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Climate Council reveals inequality inbuilt in Melbourne’s transport system

Buses present the most effective way to address this problem and give disadvantaged melburnians the chances they deserve.

The Climate Council “Next Stop Suburbia Report” has uncovered the deep inequality at the heart of the Melbourne public transport system. Whilst only 52.5% of Melburnians have access to usable public transport, this is 27% lower in suburbs with lower incomes.


Perhaps alarming for proud Melburnians, Sydney is ahead of Melbourne, with 67.2% of Sydneysiders having access to useful public transport, with little disparity between rich areas and poor areas. Despite being well ahead of Melbourne on this metric, it still falls short of what is needed and we support bus reform in Sydney as well as all other Australian cities.

In Melbourne, not only do growth areas in the west such as Rockbank and Mambourin fall short, but also historically disadvantaged established communities such as Fawkner and Kings Park lack access to usable public transport. These areas have suffered decades of neglect as the media and politicians have focused on the wealthy inner and eastern suburbs. It is time for the government to commit to bringing quality public transport to all of Melbourne.

The Climate Council sets out 3 key parameters for what constitutes a “universal shared transport availability”.

  1. The transport stops should be 400m to 800m apart - a 10 minute walk.
  2. The transport should be frequent, at least coming every 15 minutes.
  3. The frequent service should be provided from at least 7am to 7pm.

Implementation of these 3 standards throughout suburban Melbourne would accelerate the process of decarbonising transport and would be life changing for Melburnians from all walks of life.

Buses are not only Climate Justice but are Economic Justice. Better buses are the ticket that will let historically marginalised areas benefit from all that Melbourne has to offer. 

Written by Adam Bain - Sustainable Cities Collective

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