The Chair of Eastern Transport Coalition has met with the Minister for Public Transport, Lynne Kosky to outline its agenda for the improvement of public transport in Melbourne’s east.

Chairperson, Cr Mick Van de Vreede said that the coalition had met with the previous Minister and considered it important to brief the new Minister.

Cr Van de Vreede said that the meeting was positive and it was great that the Minister agreed to meet the entire group later this year.

Cr Van de Vreede explained to the Minister the ETC’s 2007 agenda, outlining how we would like to work with her Government to increase patronage and improve and expand on the public transport network. The ETC also offered their assistance in relation to providing feedback on how the new smart bus and other new bus services are running.

“I also advised Minister Kosky of the major gaps in the Public Transport network in our area, the lack of hard rail connections to Doncaster and Rowville being key examples. A train to Rowville would remove 2400 cars from our roads every hour for example.

“I highlighted the importance of the State Government undertaking full feasibility studies into projects such as the Rowville and Doncaster Rail, indicating that outcomes of such studies could and should be used when applying for funding from both the State and Federal Government.

“I also outlined that the ETC will be seeking a commitment from the Federal Government to provide funding for major urban public transport infrastructure, such as the Doncaster and Rowville rail lines.

“These projects would reduce congestion on our roads and greenhouse emissions from our region. I hope that the Victorian Government will support us in that campaign,” Cr Van De Vreede concluded.

For more information please contact;

ETC Chairperson Cr Mick Van De Vreede 0438 029 932
CPR Communications, Robert Larocca    0409 198 350

The Chairperson of the Eastern Transport Coalition (ETC), Cr Van De Vreede said that who owned the Public transport system was not important, what was important was that the system responded to the needs of the community.

“The State Government’s job is to ensure that commuter’s needs are met.

“The history of the public transport system shows that there have been problems under public and private hands.

It is therefore simplistic to think that buying it back will solve all the problems.

“In considering the re-tendering of the system Government needs to look at a variety of models of ownership and operation. It may be that changes to the current tendering arrangements are needed, but they should be driven by commuter needs rather than ideology.

“The ETC wants outcomes in the form of improvements and expansions to the system that complement the Governments Melbourne 2030 planning directions. The operating model that the Government chooses to use must provide the best opportunity to do just that.

“Issues such as expansion of the system and meeting the particular needs of outer east commuters need to be considered. For example, the removal of zone 3 has caused a large increase in commuter numbers and responding to that is more important than who owns the system,” Cr Van De Vreede concluded.

For more information please contact;

ETC Chairperson Cr Mick Van De Vreede                        0438 029 932
CPR Communications, Robert Larocca                           0409 198 350

The Eastern Transport Coalition (ETC) says that the failure of the Federal Government to fund significant public transport projects in the budget represents a missed opportunity to develop a truly sustainable transport system.

The Chairperson of the ETC, Cr Van De Vreede said that the ETC requested that four public transport projects be funded in the east of Melbourne. They would benefit a million people and the environment. The projects are, rail to Rowville, improvement to the capacity of Belgrave and Lilydale lines, rail to Doncaster and transport interchanges.

“Funding public transport on a national basis like roads are is a great idea. More public transport would save the environment; save road funds and importantly help people avoid the high cost of petrol and traffic congestion.

“By way of example, one of the suggested projects, rail to Rowville would remove 2,400 cars or a freeway lane of traffic from our roads every hour.

“The State Government did not fund these projects last year so we have asked the Federal Government to take the lead and fund them. The ETC feels strongly that the Federal Government needs to take a lead role and initiate a program to encourage the creation of a transport system which mitigates climate change.”

“Such Federal Government funding would be consistent with the recommendations of the Federal Parliamentary report into sustainable cities. The report recognized that whilst the Federal Government has not traditionally directly funded public transport it should. The Federal Government has the greatest opportunity ever to use the budget surplus to set Australian cities on a path to a sustainable future and to significantly reduce congestion which is costing our economy billions every year.”

“Two of our local members, Jason Wood (41st Parliament) and Phillip Baressi (40th Parliament) were members of the committee and while they have not been successful this year I hope that they continue to advocate to the Federal Government for our region and these important public transport projects.

“The most disappointing thing is that the Federal Government continues to pour billions into roads without a coordinated policy across all transport modes. Why should more roads be built in our cities and suburbs when public transport could do the job?

“The ETC successfully campaigned for public transport improvements to the State Government last year and will continue with the campaign this year with the aim of getting federal funding for public transport,” Cr Van De Vreede concluded.

For more information please contact;

ETC Chairperson Cr Mick Van De Vreede 0438 029 932
CPR Communications, Robert Larocca 0409 198 350