Bendigo residents and visitors will receive free local bus travel on the first Sunday of the month until November, and on each Sunday in December.
Announcing the initiative in Bendigo today as part of the Brumby Labor Government's Bendigo Region Community Cabinet, Public Transport Minister Martin Pakula said the Car-less Sunday promotion would allow people to trial travelling by bus on the Bendigo Transit network.
“The Car-less Sunday promotion will encourage Bendigo residents and visitors to continue using buses beyond the promotional period,” Mr Pakula said.
“Buses provide an essential transport service in Bendigo, providing crucial access to work, school, recreational facilities, health care services and retailers.
“There are some two million passenger trips on the Bendigo transit network each year and we need to ensure we provide bus services that cater to passenger needs.”
Car-less Sunday is a key part of the City of Greater Bendigo’s 2009-2012 Bendigo City Centre TravelSmart Travel Plan.
The plan aims to:
- Reduce the number of single-occupant car trips to and from the Bendigo city centre;
- Increase the number of active travel trips made to and from the city centre; and
- reinforce the city centre as an active place to work, shop, live and visit.
Member for Bendigo East Jacinta Allan said the Brumby Labor Government had continued to invest in the Bendigo local bus network with 692 additional weekly services added in April 2008.
“This was the biggest bus service improvement delivered to Bendigo in more than 15 years and is servicing the outer growth areas of Bendigo as well as existing suburbs and the central retail precinct,” Ms Allan said.
“These improvements have resulted in an increase in patronage of 20 per cent compared with patronage levels in 2007, a clear endorsement of the Bendigo Transit system.”
Mr Pakula said the Department of Transport would continue to monitor the patronage growth of the Bendigo local bus network.
“We're constantly monitoring how well those services are running and seeing if they can be fine-tuned to better meet passenger needs,” he said.
“That includes reassessing existing bus timetables and connections with trains and initiating discussions in community hubs about service needs.”