Mayor's Message - Friday 31 March

We’ve heard from residents that getting from A to B on Ballarat's buses is more complicated than it should be.    

While the City of Ballarat does not run the buses – they’re run by Public Transport Victoria – we've been advocating to the Victorian Government for many years for a review of the Ballarat bus network.   

To see the issue for myself I took a ride on the bus, for the first time in a long time. I knew the problems with the buses in theory, but seeing them first-hand was an eye opener.    

As part of the Mayor’s Amazing Race (see it on the Mayor of Ballarat Facebook page) my challenge was to get from Winter Valley to Stockland Wendouree for an optometrist appointment.   

A trip that takes 10 minutes in a car took 1 hour 20 minutes, including a short walk. I caught one bus into the CBD and a connecting bus from the Ballarat Train Station to Stockland.      

Now I’m lucky in that I have a car I can use if I need to. But many Ballarat residents don’t have that choice – they rely on buses to get them to work, school, medical and other appointments.   

One person I spoke to on the bus was travelling two hours each way – four hours in total - every weekday to get her kids to school.   

Surely, we can do better than that?   

As part of our campaign, we’re asking Ballarat residents to share their experiences of the buses via a short survey on the City of Ballarat website, so that we can advocate on their behalf to the State Government.    

That includes people who use the bus now, and people who want to use the bus but currently do not.    

Your stories can help us show why decision makers at Public Transport Victoria need to have another look at how Ballarat's buses are serving the community.   

Visit ballarat.vic.gov.au/busnetwork