TWOnew bus services have been rolled out to cope with the growing demand in the outer West.
The new routes will service Caroline Springs and Taylors Hill. They will run out of Watergardens Station.
Route 461 runs from Watergardens Railway Station to Taylors Hill along Hume Drive, and Route 460 runs along Gourlay Rd from Watergardens to Caroline Springs.
Transport Minister Lynne Kosky visited the Watergardens Railway Station last Friday to officially announce the new services.
Ms Kosky said the new buses were part of a 10-year $10 billion strategy designed to improve transport across the state.
“Buses are a vital part of that plan, allowing public transport to be provided to those parts of Melbourne, and Victoria, where fixed lines don’t operate,” she said.
Secretary of the Delahey Action Group David Anderson welcomed any improvement to services but said the government has taken a while to catch up to the phenomenal growth in the Sydenham and Hillside area, and other areas of the outer West.
“The extension of services in this area is behind, in terms of the development.”
Mr Anderson said the electrification of the railway line to Melton, which would service the booming Caroline Springs estate, was a high priority, as well as the extension of the Watergardens line to Sunbury
“People aren’t getting good enough service from Melton to Sunshine,” Mr Anderson said.
He called for a comprehensive review of public transport in Brimbank and Melton, saying buses weren’t the total answer to outer West’s transport problems.
