On 1st July 2025 the Victorian Government kicked off their new zero-emission bus contracts which cover one-third of bus routes in metropolitan Melbourne.

The new contracts see routes previously operated by Ryans, Kastoria and Panorama being taken over by Dysons, CDC Victoria and Kinetic, as well as many Dysons routes being shuffled around to CDC. Unfortunately, these are many of the same infrequent and indirect routes that have failed Melburnians for decades.

This has been a missed opportunity for the government to undertake transformational route reform in the new contract regions. These large companies have all the resources and capability to execute significant route reform, yet the government has once again forgotten to act to fulfil their own bus plan. True transformative change would have meant buses finally running at a frequency and on straightforward routes that actually meet the needs of the rapidly growing communities of the west. 

There is, however, one bright spot. A few direct main-road bus routes in Wyndham have started running longer hours and more frequently since the 1st of July. They are routes 170, 180, 190 and 192, with operating hours extended to midnight and frequencies improved on weekends.

“For the first time young people in Wyndham will not have to worry about leaving their friends on nights out, just to get the bus back home”, says Sustainable Cities Spokesperson Adam Bain. “Hopefully the government keeps up the momentum and adds the incredibly productive 182, 150 and 152 to this new standard”. 

Whilst these small improvements will be life changing for some, and it is welcoming to see commitment to more zero-emission buses running on the roads, it is disappointing to see the opportunities the government has missed on reforming the broken bus network and services under the new contracts. Network reform must create more routes that resemble the four routes recently upgraded in Wyndham, routes that follow main roads, are fast, frequent and reliable.

“Empty buses, regardless of how clean they are, won’t reduce emissions. Simply deploying zero-emission buses without an efficient network won’t attract residents to ditch their cars.” said Sustainable Cities spokesperson, Elyse Cunningham, “While running zero-emission buses contributes to a cleaner environment, a sustainable transport system can only be realised with a thorough and meaningful reform of the bus network that will ultimately attract residents to choose public transport over cars.”

Historically the government has used the complicated interlocking bus operators as a reason to deny commonsense network and service reforms. No longer can they hold onto that excuse with these new contracts, and we look forward to the government finally fulfilling their own bus plan.