Lancefield and Romsey residents feel like they’ve greased the wheels on finally getting a solution for their public transport woes.
Public Transport Victoria (PTV) met with close to 100 residents last Thursday to discuss their concerns about train and bus scheduling in the Macedon Ranges.
The meeting was in response to a long- running campaign by Romsey residents Samantha Boswell and Leanne Frost for increased public transport services to their town. Ms Boswell said scheduling issues had been a decade-long battle for the parents in Romsey and Lancefield who chose to send their children to Sunbury Downs College for a range of reasons, including sport, part-time work and friendship groups.
Her own daughter pays to catch a Salesian College school bus to be dropped at Sunbury College in time to catch a connecting bus service to Sunbury Downs College.
Her daughter would arrive late to school if she was to use the public bus service because its connecting service left Sunbury train station at 9am, Ms Boswell said.
She added that last week’s meeting had been a move in the right direction.
“I think everyone was on the same page,” Ms Boswell said.
“There was a great range of different ages there, so that we had a variety of different perspectives.
“Just to have PTV recognise that there is a need in our community is a win in itself.
“I think everyone felt that way about the meeting.
“Let’s hope this meeting was a positive move in the right direction.”
Residents expressed concerns about the school bus service to Sunbury, the lack of bus services on Sundays, connectivity of buses to meet trains at Clarkefield and lack of a train stop at Clarkefield.
A PTV spokesman at the meeting said it was the first step in a lengthy process.
“We’re here to listen to your concerns and identify the need in this community so that we can come up with solutions to meet those needs,” he said.
