Estimated community value of Melbourne s bus services,

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1 News. Evidence. Opportunities. Cost Effective. Demand Responsive. Issue 04. March 2011 A new bus lane on Wellington Road is making buses more reliable and cutting peak period travel time by up to 8 minutes. More details on page 6. Melbourne s bus services deliver value to taxpayers A new report has found that the economic, social and environmental value of Melbourne s public route bus services outweighs the cost to taxpayers by 3.5 to 1. Over half of this value is in reducing the risk of social exclusion, and around a third relates to the benefits of reduced congestion. The value that Melbourne s route bus services deliver in terms of reducing risks of social exclusion is striking. The valuation drew on a major research project supported by BusVic, the Australian Research Council and Department of Transport, which clearly showed the important role that mobility plays in fostering social inclusion. BusVic s own research has shown the dependence of many bus customers on our services for accessing friends, work, shopping etc. This dependence underpins the vital and highly valued role our services play in fostering social inclusion. This analysis shows existing bus services have an excellent return on government investment. The benefit cost ratio of 3.5 is significantly better than many other new transport proposals, such as the major rail projects recommended in the 2008 East West Link with a net benefit-cost ratio of 1.4. The research examined the impact on Melbourne if, hypothetically, the bus network was removed overnight. The impact of increased traffic congestion, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, road accidents, and reduction in social exclusion were all quantified using evidence from professional and academic research. This established a total community value of $1.7 billion, the components of which are shown in the table above. Estimated community value of Melbourne s bus services, Component Value Congestion - time delays $518m Congestion - additional fuel use $70m Net greenhouse gas emissions ($50/tonne) $7.5m Local pollution $12.2m Energy security (macro-economic disruption costs at 2c/L) $1.6m Road accident costs (outside private insurance) $15m Social exclusion (value of 33% of trips that would not otherwise be made) $767m Social exclusion (user cost of replacing 67% of bus trips with other modes) $335m Total $1,726m The analysis made some conservative assumptions, and considered both the impacts of increased car travel, and removal of buses from the roads. It did not include benefits from reduced noise and water pollution, impact on the natural landscape (including impact on urban sprawl), and health benefits from public transport users engaging in more physical activity. More research is required to value these benefits. This work builds on earlier research by Monash University, which estimated the congestion impacts of removing the bus network, including an estimated 31.6 million hours of annual vehicle delay caused by increased traffic congestion (refer to BusSolutions issue 2 for more details). In 2009-, the state government spent $486 million procuring route bus services in Melbourne. The benefits of $1.726b outweigh this cost by 3.5 to 1. The report was commission by BusVic and written by Professor John Stanley from the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies at the University of Sydney, in November 20. Welcome to issue 4 Can Melbourne s three modes of public transport be better integrated? This issue has been receiving renewed focus in recent times, and in this issue of BusSolutions we talk about solutions to several of the problem areas. This issue includes a focus on bus priority, which is critical to providing reliable and efficient bus services. We look at some recent success stories, issues of enforcement, and an upcoming low-cost opportunity to provide priority for buses at thousands of traffic signals across Melbourne. On page 2, we take a look at Melbourne s new Central Activities Districts, which in 2006 had relatively low public transport mode shares for commuters. We take a look at the public transport travel time catchments of and, where the value of high frequency SmartBus services quickly becomes evident. We also review recent market research about customers of SmartBus services, which shows they are attracting people out of their cars and onto public transport. Following significant upgrades to weekend bus services in recent years, BusVic commissioned a survey of weekend bus users to find out what they are doing and the value they get from weekend services. We hope you find this issue of BusSolutions informative and interesting, and as always, we welcome your feedback. Chris Loader Editor BusVic 2011 BusVic 2009

2 Cost Effective. Demand Responsive Central activities districts Train station Metro rail Tram track 30 minutes 45 minutes Melbourne urban extent Footscray Footscray Melbourne Melbourne Hill Box Box Hill Representative public transport travel time catchments for (right) and (left) Central Activities Districts, AM peak 20. Central Activities Districts need public transport boost Melbourne s six Central Activities Districts (CADs) are planned to be new mini-cbds in the suburbs, reducing pressure on congested inner city transport networks and providing jobs closer to residents. We thought it would be timely to look at how public transport was working for these centres using 2006 census data. 50% Bankstown Rhodes Liverpool Burwood Hurstville Parramatta Chatswood Frankston Bondi Junction Ringwood Footscray Box Hill BusVic has analysed the 40% public transport accessibility 35% of the and CADs. 30% We ve calculated a 25% representative journey 20% time as the sum of the 15% travelling time on a train % and/or bus, any transfer 5% time, and half the time 0% between consecutive travel opportunities (to account for average wasted time when arriving earlier than Melbourne CADs Sydney centres necessary, particularly for low frequency services). We have also factored in The chart above shows only a small a transfer penalty of 8 minutes, a typical portion of employees travelled to work in the CADs by public transport in 2006, and value used in generalised cost models to account for the inconvenience and risk of much less than some of Sydney s larger missed connections. suburban centres. Most of these centres had between 4,500 and 9,000 employees We looked at stops and stations that except for (2,200), were within 30 and 45 minutes journey Liverpool (13,600), Parramatta (34,200) time in the AM peak, and then added a and Chatswood (17,900). 400 metre walking catchment around buses stops, and 800 metres around Footscray lead the Melbourne CADs at train stations. 12% public transport mode share, thanks to many frequent bus and train services. The maps show relatively limited public The lowest was 5% at Frankston, which is transport catchments for the two CADs, at the terminus of only one frequent train with an exception along frequent and 45% BusSolutions_02 line, and had few frequent bus routes in Public transport mode share of journeys to work in major suburban centres in Melbourne and Sydney, 2006 higher speed train and bus services. From, SmartBus routes 901 and 902 extend the travel time catchment significantly east towards Bundoora and Epping. However there is a quite limited catchment towards the south-east, where local bus routes do not currently run into. From the catchment spreads north to Knox City and south to Carrum Downs along SmartBus route 901. It also extends east to Narre Warren, west to Cheltenham, and north-west to Clayton along direct bus routes which operate every 20 minutes. Away from these trunk routes the catchments are relatively small, mostly due to low bus frequency. Local services to the west of typically run just once an hour, while those to the north-west and east run once every minutes, even in peak periods. Improving public transport accessibility will be an important part of making the CADs successful as major employment destinations, and avoiding congestion and high parking costs. For and in particular, this will require local bus routes with higher frequency and more directness (where possible).

3 Crowds at Chadstone Shopping Centre on a Saturday afternoon show the popularity of SmartBus services. Weekend buses support social inclusion A BusVic survey has found weekend bus services in Melbourne are vital for people with limited transport options, and that recent increases in service levels are very likely to be supporting increased social inclusion. Since 2006, there have been significant upgrades to weekend bus services in Melbourne. Around 0 routes have been given extended hours on Saturdays, and 138 routes have had Sunday services introduced. We estimate average weekend bus patronage doubled between 2006 and 20. In November 20, BusVic commissioned a survey at four major suburban bus interchanges in Melbourne: Station and Shopping Centre, Chadstone Shopping Centre, Train-Bus Interchange, and Doncaster Shopping Centre (Westfield) 451 people were surveyed between 4 and 9:30pm on Saturdays and 11am and 9pm on Sundays (times when extended services now operate). The survey did not attempt to create a representative sample of all weekend bus users across Melbourne. I wouldn t have a job without the bus male, 26, Chadstone The purpose of travel for weekend bus users 7% 42% 28% other 8% 5% social & recreation shops school/tafe/uni work 3% 8% 4% 13% 59% 18% 20% 17% Chadstone 54% 18% 3% 28% 45% 23% Doncaster Taking the bus is more convenient than driving male, 37, Chadstone SC Not surprisingly, those interviewed at Chadstone and Doncaster Shopping Centres were most commonly travelling to shop. However at and Stations (which are not located at shopping centres) social and recreational purposes were most common, showing buses are enabling greater social inclusion. A significant number were also using buses to access employment opportunities Did weekend bus users have access to cars? rarely/never some of the time most of the time 72% 79% 80% 13% 11% 11% 15% % 9% Chadstone 67% 15% 18% Doncaster Significantly, between 71% and 81% of respondents across the four locations said they were using buses most weekends. A majority of respondents also did not have access to cars for transport (see chart above). These findings suggest that many people are highly dependent on weekend bus services to get around independently. For these people, increased Sunday services will now be providing many more travel opportunities. I don t drive, I m totally reliant on the buses female, station Around half of all respondents who were aware of increased weekend bus services stated that they are now travelling more often as a result of upgraded weekend services (refer chart below). Given we know these people are highly reliant on public transport for their mobility, this is very likely to reflect increased levels of social inclusion. It may also represent a small shift away from car travel Are people who were aware of bus service upgrades using buses more often as a result? no, not more often yes, a little more yes, more often 35% 14% 51% 45% 18% 38% 30% Chadstone 49% 20% As of February 2011, one third of Melbourne s regular bus routes still did not operate on Sundays, and one quarter did not operate after 6pm on a Saturday. Further funding commitments are required to improve weekend bus services, to ensure more people can travel independently to access work, shopping, education, and social opportunities in their community. BusVic is grateful to Metlink and the Department of Transport for supporting this study. 51% 9% 40% Doncaster BusSolutions_03

4 Solutions for integrating transport modes BusSolutions_04 There has been much discussion about increasing the integration between transport modes across Melbourne and Victoria, however many issues are yet to be addressed. In the last year, BusVic has been working more closely with the Department of Transport, Metlink, Yarra Trams and Metro Trains on ways to improve integration between the modes. What follows are some of the solutions that BusVic is advocating to address many of the major integration issues: Coordinating timetables As discussed in BusSolutions issue 2, it is impossible to coordinate bus and train timetables if the operating frequencies don t work together. For example, if buses run every 30 minutes, and trains run every 20 minutes, then simple mathematics dictates that at best, a good connection with a bus is possible only once an hour. However a bus running every 30 minutes can be timetabled to consistently connect well with a train service running every 15 minutes. Unless all services run at high frequencies (roughly at least every minutes), then harmonising service frequencies is an essential pre-requisite to enabling better timetabled connections. As the below table shows, Melbourne s public transport is poorly harmonised across most time periods of the week. We see the solution as a planned shift towards agreed harmonised headways in each time period across modes, particularly for train and bus, which run at lower frequencies where coordination is important. For example, weekend daytime service might be oriented around a 15-minute headway on trains and buses, with lower frequency services running every 30 or 60 minutes. Once headways are harmonised, advanced scheduling software can then be applied to optimise the connection times between services. Consistent timetables on public holidays Currently on public holidays, different operators run different timetables on different days. In recent years the Department of Transport has been upgrading bus routes to follow the same pattern as trains. That is, a Saturday timetable on all public holidays except for Good Friday and Christmas Day, on which a Sunday timetable applies. As at January 20, 81 Melbourne bus routes had not been updated on operate to this pattern on public holidays. And on some public holidays in 20, trams ran a Sunday timetable whereas trains and most buses ran a Saturday timetable. The solution is to operate all routes on all modes of public transport to the same timetable (Saturday or Sunday) on each public holiday. Real time service coordination At most train stations in Melbourne, bus drivers are not provided with any real time information about how train services are operating. And in some locations bus drivers cannot even see train platforms. Without real time information, a bus driver waiting for a connecting train has little idea: whether the train is running late (and how late it is running), whether the train may have been cancelled, whether the train has already arrived and departed, or if a train they can see arriving is the scheduled connecting service, or an earlier service running late. Typical current headways (minutes between departures) of public transport services in Melbourne: Train main network Train outer metro* Weekday inter-peak 15/20 (some:) Weekday evening 30 (some:15/20) Weekend day time Saturday evening Sunday morning Sunday evening /40 30/40 30/40 30/60 20/40 30/60 30/40/60 30/40 Tram <=12 20 <= SmartBus Local bus ~20-60 ~30-60 ~30-60 ~60 ~60 *outer refers to services beyond Eltham, Ringwood and. This makes it difficult for bus drivers to know what to do if trains do not appear to be running on schedule, and contributes to many occasions where customers miss connections. The solution? Provide bus drivers with real-time information about scheduled trains. This would include the actual time of recently arrived trains, the expected time of trains yet to arrive, and whether any trains have been cancelled. With this information bus drivers will be able to make informed decisions about whether or not to wait for connecting trains. This would not only improve the likelihood of passengers being able to make connections when there are delays, but it would also help buses run on time, by avoiding waits for significantly delayed or cancelled trains. Such a system is currently in place at Frankston, and Ringwood stations, but has not been rolled out to more locations. In Perth and Adelaide, real-time information displays for bus drivers have been standard at train-bus interchanges for many years. It is not always possible for a bus to wait for a late train, and when a bus can wait, there are limits as to how long it can wait because of follow-on delays to subsequent trips operated by that bus. Following the upcoming introduction of a new train control system and a Bus Tracking System, it will be technically feasible to display real-time train information on bus driver dashboards, although this is not yet funded. Such a system could also be used to inform bus drivers about larger scale disruptions on the public transport networks, so they may advise their customers who can then adjust their travel plans accordingly. Uncovering Melbourne s multimodal transport network Most people in Melbourne will be familiar with the train and tram system maps, but very few will have seen a map of Melbourne s bus network, or indeed a map showing more than one mode of public transport. Melbourne tram and train network maps only really help people navigate around the services of a single mode. The tram network map in particular does not show frequent bus routes that are useful for getting around Melbourne without travelling via the city centre.

5 have access to local multi-modal public transport maps would be part of the solution. The train and tram maps provide very little help to anyone contemplating using public transport efficiently for a non-radial trip in Melbourne. Market research conducted by Metlink has found that a lack of awareness of where bus routes go is a major barrier to usage. This leads to many public transport users shying away from using buses, or worse still, giving up on public transport as a viable option for their travel because trams and trains alone cannot meet their needs. Metlink does publish local area maps that show all modes of public transport within single council areas. These maps are available on the Metlink website and are now present at most bus stops in Melbourne, and have been distributed to letterboxes from time to time. However, they are not visible at many tram stops or train stations, and it is currently difficult to find take-home copies of these maps on the network. The map below shows Melbourne s train and tram networks, together with bus routes that operate at least every 15 minutes on weekdays during the day. This representation is likely to be unfamiliar to all but a few people who work within the public transport industry. The map shows that in many areas of Melbourne there is actually a grid network of higher frequency services that make it easier to use public transport for cross-town travel. While this simple map is certainly not useful for customer information in its current form, we see a need for a well-designed, user-friendly map that highlights the opportunities available from Melbourne s multi-modal public transport network. Metlink s existing multi-modal local area maps could be made more visible by installing them at all train, tram and bus stops across the network. Printed takeaway copies could also be made more readily available at staffed train stations and information centres. There may also be value in creating a new map showing a network representation of train, tram and major bus routes for all or Real time train information is provided to bus drivers at Frankston, Ringwood and stations, allowing them to make informed decisions about waiting for trains parts of Melbourne. These maps could be displayed at major interchange stations and stops to help people navigate around the city. An inner city multi-modal network map could probably replace the tram-only network map entirely. Ensuring all public transport staff can help In many instances, public transport staff are only trained in understanding the operations of the mode for which they work. In particular, train and tram staff are not currently trained in understanding bus networks in the areas where they work, and often struggle to help passengers who need assistance with making journeys on other modes. The solution? Introduce basic training and improve information availability about all local modes of public transport in the areas where each public transport staff member works. Ensuring staff High frequency bus routes Metro rail Tram network Urban Melbourne New shortcuts in the public transport network Many parts of the tram and train network are heavily congested at peak times, and infrastructure and fleet size constraints make it difficult to increase capacity. However, in many cases buses can provide relief to congested trains and trams. An excellent example is the route 401 bus that operates a high frequency express shuttle from North Melbourne station to Parkville on weekdays. This popular service removes thousands of passengers from the city loop train network and Swanston Street trams, while also providing customers travelling to Parkville with a shorter journey time. We are working with the Department of Transport, Yarra Trams and Metro to identify where similar solutions might be able to provide relief to the train and tram networks. One solution is the proposed blue orbital SmartBus route that would connect Footscray, Moonee Ponds, Brunswick, Clifton Hill and Richmond across the inner northern suburbs, removing the need for people to change trains or trams in the city to make a cross-town trip. This route was included in the 2006 Meeting Our Transport Challenges transport plan, but is still awaiting funding commitment. 0 Melbourne s train and tram networks, together with bus routes/corridors that operate approximately every 15 minutes or better during the day on weekdays 20 BusSolutions_05

6 BusSolutions_06 Focus: on-road bus priority Recent investment in on-road priority for buses is providing more reliable and efficient services for the community. However there is more work to be done, requiring further commitment from state government. Current VicRoads funding for bus and tram priority projects runs out in New policy and funding commitments are required to ensure continued progress in improving the reliability of bus and tram services in Melbourne. This series of stories looks at some case studies and discusses the challenges, opportunities and funding issues around bus priority. Wellington Road bus lane saving passengers up to 8 minutes Buses travelling east along Wellington Road towards Springvale Road are now faster and more reliable thanks to a new bus lane funded by the Department of Transport and built by VicRoads. This section of road was identified as a major source of delays to buses in the PM peak, and so a new 650 metre bus lane was constructed in June/July 20 between Nantilla and Springvale Roads, at a cost of around $800,000. As the chart below shows about 83% of PM peak period buses are now travelling through the section in less than 1 minute, compared to only 7% in 2008 before installation of the bus lane and some associated signal programming. Not only does this improvement represent a saving in average travel time, the variability in travel time is greatly reduced, providing a more reliable timetable for passengers. 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% % 0% 0-1 Travel time before and after bus lane implementation Wellington Road between Nantilla and Springvale Roads (route 900), weekdays 4-6pm minutes October 2008 October BusVic estimates the benefit cost ratio for this project is around 3:1, based on Australian Transport Council guidelines. Low cost signal improvements can have significant benefits Until recently, buses exiting Knox City via Burwood Highway to travel north along Stud Road faced regular delays. Just after they were given a green light to turn right into Burwood Highway they faced a red arrow turning right into Stud Road. This happened on every bus trip, because of the way the signals were programmed. In response to this issue, VicRoads found they could reprogram the traffic signals so that buses now enter Burwood Highway just in time for the green arrow to turn right turn into Stud Road. In addition, the next set of signals north along Stud Road was also coordinated. This means that now when buses get a green light to turn right into Burwood Highway, the lights are also green as they approach the next two intersections along the route. This has resulted in buses saving around seconds on every trip, without changing the overall capacity of the intersections for other road users. While this may seem a small saving, it benefits thousands of buses per week, including the 901 SmartBus route. This project cost less than $5,000 to implement, as no new infrastructure was required. North Stud Road Burwood Highway Following reprogramming of traffic signals, buses now get a run of green lights once exiting the Knox City bus interchange (path the bus travels shown in green). Knox City Shopping Centre Bus Interchange Traffic signals a major source of delay for buses A recent Department of Transport study found that buses travelling along Hoddle Street and Punt Road spend an average of 25-26% of their running time delayed by traffic signals. This is much higher than the average of 17% for Melbourne s trams. Though Hoddle Street and Punt Road are heavily congested roads in Melbourne, there are still plenty of opportunities to improve bus speeds, including: Green light extensions when buses are detected approaching signals (using GPS tracking, see below) Converting the current 4 lane profile along sections of Punt Road into 5 lanes, using the 5th lane as a bus lane. Installing a bus lane along Hoddle Street between Victoria Parade and the Eastern Freeway. This section of road carries 61 buses per hour in the PM peak, yet at the time of writing, a bus lane had still not been implemented in this section, delaying thousands of bus commuters. Traffic signal priority all over Melbourne One of the reasons Melbourne s SmartBus buses are called smart is because they can now change the traffic lights when they are running late. This is made possible by all SmartBus vehicles having GPS and communications equipment installed, so that a central control system can track each bus. If a bus is detected to be running late, then a request is made to the traffic signal control system to provide an extension of the existing green phase, or cut short a red phase in order to get the bus through the intersection more quickly. This technology has been a long time coming and we expect VicRoads will soon roll it out across all SmartBus routes. With some changes to configuration, it should be possible to alter the level of priority provided to each bus, including giving some priority to buses that are running on time (not just those running late), and altering the level of priority, based on the level of congestion in the intersection. In 2011, the Department of Transport will begin installing the same GPS and communications equipment across Melbourne s regular bus fleet. This will make it possible to extend signal priority to literally thousands of traffic signal locations across Melbourne. A great advantage of this technology is that no hardware needs to be installed at each intersection the whole process is controlled remotely. Signals are only altered when required, reducing the overall impact on other traffic (including buses using intersecting streets). We now look to VicRoads to roll out this system across the full SmartBus network, followed by the regular bus network. Reprioritising signals for SmartRoads Recently VicRoads has adopted a new SmartRoads framework for managing competing uses of the road network. This world-leading approach involves determining and managing for different priority modes on different roads at different times of day. For example, public transport is given priority along principle routes at most times, and pedestrians are

7 given greater priority within activity centres during shopping and entertainment hours. Until recently, traffic signals were simply managed to move the greatest number of vehicles through an intersection, regardless of whether they carried 1 or 50 people. The new approach takes a more strategic view, recognising the people-moving capacity of public transport, and importance of routing general traffic away from activity centres where pedestrians are a higher priority. Signals are programmed to give priority modes greater attention in certain places and times. VicRoads has an ongoing program to review traffic signal operations across Victoria. However, current resourcing means each location can only be reviewed every years on average. Therefore it may take years to effectively implement the new SmartRoads network operating plans in traffic signal programming. As reprogramming signals usually only involves the time of signal engineers, the reviews have been found to have very high benefit/cost ratios. In some cases the benefits outweigh the costs by up 30:1. Increased signal programming resources would accelerate the review and reprogramming of traffic signals across Victoria, providing benefits to bus users as well as most other road users. RACV members back bus priority A 2007 RACV member survey found that 88% of its members support the principle of providing public transport priority on the transport network in peak periods. This suggests Victorian motorists appreciate the overall benefits of giving priority to public transport on our road network. As people switch from cars to public transport, it reduces congestion pressures on the road for remaining users. Motorists illegally using the bus lane to jump queues on Victoria Parade are causing delays for peak period buses. Bus lanes lacking enforcement Bus lanes are only effective if they provide a clear run for buses. Unfortunately, unlawful use by other road users is a common problem, particularly where a bus lane terminates 0-200m before an intersection and becomes a general traffic lane (this is known as a set-back bus lane ). In congested traffic, many motorists give into the temptation to use the bus lane to jump the queues in adjacent general traffic lanes, particularly when there is little threat of enforcement. Some bus lanes have been rendered largely ineffective by the level of noncompliance. This has occurred on Victoria Parade in Collingwood (see photo above), which is a critical part of the recently implemented Doncaster Area Rapid Transit SmartBus services. Manual enforcement requires police presence and physical space to pull over offending motorists. Regular ongoing enforcement is expensive and competes with other police priorities. The New South Wales Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) have solved this problem by using automated camera enforcement. With roadside cameras and automatic number plate recognition, a computerised system can easily detect whether a vehicle is eligible to use the lane, and then generate infringement notices when required. Recent data shows that at enforced locations, just 0.3% of all vehicles detected using bus lanes are breaking the law. And contrary to fears of a community backlash, a 2008 RTA community survey found 89% accepted the use of cameras for enforcing bus lanes. This followed an awareness campaign about the rules relating to bus lanes. We see no reason why automated camera enforcement of bus (and tram) lanes cannot be just as successful here in Victoria. Public transport Victorian s highest priority An average 71% of Victorians nominated public transport as the highest priority transport issue in Australia, according to four 20 quarterly Institute of Transport and Logistic Studies (ITLS) - Interfleet Transport Opinion Surveys undertaken by the University of Sydney. By contrast, only 13% nominated road improvements as their top transport priority in 20. This provides further strong evidence that Victorians value public transport ahead of car-based approaches to address our major transport issues. Freight and interstate rail 4% Highest priority transport issue in Australia Economic/financial issues 2% (total Victorian responses 20) Roads 14% Environmental issues 2% Other 7% Public Transport 71% These findings are consistent with Metlink research conducted in September/October 20, which found 94% of Melburnians supported increased public transport investment, 68% supported further investment in road infrastructure, and 62% agreed that in the future people will rely more on public transport than on their cars. The ITLS-Interfleet Transport Opinion Survey also found: On average in 20, 22% of Victorians view transport or infrastructure as one of the top two issues facing Australia. On average in 20, 56% of Victorians believed the private sector involvement in public transport should be kept the same or increased. The 20 surveys were conducted in February, May, August-September and November 20. There were 4000 respondents nationally, including respondents from Victoria. 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8 BusSolutions_08 Response to market research surveys of SmartBus users, and users of other buses in Melbourne Survey timeframe SmartBus attracts new passengers Market research is showing that SmartBus services are proving effective at attracting discretionary travellers in Melbourne. BusVic has analysed data from recent market research involving users of SmartBus routes 900, 901 and 903, taken 6-12 months after SmartBus services commenced. Some of the highlights appear in the table above. The survey found that SmartBus services have a higher proportion of full-fare paying customers than most other bus routes, which shows that people who are not eligible for concession are more attracted to SmartBus services than other routes. The survey also found that over a quarter of trips made on SmartBus were previously not made on public transport. On SmartBus route 901, 42% of surveyed passengers had shifted to public transport from other modes (mostly cars), which may reflect the more significant frequency upgrade weekday daytime frequency was doubled from a bus every 30 minutes, to a bus every 15 minutes. On all three routes, 34-35% said they would use a train if the SmartBus did not exist, suggesting SmartBus is helping to relieve pressure on the train network. Another 26-38% said they would travel by car or taxi if the route did not exist. The proportion who said they would not travel if the route did not exist was much lower than the metropolitan average, suggesting SmartBus is attracting a greater portion of customers with a choice of modes and services. The route 901 figure is a little higher however, as there are few other north-south routes in the outer eastern suburbs. High frequency public transport networks can never connect all origins and destination with a single route, making transfers necessary Route 900 Aug/Sep 2007 Route 901 March 2008 Route 903 April 2009 metro bus average Passengers travelling with full fare ticket 50% 41% 57% 34% Would travel by car if SmartBus route did not exist 37% 38% 26% 35%** Would not travel at all if route did not exist 3% % 6% 15% Did not use public transport before the SmartBus service started* 27% 42% 28% n/a Connecting with other public transport 62% 64% 51% 33%** Use SmartBus for work purposes 31% 39% 40% *Excludes those new to the route. **Representative of weekday daytime bus users. SmartBus survey includes evening and weekend bus users. for a significant number of travellers. This introduces an inconvenience, but this can be significantly reduced by minimising the waiting time between services. Average waiting times for connections between high frequency services will always be shorter, even for connections that are not intentionally coordinated in timetables. Even though SmartBus routes already take people to major destinations, just over half of users are making connections to other public transport. This is much higher than the metropolitan bus average of 33%, and suggests SmartBus routes are playing an important role in facilitating cross town trips on public transport that require transferring between services. Many of these trips involve transferring between train and SmartBus services. Even more remarkable is that 14% of weekday route 901 users are transferring at both ends of their SmartBus trip, something much less common on other bus routes. SmartBus services are also playing an important role in connecting activity centres around Melbourne. A 2008 survey of weekday users on route 901 (then operating between Ringwood and Frankston), found that 33% were travelling between two of the five large activity centres along the route (Ringwood, Knox City, Stud Park,, and Frankston). Sunshine Altona SmartBus routes 900, 901 and 903, the subject of recent market research (note: route 901 was extended to Melbourne Airport in 20) 903 Preston Box Hill Mordialloc Chadstone Frankston Ringwood Rowville Send us your feedback We want to hear from you about what you think of BusSolutions. Please send your feedback to: BusSolutions@busvic.asn.au or call us on About BusVic Bus Association Victoria is the industry representative body for Victoria s accredited route, school and charter and tour operators and non accredited registered operators. We represent the best interests of members in a variety of ways, most importantly in the respect of their relationship with Government and its agencies, including contract negotiation, legislative and regulatory compliance. We also advocate that buses and coaches provide cost effective and demand responsive public transport solutions to complex issues of social inclusion, climate change, peak oil, and traffic congestion. Key personnel: Chris Lowe (Executive Director), Keith Foote (Director Member Services), Peter Kavanagh (Legal Manager), Chris Loader (Manager Transport Planning and Policy and BusSolutions editor). Back issues of BusSolutions are now available on the BusVic website Acknowledgements We wish to acknowledge Metlink, the Victorian Department of Transport, VicRoads, RACV, RTA NSW, the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies at the University of Sydney, the NSW Bureau of Transport Statistics, Adjunct Professor John Stanley, and Professor Graham Currie for their assistance with data, information and feedback that helped make this issue of BusSolutions possible. We d also like to acknowledge WaiveStar Group for design, print and distribution of BusSolutions.