, and would begin as a one-year trial next semester.

"The new Route 601 bus will be the most frequent and direct public transport option for students travelling from Huntingdale Station to Monash University, with services approximately every four minutes during semester time," Mr Mulder said.

"The bus will run express which means the journey time will take only around four minutes."

Mr Mulder said the express bus service was based on a similar highly successful service, which operates between North Melbourne Station and Melbourne University.

"The express service between North Melbourne Station and Melbourne University has been up-and-running for three years and has proven very popular with students, carrying around 20,000 passengers each week and cutting a passenger's journey time by about 30 minutes a day," Mr Mulder said.

"We hope the new Route 601 bus will prove as popular with Monash University students.

"The new Route 601 express bus will operate on a pre-pay system, so passengers will need to have a ticket before boarding the bus, which means quicker boarding times and fewer delays in peak times.

"And it will operate in the Zone 1/2 overlap, which means passengers can travel with either a Zone 1 or a Zone 2 ticket."

Mr Mulder said the new bus route was great news for Monash University students.

"Students come to Monash University from all over Melbourne, and many of those catch the train to Huntingdale Station and then take a connecting bus to the University," Mr Mulder said.

"With the introduction of Route 601, there will be three bus routes and nearly 400 trips a day between Huntingdale Station and Monash University, which means shorter wait times and more frequent connections to the University.

"By providing more transport options from Huntingdale Station, it will relieve some crowding and will provide an affordable alternative to driving to class.

"I invite students to take advantage of this new express bus service, and jump on board when it begins next semester."

Route 601 will begin on Monday 18 July, in time for semester two orientation.

During the university semester, Route 601 will operate approximately every four minutes from 7am to 7pm on weekdays only, and every 12 minutes between 7pm and 9.30pm.

Existing bus Routes 900 and 630 will continue to operate between Huntingdale Station and Monash University.

The Coalition Government has also begun a $2 million Rowville Rail feasibility study which will assess the viability of a future rail link to Monash University.

http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1031&catid=5&Itemid=9

================

A FUZ?  A frequent BUZ ?  lol

[#Metro]

Feeder BUZ

[#Metro]

Seriously, Rail Rockets are such a good idea. 

[O_128]

This is one of those situations where it is now time to either extend the rail line (which has been promised for eons) or light rail.

[ozbob]

PTUA

http://www.ptua.org.au/2011/05/25/monash-shuttle-601/

Shuttle bus shows urgent need for rail

May 25th, 2011 (Media releases, Melbourne east, Outer East)

The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has endorsed the new route 601 express bus service operating between Huntingdale railway station and Monash University Clayton campus, but said it should be seen as an interim measure only. The PTUA warned that the service will not entirely solve Monash University's transport woes and proves that the Rowville railway line is urgently needed.

"While the shuttle bus is welcome, it does not have the potential to attract the same patronage or to move the same volumes as the train line," said PTUA's outer east convenor Jeremy Lunn. "This bus does not offer the economic benefits or the 15,000 or more new jobs that the Rowville railway would generate in the Cities of Monash and Knox.

"We support this bus service as an interim measure for Monash University students and staff, who need an adequate means of getting to campus. Currently there are long queues at Huntingdale station, and full buses depart leaving stranded passengers waiting.

"What this ultimately shows is that huge demand exists for the Rowville railway line, which is needed right away. It's not something we can afford to neglect any longer.

"The bus certainly doesn't offer a solution for the residents and businesses of Monash and Knox who are located east of Monash University.

"While we support the new shuttle bus, we hope that the government's study will focus strongly towards commencing the urgent construction of the Rowville railway line via Monash University," Mr Lunn concluded.

[#Metro]

Have to say that I am a bit disappointed in hearing this from the PTUA.
They get improvements... and then complain.

I have used Huntingdale station.

"While the shuttle bus is welcome, it does not have the potential to attract the same patronage or to move the same volumes as the train line,"

What is the pphd (capacity) required here? A bus every 4 minutes implies only 1000 pphd, which is tiny (hourly or half hourly train would meet 1000pphd easily). If it was rail, would the train run every 4 minutes? I doubt it, frequency would be much lower, maybe every 15 at the very best. And it would eat up a train path on the Cranbourne/Packenham line due to branching effects, an effect that would be at its worst during peak hour when train paths are limiting. (So everyone from past huntingdale loses a train path, which is probably going to lose more passengers than it gains from Rowville).

We have to get away from the "if there was a train station outside everyone's house the system would be much better" philosophy. Simple is best and allows for high capacity using a minimum of infrastructure.

Get bigger buses, use greater priority and maybe LRT might be feasable at higher capacities. At the moment BRT in the form of a exclusive bus lane along Nth Road is feasable IMHO. Nice wide fast arterial road, lots of space to create exclusive lanes.

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Monash+University+Bookshop,+Victoria&aq=0&sll=-37.942031,145.129051&sspn=0.057671,0.194836&ie=UTF8&hq=Monash+University+Bookshop,&hnear=Victoria&ll=-37.9181,145.137033&spn=0.013576,0.048709&t=h&z=15&layer=c&cbll=-37.915422,145.132793&panoid=lbMKx6XzT3GcFW9c09DHQw&cbp=12,312.01,,0,-0.87

said PTUA's outer east convenor Jeremy Lunn. "This bus does not offer the economic benefits or the 15,000 or more new jobs that the Rowville railway would generate in the Cities of Monash and Knox.

Well the money saved on spending it on buses vs rail in this corridor ($100 million dollar per kilometre plus at least 5 years worth of waiting to construct plus lower frequency!) could be spent on a job program if that's what the PTUA wants.

These people have good intentions and I do not doubt their sincerity for better PT. However, so often the things that they ask for will have the EXACT OPPOSITE EFFECT to what they intend because they are looking at bags of concrete and not useful services! With the money saved from not spending it on bags of concrete, you could construct a high frequency smart bus link to Rowville.

[#Metro]

Would be good to see this going to Monash Uni --->

Capacity: 192 passengers
Hybrid vehicle
double leaf multiple tram-style doors for fast unloading

I would not think of any form of rail until the pphd required reached at least 2000 - 3500 pphd.
(one of those buses every 2-3 minutes) or if it could be shown that a rail option (LRT or Commuter Rail)
was cheaper overall within a 30 year lifecycle.

[O_128]

Thats what the 111,109 and 412 need to be replaced with

[somebody]

Popular Monash Uni bus celebrates one year on the road

Wednesday, 18 July 2012
From the Minister for Public Transport

The popular Route 601 express bus from Huntingdale station to Monash University has this week celebrated its one year anniversary, and will be ready for even more passengers when semester two begins next week.

Visiting Monash University's Clayton campus today, Parliamentary Secretary for Public Transport Edward O'Donohue said that although it had only been operating for a year, Route 601 was already one of the most popular bus routes in Melbourne.

"Route 601 has quickly become one of the most popular bus routes in Melbourne, carrying up to 22,000 passengers a week last semester," Mr O'Donohue said.

"Recent surveys show that since we introduced Route 601 a year ago, bus patronage has more than doubled on the Huntingdale to Monash corridor. So this new bus route hasn't just added extra bus services for existing passengers; it's actually attracted thousands of new passengers to catch the bus."

Mr O'Donohue said that although bus passenger numbers had more than doubled between Huntingdale and Monash University, there was still room for more people on the buses.

"In April we added an extra vehicle to this bus route to cater for expected patronage growth, meaning that there are now four buses operating continuously over this 2.5 kilometre stretch between the station and the university."

"Our surveys show that although there is a spike in passenger numbers just before 9:00am and just after 5:00pm, the majority of buses have surplus capacity, so there is still room for more people to jump on board as word spreads that the bus is a convenient transport option."

Mr O'Donohue said that the data also revealed the bus was not only being used by students.

"Passenger surveys also show that around 10 per cent of trips are in the counter-peak direction, which suggests that it's not just university students and staff using the bus; it is also becoming a popular option for local residents who want to connect with trains to commute to the City.

Mr O'Donohue said that the new Route 601 bus was popular enough during its trial period that the Coalition Government had decided to make it a permanent bus route.

"I am pleased that following a successful trial period, we have been able to ensure Route 601 is here to stay, with $5.5 million allocated to the bus route in the 2012-13 State Budget" Mr O' Donohue said.

Member for South Eastern Metropolitan Region and Parliamentary Secretary for Education Inga Peulich said that Route 601 had helped to address a real transport need in the local community.

"It's clear that the bus is so popular because it's the most frequent and direct public transport option for students travelling from Huntingdale Station to Monash University, with services approximately every four minutes during semester time."

"I invite students to leave their cars at home and to jump on board the Route 601 bus when semester two begins," Ms Peulich said.

Attached: Bus patronage survey data – Huntingdale station to Monash University bus corridor

pdfDownload PDF 166.53 Kb
pdfBus patronage survey data 231.74 Kb

http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/4444-popular-monash-uni-bus-celebrates-one-year-on-the-road.html

It's a bit old, but I thought I'd add this info anyway.  This advance seems to be mostly down to Paul Mees from what I can gather, who called for it pretty strongly in his book.

[#Metro]

The extreme frequency uses just four buses. This demonstrates how important shuttle services are rather than running everything to the CBD. There is an example earlier on this forum where I show that in a hypothetical, we can terminate the 411 at Toowong and at virtually zero cost, double the frequency to almost BUZ levels.