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Implementation plans
> Integrated Transport > Actions
> Action 1
Action 1
Upgrade and develop the Principal Public Transport Network and improve
local public transport services
Developing the PPTN and improving local public
transport services are core tasks for increasing public transport
mode share to 20 per cent (see Action 6, Ensure integrated planning
for metropolitan transport, for a summary of the 20/2020 Implementation
Plan which will provide the strategic framework for this work).
The transport task performed by our trains, trams and buses will
need to more than double by 2020.
Develop a metropolitan
bus plan
Lead agent: DOI
Bus Plan will provide a comprehensive plan for bus services throughout
metropolitan Melbourne. It will identify new services and base improvements
on performance criteria (including mode share targets).
Bus Plan will make a major contribution to giving
most people in Melbourne a real choice of transport. It will develop
a bus system that is much more attractive, more reliable and available
for more hours on every day. It will be faster, easier to use and
will serve more trips by offering a comprehensive system of cross-town,
trunk route, and local bus feeder services that will connect into
efficient mulit-modal interchanges. This will include:
- development of high-capacity, high-frequency direct bus services
to establish cross-town links of the PPTN (SmartBus)
- expansion of local bus routes in outer and growth areas which
will feed into the PPTN
- improvements in the frequency and regularity of services where
needed on the existing network
- more evening and weekend services
- links to enhanced multi-modal interchanges (to transfer between
bus, tram and/or train)
- performance targets for the bus operators.
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In its 2002 State Budget, the Government provided $190 million
for new low-floor, low-emission buses, and $58 million for
new services including the introduction of the new SmartBus
services that now run along Springvale Road and Blackburn
Road. There are 375 low-floor buses in service.
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Develop a metropolitan
tram plan
Lead agent: DOI
Tram Plan will be a long-term strategy for Melbourne’s tram
services, aimed at developing a more effective and attractive service.
Concerted action is needed to ensure that future growth in road
traffic and congestion does not further increase tram travel times
and reduce reliability. To ensure that trams can play their part
in Melbourne’s transport future substantial action is needed
to:
- improve travel times and reliability through measures such as
separation between trams and traffic, and tram priority in road
management
- increase frequency of service
- upgrade tram vehicles and infrastructure
- selectively extend the network where this can be justified by
likely passenger volumes or the ability to connect key employment/service
centres to the network.
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The Tram 109 project showcases and tests many of the concepts
for upgrading the system, with new low-floor trams, improved
stops (including raised platform Superstops at major locations)
and interchange facilities, and real-time passenger information
systems.
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Tram Plan will provide a program for selective expansion of the
tram network, building on present commitments that include routes
such as:
- Mont Albert to Box Hill (under construction in 2002)
- Burwood East to Vermont South, and later to Knox
- new routes to serve developments at Docklands.
Other possible tram routes will be studied to identify potential
community benefits, and possibilities for implementation.
Develop a train plan
Lead agent: DOI
Train Plan will provide a long-term strategy for Melbourne’s
train network, supporting Melbourne 2030 measures such as
growth of activity centres and Transit Cities. Train Plan will consider
the interaction between freight and passenger movements. It will
recognise and integrate the rural and regional rail network for
which major Linking Victoria projects are under way; these include
fast rail to regional centres, rail-gauge standardisation, the reopening
of country passenger rail services, and the Wodonga Bypass.
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Train Plan will build on current improvements to the system
which include 110 new three-car train sets (60 to be introduced
in the next three years), refurbishment of Comeng trains,
safety and security measures, and real-time passenger information
displays at stations.
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Issues for the metropolitan area include:
- the development of additional express services to and from outer
Melbourne
- maximising the capacity of the existing network, particularly
for the central area, through upgraded signalling and communication
systems
- the development of efficient public transport interchanges on
the train network to enable connections with other transport services
- coordination of timetables across modes
- the development of improved passenger facilities and information
- the operation of regional fast rail services in the metropolitan
area
- managing the interaction between increased passenger services
and expanded freight services on the metropolitan network.
Improve ticketing systems
Lead agent: DOI
Melbourne was one of the first cities in Australia to introduce
integrated, multi-modal fares, but the current ticketing system
needs to be much more user-friendly and accessible.
MetCard is being upgraded to be more reliable and to provide customers
with better information, more convenient ways of purchasing tickets
and better service. A new system is being investigated for the longer
term. A new system may cover regional Victoria as well as the metropolitan
network so that customers could transfer seamlessly between urban
and regional services.
Smartcards are becoming the preferred ticketing technology around
the world because they are more convenient for customers than cash-based
systems. Smartcards enable passengers to pay for their travel quickly
and easily, with direct links to bank accounts or the opportunity
to ‘top up’ their ticket credit at various locations.
The cards also provide for flexibility in ticket pricing and product
ranges, and can be multipurpose.
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