route 694 questioned in parliament

It was good to hear Greens MLC and spokesperson for Public Transport, Greg Barber, raise the issue of Route 694 in parliament this week.

Mr Barber asked a question without notice to the Minister for Public Transport, Martin Pakula.

Regular readers will know there’s been a question mark over the future of Route 694 as it has been recommended for removal in the Yarra Ranges Bus Review.

Mr Barber directly asked the Minister “Can the minister confirm that the recommendation of the bus review that route 694 be removed is not going to be followed?”

The Minister’s response, “ I am advised -- and I will advise Mr Barber further if this is not the case, but I imagine that he would not expect me to have encyclopaedic knowledge of every bus route in Melbourne -- and my advice to him and to the Parliament is that despite that recommendation there are no changes envisaged to bus route 694 at the current time.”

No changes envisaged...at the current time....What does this mean, not before the election? How long is “the current time” and can residents truly feel reassured?

Of concern is another part of the Minister’s response “Equally there are other recommendations in the bus reviews that are not now or in the future ultimately accepted by the department.” This leads to more questions, what other recommendations outlined in the bus review might not be “ultimately accepted by the department”?

The bus reviews set a lot of expectations in our community that we would get improved services throughout the shire, it’s up to us to make sure those expectations are fulfilled.

If you’d like to read the entire transcript of the question without notice click here.