Speaking in Parliament, Mr Walsh asked Public Transport Minister Melissa Horne to advise when the review would be done, after a year of silence from Transport for Victoria.
Mr Walsh said the delay had stranded residents at Bupa Aged Care on Fehring Lane, which is currently only serviced by the existing school hybrid service.
“It’s more than 12 months since Transport for Victoria told Campaspe Shire Council they didn’t have a timeline for a review and residents are beginning to question if the review will even happen at all,” Mr Walsh said.
“Access to a bus service at Fehring Lane will greatly improve aged care resident’s independence and better connect them with medical and retail services in town.
“I’m calling on the Minister to tell Echuca residents when this review will be done so we can be sure the local bus services are meeting the changing needs of our community.”
A government spokesperson said the Department of Transport (DoT) regularly reviewed the public transport network to identify where improvements could be made.
When reviewing existing bus routes or planning for new ones, DoT said it considered several factors.
These included the likely number of users, suitability of the road network for bus operations, development of a direct and easily understood network and connectivity with other public transport services.
“We’re improving bus services across Victoria – and we’ve invested more than $200 million to build stronger, better-connected networks,” the spokesperson said.
“This includes adding routes and services, creating more direct routes, and increasing service frequencies.
“We’re also trialling a new bus service between Echuca and Barmah which links with the communities at Cummeragunja Aboriginal Mission Station and Moama.
“Work is also underway on the Bendigo and Echuca Line Upgrade to enable faster rail services to Echuca and more frequent services between Epsom, Eaglehawk and Bendigo.”
Ms Horne has 30 days to respond to Mr Walsh’s constituency question.
