Commuters in Melbourne’s outer suburbs are suffering, according to latest report

Commuters in Melbourne’s outer suburbs are suffering at the hands of our poor public transport system.

Commuters in suburbs – extending out from Springvale, Epping and Point Cook – are enduring travel times of more than 80 minutes to get to work.

A report by Infrastructure Australia has found almost a quarter travel more than 30 kilometres to get to work.

And three in five don’t live within walking distance of reliable public transport – the most in Australia.

It’s recommending more “interchanges” to get people to railway stations and major bus stops, as well as “on-demand” services, where commuters can book a service for a specific time, and pick up other passengers on the way.

Executive Director of Policy and Research at Infrastructure Australia Peter Colacino said around 50 per cent of our population in the five largest cities live in outer suburbs.

“A quarter of the total population of those cities aren’t withing walking distance, that’s 15 minutes of frequent public transport,” he said.

He said there’s an idea involving new technology that could be one of the solutions.

“There’s this new idea, growing in popularity, almost like an Uber for a smaller buses, they call it on-demand bus services,” he said.

“What we’re seeing more and more, is the use of apps to book services so that van or small bus will pick you up and drop you at your destination.

“What that means is that people don’t need to drive to a train station.”

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