By NOEL MURPHY
FRUSTRATION with Geelong’s new bus and train services continues as users complain of dangers and difficulties as they dump the routes, opting for cars or lifts and even call for a boycott.
Elderly users, students and shoppers say they have been left high and dry by PTV bus changes – forced to walk long distances or use multiple bus and train links to negotiate previously short and quick trips.
Independent readers responded angrily to last week’s report of concerns raised in state parliament, criticising the new routes as private sector, profit-driven services failing to meet the needs of public transport.
“I now have to drop my daughter off in Corio to catch a direct bus to Lara for school and then she has to walk to a train station and catch a bus to get home,” said Heather Wedler.
“If she misses the one train that comes to Corio then all other trains bypass the station and she ends up in the middle of town. How is this supposed to be better for her and not to mention safe for a 15-year-old?”
Kelly Bradley said her nephew usually caught a bus on Church Street which brought him to the Bellarine Highway in Newcomb.
“Now he has to get on at Church St, get off at Geelong station, wait 35 minutes for a different bus to bring him to Bellarine Highway. Waste of time so we ditched the stupid bus and I’m driving him.”
Kerri Cole said that travelling home of an evening, she now had to “get off in an industrial area that has no footpath and is poorly lit”.
Monica Ayala said elderly people were not happy “especially when they have shopping” about the cut to bus stops along Wilsons road near Townsend Road, Whittington.
While Rob Shuttleworth suggested “the buses need boycotting” Debbie Salmon argued no-one seemed to care about the difficulties posed to the young and the elderly.
“Fix this mess up for heaven’s sakes,” she said.
Geelong’s new train service came under fire from Western Victoria MLC Simon Ramsay who called for an “immediate review” of the Regional Rail Link.
The service was already suffering delays and overcrowding, Mr Ramsay said.
Hundreds of regional passengers “were treated like cattle, herded to coach bays, then told there were no coaches and promptly herded back to the platform to board overcrowded carriages that were delayed by over an hour”, he said.
He said he had experienced commuters’ frustrations firsthand, travelling the Geelong/Melbourne service, with the incoming trip being delayed at Deer Park and the return 8.15pm service being cancelled.
Mr Ramsay also said the revised bus schedules were causing concerns because bus connections and train timetables were “out of sync”.
